Adapting to the times

Janet Fosdick ’97, ’16 MAEd has adapted her teaching for the safety of herself and others.

“We face many unknowns with COVID-19,” said Janet. “I feel our biggest challenges lie within this question, ‘How do we provide the learning that must happen, prepare opportunities for both face-to-face and online learning, while also ensuring the health and safety of all involved?’”

Janet has seen many changes throughout her years as an educator, but none requiring such a large transition within such a small timeframe.

Shortly after starting as an adjunct faculty member for MMU’s Master of Arts in Education program, Janet transitioned her classes, supervising duties, and student-teacher feedback to a completely online format.

“The transition to online instruction took an enormous amount of cognitive time to figure out not only the dynamics of Brightspace, but also how to present content, assess, provide collaborative conversations and professional learning, support tutoring of elementary students, ensure technology works for parents, and much more,” said Janet.

Many people at MMU stepped up to help support her. From brainstorming possible opportunities to working out Brightspace issues, there was always someone she could turn to for guidance.

“Ensuring we have rich conversations based on collaborative and engaging learning opportunities is critical to any educational environment, regardless of what is happening in our world,” she said. “My personal saying is, ‘My students’ learning reflects the efforts I make.’”