Online Learning through the Lens of Relational Humanity.
| Author | Eadens, Danielle Maya |
Introduction
In the midst of the pandemic, I sit at my home office desk and smile at my screen as my student joins me virtually, looking nervous for a one-on-one meeting with their online professor, but with a forced smile upon their face. I start the individual consultation regarding their final project with, "Before we start talking about your capstone project, I want to check in. As a human being in the middle of a pandemic, how are you doing?" and then smile and wait silently while the student gathers their thoughts to respond. Usually, the student pauses, their forced smile softening as they share parts of their lives I never would have known without that purposeful effort towards relational humanity and human connection. One student cries as she tells me how she lost her dad to COVID a month ago with a large portrait of the patriarch with her son in the background. We talk about how proud he would be of her as she graduates this semester. Many here in the Orlando hospitality industry share how they were laid off because of the pandemic and the financial struggles that come along with that unexpected burden of changing careers. Other students celebrate unexpected job opportunities, surprise pregnancies, and adoptions of pets, sometimes even complete with a shared visit from each of our pandemic cat adoptions on camera. (D.M. Eadens)
Due to the pandemic, the most transformational shift in decades occurred in the field of education. All higher education faculty had to pivot their courses online and students all around the world ended up with vastly different educational and human experiences. The quality of these experiences depended heavily on institutional support and the faculty member leading the course. There was tremendous variability in the quality and experiences for faculty and students. Digital divides and access issues were exacerbated and courses with the same name may have looked very different from institution to institution and course to course.
Relational Humanity
The connection between faculty and student matters. This need for human connection exists through all modalities, global crises, and cultures. "In the midst of the difficulty and tragedy, the need for connection and relational humanity became even more important within and outside education" (Eadens & Eadens, 2021). A silver lining of the devastating worldwide pandemic is that this need for connection and relational humanity was highlighted and individuals saw the need to prioritize family and relationships with one another. Relational humanity is defined as: "Purposeful deepening of relationships as humanitarian [action in] showing others that we care about their well-being and welfare as fellow human beings" (Eadens & Eadens, 2021). This need for connection and deeper relationships between faculty and students is well supported in the literature. The relationship is identified as part of effective online learning design, especially within courses that emphasize cultural competence and social emotional learning.
The need for connection and relationship between faculty and student is well documented in the literature as a part of effective online learning design, particularly in courses with outcomes around social emotional learning and cultural competence. Relational humanity is a pillar of effective and inclusive online instruction in higher education. Efforts in...
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