Graduate Students' and Early Career Faculty's Experiences of Stress in Pandemic-Era Teaching: A Longitudinal Case Study

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Fifteen
  In Roundtable Session: Early Career Faculty Life in the Pandemic Era (Table 1)

Abstract

For countless higher education students, the COVID-19 pandemic produced overwhelming stress, akin to trauma, as they attempted to balance physical, economic, academic, and social burdens. Graduate student instructors, who served in dual roles as students and teachers, were susceptible to both personal stress and trauma and secondary traumatic stress as they attempted to help students experiencing trauma. This longitudinal case study of seven graduate student instructors (five of whom became early career faculty across the duration of the study) explores their feelings of stress, responses to this stress and challenges they faced, and resulting perceived pedagogical and professional growth. Findings have implications for institutes of higher education wishing to recruit, retain, and support trauma-affected students and new faculty.

Authors

• Erin K. Hogan, University of Texas at Austin
  Presenting Author

• Monica Anthony, University of Maryland
  Presenting Author

• Virginia Byrne, Morgan State University
  Presenting Author

• Neil Dhingra, University of Maryland
  Presenting Author