We’ve asked some of our Asian Studies faculty, staff and students to share their experiences on working from home. Chinese language visiting lecturer Li-Jung Lee shares the session planning tips she has found resonate best with her students (plus the take-out she misses most):
What are some problems you may have encountered during the transition to remote working?
- Everything is slowing down. Everyone needed to cope with different changes during this challenging time. Students had to adjust their learning styles, look for new jobs, or even be in charge of taking care of their families. Teachers had to make a lot of decisions related to the curriculum and learn how to make online instruction smooth throughout the transition. Teaching assistants not only had to juggle their academics but also keep up with their good quality of work.
How did you cope with the problems to ease the transition?
- Firstly, I started with a good opening to the day. For example, playing energetic music before the class, greeting students by asking how they felt every day. Secondly, minimize the range of changes and make every change as simple and clear as possible, for example, I started to post an overview of the coming week and suggested learning plans. These also helped to avoid sending students too many emails. Thirdly, stick to a review session every 5 mins in a class so that it can reduce the anxiety of uncertainty and build a sense of confidence for the upcoming new content. Last but least, I consistently express my gratitude to students every day. Thank them for devoting themselves to make every online course successful with me.
What were some things you needed to get used to when working at home?
- I can’t order KFC…
Describe one new thing (skill, interest, pastime, etc) you may have learned during the quarantine time?
- Haha, this is not a new thing but I haven’t done it in a while: I have started to write again. Writing is always enjoyable. I hope I can maintain this habit. During this quarantine time, I am able to make a professional website to provide services and draw on my laptop using SKETCHBOOK.
Any medium (music, books, cooking recipe, etc.) you could recommend that you’ve found relaxing/entertaining recently?
- I find learning copywriting is interesting. Watching people teach copywriting is entertaining because I can observe how they promote their copywriting coaching careers. Some coaches are not really good at closing a sale. Haha. It’s fun! In addition, watching Kim’s Convenience is super relaxing and this TV series is very down to earth.
During this time, have you sought/found any words of wisdom or quotes from your language area/culture/background that you have found to be particularly comforting, and could share if so?
- “滾石不生苔” → (a rolling stone gathers no moss)
This is a perfect phrase for this situation. When everything is slowing down, as long as you don’t stop, every small step is a big move. Maintaining persistence is important.
To read more Inspiration in Isolation stories, click here!
