Emergency remote teaching required us to take our carefully developed and complex teaching philosophies “right back to the studs.” As educators faced with rapid and global change, we worked to expose and test fundamental values and practices that we could take into new, challenging environments. What had been two or three pages of metaphor and aspiration buttressed by evidence was honed to simple memorable commandments such as “stay connected, keep it simple, be flexible, be kind” that helped us test any new course design, assignment, or response to a student. In this session, we encourage conversation about the role that a teaching philosophy can play in helping educators to reflect back on our recent experiences and to look forward to new pedagogical challenges and opportunities for change.

Some guiding questions for the session: What are your keywords for teaching and learning? How were they tested by emergency pandemic teaching? How was your philosophy transformed by your experience?