{"id":120724,"date":"2020-12-07T16:46:24","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T15:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=120724"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:17","slug":"when-a-student-is-crying-on-the-phone-you-dont-just-hang-up-on-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/12\/07\/when-a-student-is-crying-on-the-phone-you-dont-just-hang-up-on-them\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018When a student is crying on the phone, you don\u2019t just hang up on them\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Femke Hilverda is an assistant professor at ESHPM. At the moment she supervises Master\u2019s students and a research group, but before the summer, she also taught tutorials and guided Master\u2019s students towards the completion of their degrees. Moreover, she did so from her home in Gouda, where her neighbours decided that the first lockdown was a great time to completely renovate their home.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPauline Wiersema<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Tricky switch<\/h2>

\u201cI found the switch [to online teaching] in March quite tricky. Initially I thought: this will only be for a few weeks, but I ended up teaching all my classes online for the rest of the year. That was less hard in a course where I already knew the students than in a later course involving new students. You can tell that students are less inclined to ask questions, or they turn off their cameras. It\u2019s different for the students themselves, too. When you\u2019re attending an in-person seminar, you can check whether your answer is correct with the person sitting next to you. You can\u2019t do that during an online seminar.<\/p>\n

Students in their final year experience a great deal of pressure<\/h2>
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Femke Hilverda, assistant professor of social psychology and risk communication at the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

\u201cI noticed that I had to be more proactive myself about getting my students involved. Eventually, I began to work with breakout rooms, as well, so as to allow my students to work in small groups. But it took me a while to realise that that was what was needed, and to make the necessary changes to the way in which my classes were designed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also become harder to tell what students are doing, so you have to actively ask questions yourself. In the previous academic year, I decided to give my Master\u2019s students one-on-one supervision once the lockdown began because group teaching proved less successful. It took me more time, but it ended up being more effective. I also had to help many students redesign their research projects, as they were unable to conduct their field research as originally planned. And yes, that sometimes involved talking to students who were crying on the phone, and you don\u2019t hang up on them when that happens. Students in their final year, in particular, experience a great deal of pressure. This is hard for lecturers, because suddenly, we\u2019re expected to wear a different hat. I had to become more of a coach, even though my official job is to help them out with the intellectual aspects. I try to be as understanding as possible, but they have to take steps themselves if they are genuinely experiencing problems.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2019Our neighbours embarked on a home renovation at the start of the lockdown\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

\u201cI also \u2018lost\u2019 one student last year. Her research project wasn\u2019t going very well, and at one point, when we began to have to do all our teaching online, I was no longer able to contact her. I sent her several messages and consulted my supervisor, but I had to give up in the end.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to be able to vent every once in a while. We have a virtual lunch or tea break every week, and we can join if we want. That\u2019s nice. And ever since the crisis began, my department has had a chat group where we can share things. Work-related things, but personal matters, as well.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve found the right way to work now<\/h2>

\u201cI personally found working from home hard during that first period. First and foremost because our neighbours embarked on a four-month home renovation. We came to an arrangement, though, whereby they would not do any demolition work while I was teaching a lecture. Sometimes I\u2019d work in the attic, which was slightly less noisy, but the wi-fi didn\u2019t work particularly well there. And my laptop broke at the start of the lockdown. I got it repaired just in time for my first online lecture.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that several months have passed, I\u2019ve found a good way to work. I now have a designated workspace, a proper office chair and a headset, so that I can keep on working as usual during the renovation. And I haven\u2019t been on campus since March, because I don\u2019t really want to travel from Gouda, so I\u2019m spending a lot of time on the phone, Teams and Zoom. But I hardly ever get to talk to colleagues with whom I don\u2019t collaborate much. I do miss that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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