Montgomery County Community College Associate Professor and Coordinator for Communication Studies Dr. Amanda Gatchet shares her experience with transitioning to online teaching and working from home.
This interview series looks at how our colleagues are dealing with these extraordinary times both in and out of the classroom. To stave off future questions, they were, in fact, conducted from my basement.
Full name and title? Dr. Amanda Davis Gatchet, Associate Professor and Coordinator for Communication Studies
How many years have you been at Montco? Since the fall of 2015
I understand you are working out of your basement. Would you like to comment on your working conditions? I am fortunate to have a quiet workspace. However, I have to confess that my basement may be the creepiest basement in all of Pennsylvania.
Is the creepiness more of a spider thing, or like this is haunted by evil spirits? Evil spirits.
How are you managing working from home, while parenting simultaneously? That has been pretty challenging. My spouse is also working from home. So, he and I have been trading off (with one of us helping my son with his school work). We’ve also been working in the evenings after my son goes to bed and in the early morning.
Have you been able to stay in touch with colleagues during this transition to remote teaching? If so, how have you stayed connected? Many of us have stayed connected over email, through phone calls, and via text. The CMS Faculty will be having virtual faculty meetings via Teams.
What do you think is the most impactful thing you’re doing to help your students during this transition to remote learning? I think the most impactful thing that I have done is to be in touch with them and ask after their well-being. I have been trying to send a lot of correspondence to all of my students to check in and make sure that they are okay.
How about your students – do you see them helping each other in the transition? Are they helping you? My students have been very responsive to one another and to me in discussion posts. So, they will not only comment on the material, but students are sending well wishes to one another there, too. It is nice to see them reaching out to each other… We also may have had one or two side conversations about Tiger King.
First thing you’ll do post social distancing? Go see my parents. They moved to Pennsylvania last summer to be closer to me and my family, so it has been hard staying away from them. After that, I am going to get a haircut. I am starting to look like Ron Burgundy.
Target.com or Amazon? Amazon
Pretending you are going to use this time to get in better shape or pretending you are going to use this time to get stuff done around the house? Maybe a little of both. I have been starting a lot of vegetable seeds inside for my garden. I also bought paint to paint my deck two years ago. So, 2020 may be the year…
Longest period sitting in front of your computer without moving? Not too long. Maybe an hour or so. I have a six-year-old boy and three dogs, so I don’t get to sit still very often.
Speaking of the little one and the dogs, do you ever find yourself sitting in your car, just to get a few minutes by yourself? I haven’t tried the car yet. I have hidden in the bathroom though.
Do you want to give a shout out to anyone at the College who has helped you during this time? Fred Goldstein. He is a senior adjunct in CMS and probably one of the most genuinely kind and thoughtful people on the planet. He has been checking in with me pretty regularly, and I’ve really appreciated it.
Any inaccuracies in the above are the fault of my transcription or edits…unless the interviewee lied to me…in which case it’s totally on that individual.
Read more: