Teaching and Learning During and After COVID-19: Lessons Learned from the Social Work Classroom

Social work programs are preparing professionals to respond to natural disasters and global pandemics when they arise. However, literature on the learning experiences of students in the social work classroom with synchronous instruction during a natural disaster or global pandemic is limited, as is documentation of the experiences of social work faculty. Further, seldom discussed in the literature are the personal and emotional reflections of students and social work faculty. This paper provides the observations of two MSW students and their instructor within the context of the global pandemic of COVID-19 in order to more closely examine how this pandemic impacted their learning and teaching experiences in the classroom with synchronous instruction. Lessons learned from the authors' experiences are outlined in an effort to identify key components for educators and social work programs to consider during and after a natural disaster or global pandemic.