Abstract:

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced universities to reimagine instruction. At Florida A&M University (FAMU), the highest-ranked public Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the United States, this transition was not unlike that of other institutions. With less than 20% of the faculty teaching effort being devoted to online instruction during the 2019-2020 school year, FAMU was forced to pivot to remote teaching while ensuring high quality instruction was maintained. FAMU developed training programs to prepare faculty for teaching remotely using Zoom. Additionally, the institution made significant investments in Zoom room technology and Internet infrastructure upgrades to incorporate its version of the Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex) teaching modality, known as FAMFlex. In the FAMFlex implementation emphasis was put on developing high quality instruction for face-to-face and remote students simultaneously. These changes were made to provide students with the options to attend class remotely or in-person. In this paper, we will highlight programmatic elements of the faculty training framework, introduce strategies and best practices developed for the FAMFlex implementation and discuss how state legislation informed critical elements of planning and development. We will also discuss lessons learned from the conversion of more than 50 classrooms to Zoom rooms over the course of two months. Finally, we will present ways these teaching modalities might be used by institutions to transform the way in which we meet, teach, and provide flexible course options for students in the future.

Keywords:

Remote Teaching, HyFlex, FAMFlex, Zoom, COVID-19, HBCU.