Problem Solving in the Time of COVID

by SHAWN RYAN

With the dangers of COVID-19 racing around the globe, faculty at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga had to find creative ways to teach over the past few semesters.

The UTC Theatre Company’s production of The Bald Soprano was performed on Chamberlain Field and used two different casts: physical actors and voice actors. Physical actors pantomimed the characters’ actions while voice actors provided the characters’ voices from behind Plexiglas baffles.

The theatre company’s Antigone used nine Zoom-like boxes filled with symbolic images of family, war and the 24-hour news cycle in the city of Thebes. Actors filmed their performances on cellphones in their rooms/homes. Their footage was uploaded and edited together into a virtual setting.

In the Department of Psychology, UC Foundation Associate Professor Jill Shelton’s students created activity kits filled with cognitive stimulation materials—games and puzzles—which they delivered to Summit View Senior Community.

Senior Lecturer Jeremy Bramblett in the Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science used cameras to remotely perform dissections in his Functional Human Anatomy lab. Using the same technology, he showed examples of minerals, rocks, fossils and sand in his Historical Geology lab.

In the Department of History, Department Head Michael Thompson’s outdoor “Chattanooga History Walking Tours” provided the campus community an up-close look at some of the city’s historical landmarks while promoting safety and social distancing protocols.

Associate Professor of Psychology Amanda Clark had students in her Principles of Neuropsychology class gather virtually after-hours for movie night social events.

Each faculty member in the Department of Political Science and Public Service selected a poster reflecting their interests and approach to politics, careful to avoid advocating for a particular party or candidate. The posters were framed, numbered and hung on the walls of the department’s public spaces. Students in each of the department’s majors tried to identify the faculty member affiliated with each poster, and the students who accurately matched the most posters to the correct faculty members won prizes.

Also in political science and public service, students in UC Foundation Professor Irina Khmelko’s International Non-governmental Organizations course considered non-governmental organizations’ responses to challenges brought by COVID-19 as part of their class research projects.

In the Department of Communication, Assistant Professor Nagwan Zahry and Associate Department Head Michael McCluskey conducted multiple studies examining governmental mass communication during the pandemic.

In her History of Epidemics and Society course, Assistant Professor Julia Cummiskey explored the ways diseases reflect social, political and cultural aspects of human society, and how epidemic disease has reshaped society. Yes, COVID-19 was among the topics included.

Students in Associate Professor Jeremy Strickler’s Public Policy Theory class studied aspects of the pandemic and governmental reactions to illustrate concepts and theories about policymaking in the United States.

Students enrolled in UC Foundation Professor Margaret Kovach’s Virology class wrote a report on COVID-19 epidemiology, prevention and control with the pandemic serving as a backdrop to understanding the nature of new and emergent viruses.

In a time when singers and wind instrumentalists are considered COVID-19 “super spreaders,” faculty in the Music Division of Performing Arts trained students to use recording technology to create video assessments.

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VISIT UTC.EDU/THE-BALD-SOPRANO TO WATCH SNIPPETS AND INTERVIEWS FROM THE BALD SOPRANO TO SEE HOW THE UTC THEATRE COMPANY PULLED OFF THE PLAY’S PRODUCTION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PANDEMIC.