It Took a Village - A Demonstrated Need of Institutional Support for Successful Online Teaching

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

Language instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic required a rapid shift to remote learning modalities, but the workload could not be sustained by individual faculty alone. Successful emergency remote teaching was strengthened by preexisting online curricula and robust institutional support, including funding, training, and shared expertise. The chapter details the types of resources and support that enabled effective language teaching and learning during the move to emergency remote instruction and beyond, emphasizing scalable, department-level foundations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Emergency remote teaching challenges

Online course design and institutional readiness

Departmental support and professional development

6 It Took a Village: A Demonstrated Need of Institutional Support for Successful Online Teaching Gwendoline Aaron Southern Methodist University Aria Zan Cabot Southern Methodist University Daniele Forlino Southern Methodist University Susana Solera Adoboe Southern Methodist University Abstract While many language instructors were encouraged throughout the pandemic to rethink their teaching methods, instructional modalities, and course design in order to successfully pivot from in-person to remote learning environments, it quickly became clear that the burden of pandemic teaching could not be sustained by individual faculty members. Instead, successful instances of emergency remote instruction were often aided by preexisting online curricula and extensive institutional support in the form of additional funding, training, and shared expertise. This chapter outlines the type of resources and support available to support the teaching and learning of languages during the shift to emergency remote instruction and beyond. Keywords: online course design; pandemic pedagogy; professional development Background The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented disruption in education, requiring a rapid shift in the role of distance learning from a supplementary role at many institutions to a necessity for nearly all instructors and learners. For many institutions, the shift to emergency remote teaching not only presented a learning curve—adjustments on behalf of faculty, administrators, and students—but also the need to address the longstanding reluctance of many faculty members to embrace educational technology and even basic functionalities of their Learning Management System (LMS), such as electronic gradebooks and discussion boards. As traditional face-to-face teaching became unviable almost overnight, faculty and administrators had to quickly establish uniform guidelines for synchronous, asynchronous, hybrid and HyFlex modes of instruction delivery. As a result, many instructors were rushed through the process of converting face-to-face courses to an online format, with lim- A Demonstrated Need of Institutional Support for Successful Online Teaching 131 ited expertise and assistance other than crash courses or short videos demonstrating the basic tools offered by their institution’s LMS. Our physical return to the classroom has surely revealed, and rightfully so, ablend of old and new practices gleaned from the past year. A March 2021 survey of faculty and administrators by The Chronicle of Higher Education outlined some of the “pandemic” teaching practices that a majority of faculty and administrators hope will stick around. Supiano and McMurtie (2021) reported findings from this survey, highlighting the continued need for (1) the increased use of virtual office hours; (2) professional training around effective course design and teaching practices in online environments; (3) the increased use of virtual academic supports for students (e.g. tutoring, advising); (4) teaching and learning communities where instructors can share best practices; and (5) increased use of virtual co-curricular activities (e.g. research, service, internships) . During the 2020-21 academic year, many language instructors without previous experience or training in online teaching faced unique challenges as they transitioned away from emergency remote instruction toward a more robust, sustainable, and effective method of online teaching. On the other hand, language departments that had already developed tech-enhanced, online, or hybrid curricula prior to the COVID-19 pandemic were better positioned to rapidly adapt their courses (Supiano & McMurtie, 2021). With respect to many other disciplines, foreign language course design had already been at the fore of instructional technology, and many language instructors were already accustomed to using rich media content, authentic material, and technology to access resources in the

FAQs

Why did individual faculty members struggle to sustain pandemic teaching demands?

The chapter explains that the burden of pandemic teaching could not be sustained by individual faculty members, especially when shifting quickly from in-person to remote learning.

What helped some language instructors achieve successful emergency remote instruction?

Successful cases were aided by preexisting online curricula and extensive institutional support, including additional funding, training, and shared expertise.

How were language departments better positioned to adapt during the pandemic?

Departments that had already developed tech-enhanced, online, or hybrid curricula before COVID-19 could adapt their courses more rapidly and effectively.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk