Assessment and Teaching Impacts of COVID-19: A Case Study of Geoscience Faculty at Public Four-Year Institutions in California

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many disruptions for students, faculty, and staff in higher education systems. Faculty in geoscience departments (n = 51) at public four-year higher education institutions in California were surveyed to assess the pandemic’s impact on grading bases and teaching practices and methods, as well as whether or not pandemic-related instructional changes were maintained. With the exception of decreased use of in-class activities, the types of work used to grade students did not significantly change. Whole-class discussions, small-group activities, writing on a board, and soliciting responses from students also decreased in use. Increased use of online class materials was a commonly cited change to be maintained in the future, and online teaching a teaching mode to be discontinued. While in-person remains the preferred teaching modality for the geoscience faculty surveyed, online learning tools used during the COVID-19 pandemic may still be useful for supplementing in-class experiences.