Winter weather can be just as hazardous to learning as it is to safety.
While many students may see snow as an excuse to spend a day relaxing at home instead of going to class, winter weather is often a severe inconvenience for professors and instructors. Instructors usually plan out their curriculum for the semester well in advance, with some lead room depending on whether their class is advancing rapidly or needs extra time on a given topic. However, missing even one class can potentially disrupt those plans, requiring the instructor to act quickly in order to develop a workable contingency plan.
This spring, as a result of the administrative decision to cancel all classes during the week of Feb. 16, many instructors are being forced to drop portions or even entire sections of their planned material from the curriculum. Dr. Ian Cleary, a professor of biology at UTM, is one professor whose courses will be adversely affected by the decision.
“Losing a week [of classes] is difficult,” said Dr. Cleary. “That’s a lot of material, so it’s quite possible that I’m not going to cover as much material as I had originally planned.”
This semester, Dr. Cleary is teaching Biology 110 and 140, the subject’s introductory courses. Biology 140 is designed for Biology majors, while Biology 110 is for non-Biology majors. Both classes focus on the biology and function of cells. Dr. Cleary says that covering the amount of material he had planned in a shorter period of time is a challenging prospect.
“You can’t simply go faster,” said Dr. Cleary. “I can’t talk faster during the lecture to make up time; that’s not feasible. So it’s more, ‘Can I tweak things? Can I change how I’m presenting the material so that we can cover the essentials?'”
These issues are not unique to professors of the sciences. Many instructors around campus have been subject to the disruptions caused by the onslaught of hazardous weather.
“You have to look at omitting things,” said Dr. Cleary. “But also, you have to look at exam schedules and assignments. Can some of those be pushed back? Sure, but there are limits to that.”
Feature photo credit: Maegan Jolley
