Education

Kentucky professors, tell us what it was like to teach through COVID

Kishonna Gray, left, an associate professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies, teaches her Games Identity Culture class within University of Kentucky’s Esports Lounge. Kishonna is one of about 50 researchers within the Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies at the University of Kentucky, and focuses her research around representation and cultural depictions in video games. February 16, 2022.
Kishonna Gray, left, an associate professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies, teaches her Games Identity Culture class within University of Kentucky’s Esports Lounge. Kishonna is one of about 50 researchers within the Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies at the University of Kentucky, and focuses her research around representation and cultural depictions in video games. February 16, 2022. mdorsey@herald-leader.com

At the end of the spring 2022 semester, most colleges looked like they did in early 2020.

Mask requirements have changed at Kentucky colleges, and graduations looked similar to the way they were before the pandemic. However, professors have had to juggle much throughout the pandemic: learning to teach online and in-person, sometimes at the same time, the well-being of their students, and their own health.

According to a survey of higher education faculty done by the Chronicle of Higher Education in October 2020, 50% of respondents said their enjoyment of teaching had decreased since the start of 2020. Additionally, 35% of respondents said they had considered changing careers and leaving higher education, 38% said they had considered retiring, and 31% had considered changing jobs within higher education since the start of 2020.

We want to hear from Kentucky college and university professors about what their experience was like teaching through the pandemic, and how they are feeling as another school year draws to a close.

Results from this poll may appear in a future Herald-Leader story. If you have any questions about the poll, or would like to share more about your experience working for a university, you can contact Higher Education Reporter Monica Kast at mkast@herald-leader.com or 859-334-0595.

If you are having difficulty accessing the survey, it can also be completed by clicking here.

Monica Kast
Lexington Herald-Leader
Monica Kast covers higher education for the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com. Previously, she covered higher education in Tennessee for the Knoxville News Sentinel. She is originally from Louisville, Kentucky, and is a graduate of Western Kentucky University. Support my work with a digital subscription
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