Critically Considering Empathy in the Classroom: A Graduate Student�s Perspective on Pandemic Pedagogy

Abstract

The year 2020 introduced the world to the pandemic that is COVID-19. As of October 6, 2020, there were in the United States alone 7,436,278 total cases, with 209,560 deaths (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2020). This number of positive cases had skyrocketed from under 1,000 in March, making this pandemic unlike any encountered in the past (CDC, 2020). Due to the severity of COVID-19, the United States, along with most of the world, shut down all non-essential public spaces early on in the pandemic. With that, colleges and universities moved to an online model for the end of the Spring 2020 semester, with many schools utilizing either remote or hybrid classes for their Summer and Fall 2020 sessions. These changes have been challenging, as faculty and students have transitioned to teaching and learning in a time of constant anxiety. As a PhD student in the Composition and Applied Linguistics program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, I am writing this note from the perspective of both a student in the last semester of her coursework and a teacher of first-year composition before the pandemic as well as during the Fall 2020 semester. From this dual perspective, I will reflect on how the changes that have occurred due to COVID-19 can help educators consider empathy in conjunction with critical thinking.