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Robert Kelly
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Kelly teaching one of his LEJA classes.
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WIU LEJA Professor Strives to Make Classes as Close to Normal as Possible

May 1, 2020

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Editor's Note: This is the eighth in a series of feature stories about Western Illinois University faculty who are adapting and finding unique ways to reach their students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

MACOMB, IL – For one Western Illinois University professor, using technology to replicate his classroom experience as closely as possible is the best way to give his students the full academic experience.

Professor Robert Kelly, of the WIU School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration, said he uses Zoom technology for every portion of his class, including offering links to reach him for office hours.

"I wouldn't characterize Zoom conferencing as particularly creative, as so many are using it, but it's the vehicle I chose to keep the learning environment as close to traditional classroom instruction as possible," said Kelly. "I also did an optional orientation to Zoom meeting before classes resumed. It was surprisingly well attended."

Kelly said he has also used screen-sharing technology as part of the graduate class he teaches to show students how to quickly conduct case and statutory research, as they followed along on their individual screens.

"I plugged in search terms, after asking students what they were interested in learning more about, and isolated primary and useful scholarly sources quickly and efficiently," he said. "I think this interactive exercise helped students who had stalled in their research efforts and the direct screen approach for each was superior to having me demonstrate it on the central screen in a classroom."

After the graduate students submitted their resulting research papers, Kelly said their work was impressive.

"Many students were surprised about how quickly asking the right questions can lead to a host of quality, primary legal sources, along with evidence-based research," he said.

After Kelly began offering virtual office hours, he said the number of students attending increased over physical, on-campus office hour visits. He said some students who had questions about course delivery and some just needed to talk.

"Social isolation impacts people in different ways," he said. "I enjoyed both the academic-focused and personal chats with my students during these difficult times."

This week, Kelly helped his students review for their upcoming final exam. He created a trivia game, where the winner received bonus class points. He said the new technological semester created some fun class discussions.

"Students have done some really funny things to bring humor into the virtual classroom, like for instance, one dressed as Joe Exotic displaying a Tiger King-inspired background for an entire class," he said.

Kelly said he has tried to stay as consistent as possible to the original syllabus he uses in each class, because he believes consistency and stability are reassuring in a chaotic environment, such as the one caused by the pandemic. He said he was willing to waive one of his classroom assignments because of the impact of the pandemic and the week that was taken out of the semester by the extended spring break. He said his students asked for the opportunity to still complete the work.

"I think meaningful learning activities are another respite from the confines and restrictions of the quarantine," he said.

While Kelly feels students have done well with the alternative course format, he thinks both students and faculty are ready to get back to campus life as quickly as is safe. He said he has a renewed appreciation for the impact educators can have on students' day-to-day lives.

"In class, students are appreciative to have a class experience that approximates the traditional classroom as much as we can right now," he said. "I am glad I chose that approach."

WIU graduate student Belinda Carr, who is the retired director WIU's Multicultural Center, said she has gained a lot from Kelly's class.

"Professor Kelly is very passionate about all aspect of the law and he just transferred that enthusiasm to online teaching," she said. "His teaching style is very engaging and interactive. with plenty of real-life situations we are likely to encounter as Law Enforcement and Justice Administration professionals."

For more information on the WIU School of LEJA, visit wiu.edu/leja.

Posted By: Jodi Pospeschil (JK-Pospeschil@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing