Instructor Social Presence and Connectedness in a Quick Shift from Face-to-Face to Online Instruction

During the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, instructors at a southeastern university had one week to convert their current face-to-face courses to an online format, under a time frame that did not allow for a “well-designed” online course. The current study investigates how some instructors were able to maintain social presence in the transition to the online environment, and the instructional practices they used to support those continued connections. In a cross-sectional survey of undergraduate and graduate students (N = 432 ) conducted during the last week of the Spring 2020 semester, we asked students to focus on a class that was successful in keeping them in touch with their instructor, content, and peers. Analyses of the data revealed four major themes: connectedness, instructor responsiveness and coaching, online learning best practices such as chunking materials, and empathic facilitation.