AAACE 2021 Annual Conference

COVID-19, positionalities, distance education

I introduce digital divide theories (Pick & Sarkar, 2016) and intersectionality theory (Collins, 2019). Participants discuss the intersection of technology and social inequities due to positionalities in the distance teaching/ learning process during COVID-19. We critically examine best practices in distance learning and discuss “lessons learned” during the pandemic.

Due to COVID-19, many adult educators pivoted from in-person to synchronous and asynchronous instruction starting in March 2020. Various teaching/learning contexts were affected differently due to structural inequities regarding various positionalities (e.g., race, class, digital literacy). Some staff and students lacked digital skills and technology (What We Learned: Adult Education’s Response to Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning, 2020).
The pandemic helped educators understand the importance of leadership, professional development opportunities, and distance education for adults (What We Learned: Adult Education’s Response to Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning, 2020). Since March 2020, best practices for teaching on Zoom and online have increased, but professional development utilizing distance modalities only spoke to one area of teacher/learner concern during the pandemic. In support of the conference theme, Digital Divide, Social Justice, and Adult Education, this session will critically examine the inequities faced by adult teachers/learners during the pandemic and how they affected the teaching/learning transaction. Participants will discuss “lessons learned” as teachers and learners in a distance education environment. As the world emerges from COVID-19, it is important to discuss this topic to review what has been learned and what lessons we can take into the future.