Navigating the course integrity/compassionate care dialectic in online teaching and learning

Abstract

Throughout the 2020–2021 academic year, college instructors struggled with how to accommodate the extenuating circumstances confronting students during the pandemic while, at the same time, maintaining course integrity. Instructors made decisions about accepting late assignments, extending deadlines, and relaxing attendance guidelines for students who became ill, served as caregivers, or lost jobs; as well as those whose work hours suddenly increased as essential workers. The number of students reporting anxiety, depression, or suicidal ideation—already at record high levels in comparison with previous generations—skyrocketed (Son et al., 2020). Instructors were acutely aware that students were struggling, yet also wrestled with soaring instances of academic dishonesty and waning levels of student engagement. Many openly wondered whether learning outcome achievement was even comparable with pre-pandemic norms (Donnelly et al., 2020). In response, we propose that learning efficacy in online environments—as exposed during the 2020 pandemic—may be achieved best by approaching our pedagogy within an ethic of care (Gilligan, 1982). Gilligan (1982) conceptualized the ethic of care (EoC) cogently in her book, In a Different Voice. She and others argue that moral action and ethical responses be tailored to individuals based on the unique challenges imposed on them by their unique lived experiences. As such, Gilligan’s EoC represents a radical departure from Kohlberg’s (1969) unified theory of moral psychology, which focuses on the extent to which a given practice promotes justice or fairness. Justice/fairness and caring were separate foundations for ethics (Haidt & Graham, 2007). The challenges teachers faced in balancing course integrity and caring during the pandemic is not new, but its salience intensified as we navigated what many now fondly refer to as “pandemic pedagogy.” We argue that instructional communication pedagogy can be transformed in ways that maintain course integrity while enacting what we call a compassionate care pedagogy through “deep teaching.” Deep teaching considers each student holistically, thereby engendering a love of learning that transcends merely accomplishing assignments and earning grades (Miller, 1999). Deep teaching sets high expectations and guides each student to overcome potential obstacles arising from their lived experiences. As such, deep teaching is a manifestation of a compassionate care pedagogy grounded in an EoC (Gilligan, 1982). As teachers acknowledge these obstacles through a