Faculty adapt courses to create community in virtual classroom
This story is part of a series about the ways in which faculty are innovating and planning for fall classes online. Daniel Carpenter relied on serendipitous encounters among classmates to fuel his students’ learning beyond his lectures. But this fall, the Allie S. Freed Professor of Government is creating a space for those key moments online in his Gen Ed survey of the history and theory of modern republican governmental structures, “Res Publica: A History of Representative Government.” In addition to breakout rooms for small group discussions during lectures and more intimate section gatherings with teaching fellows, Carpenter plans to host “Hangouts in the Republic,” optional gatherings for students to both discuss course themes and get to know each other without the pressures of being graded. The space will facilitate student interactions and mutual learning about America’s democratic republic, he said. As students prepare for an academic year that will be entirely virtual,...