GFU is Still Experiencing the Effects of COVID
Reported by Audrey Grice
Photo by Luci Lettau
Online learning during the pandemic four years ago has left a lasting impact on college education, and George Fox University (GFU) is no exception. English professor Jessica Hughes notes that the effects of Covid continue to shape her classrooms in surprising ways.
“Each year we’re seeing different types of struggles because Covid hit students at different points developmentally,” Hughes says. “What I’ve noticed is that the content is there, but the skills aren’t as developed as I’ve seen in past years. Did they miss some of those skills in a way that never got fully developed through the remaining years of high school?”
“To be really clear,” Hughes adds, “I don’t know that this is the case; it’s just what I’ve observed, and I’m curious.”
Foundational learning for language arts usually occurs in grades 8-9. However, this year’s incoming class is struggling with some basics in writing and analysis. In response, Hughes has adjusted her Literature 200 course, removing a book from the reading list to focus on writing skills.
“There’s just some stuff that hasn’t been learned along the way,” Hughes says. “And that’s not the students’ fault. It’s not that they’re not incredibly bright and capable scholars.”
Freshman English student Kinsey Burke reflects on this gap.
“I don’t know what I don’t know,” Burke says. “So I don’t know what I’m missing.”
Mathematics professor Thomas Shifley offered a similar perspective. He teaches two general education math classes and a calculus two class, where he has seen consistent impacts from online learning.
“I don’t see a difference in the preparedness from today’s freshmen versus three years ago, but I would say that everything post-Covid has taken a hit,” Shifley says. “I teach general calculus, and students’ ability to do pre-calc and trigonometry took a huge, huge hit.”
Burke noted how the pandemic affected her learning experience.
“Covid completely derailed a lot of what teachers had planned for us, and that has impeded us in unforeseeable ways.”
While COVID seems to have impacted departments differently, Hughes and Shifley have observed shifts in students’ attitudes following the lockdown period.
“There’s this assumption that they’ll be passed no matter what they do,” Hughes says. “We made some exceptions during Covid, we worked with people, but now, you have to take ownership of your own education.”
“Students’ attitudes are a lot different,” Shifley added. “Deadlines are a lot more wishy-washy.”
Looking ahead, Hughes and Shifley are uncertain how long these effects will last.
“I think in some ways it will get better quickly,” Hughes said. “But I fear that there is an entire population of students that Covid hit who missed… literacy and writing skills that will continue to plague them as they try to progress through the educational system.”
“I’m really curious about the kids who had Covid during kindergarten and first grade who didn’t learn how to add,” Shifley muses. “Will the school system have enough time to catch them up, or will there always be a deficit? I don’t know.”