Adapting to the COVID-19 Online Transition: Reflections in a General Chemistry Sequence Taught by Multiple Instructors with Diverse Pedagogies

Abstract

Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) is an open-access, four-year, public liberal arts college that emphasizes excellent instruction through active learning and small class sizes. The COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges to GGC general chemistry instructors as they sought to actively engage students in a new online setting. We reflect on the challenges faced by our college during this pandemic by analyzing student surveys, instructor reflections, and grade distributions across 20 sections of general chemistry 1 and 2 taught by 15 different instructors. We consider the most important challenges faced by students and the technology rapidly adopted by instructors. We then present three main themes found in the instructor reflections and consider the implications for going forward.