Classes look a little different this semester. Instead of the typical class duration ranging from twice a week for seventy-five minutes over fifteen weeks that we are used to, Conn is experimenting with a modular class format. Professors had the option to teach a fifteen-week class or to compress 15 weeks into 7. The decision made to either compress or keep their class has a trickle down effect and decides how often and for how long they will hold class, which have lead classes to meet either four times a week or twice a week for three hours. Responses from students who are currently taking three-hour classes are mixed.
Josh Coleman ‘21 took two of these 7-week classes in module one. “I feel like for 400 level classes they’re a bit better, the topics are harder so it’s nice to go in-depth, but I wouldn’t feel the same way about easier classes. It has pros and cons,” he says when asked about his current course load. “To be honest, I would rather have a two-hour lecture and a one-hour [lecture] later in the week because sometimes you need extra time but you do reach a point of saturation [during a three-hour period].”
Josh Moylan ‘23 doesn’t mind the longer classes. “As long as I have a coffee, I’m fine […]“I’ve zoned out twice in the entire module so far.” He attributes this to having his class in-person and admits that when it was on Zoom that it was much more difficult to focus.
Leelah Klauber ‘22 is not a fan of the three-hour class session. While taking one module course, her professor divided their course into two chunks of seventy-five minutes with a thirty-minute break in between. “It’s definitely impossible to retain all of the information; after the first half of the class it’s so apparent that everyone’s energy levels are so much lower, and this doesn’t make for good discussion. I also don’t think it helps that it is at 8:30am on a Monday.”
As someone who just completed a virtual modular course twice a week for three hours, I have to say I am not a fan. However, this is in no way the fault of my professors. Three hours is just too long for most to pay serious and consistent attention at all times, especially when online, on mute, and sitting in your room alone. “It’s definitely easier to lose focus,” admits Coleman.
Reports of breaks during class also vary from student to student and class to class. In Coleman’s experience, one of his two longer classes will give him breaks, but the other just ends early. Morgan Maccione ‘21 takes two three hour classes on the same day and when asked about breaks said that her professors “sometimes [give us] a few short breaks or sometimes it’s like two 15 minute breaks, so it’s a nice way to split up the class. I just have a hard time focusing for so long, I feel like I lose focus halfway through.” Klauber also said that “after the 30 minute break I feel like I’ve lost focus. It’s so hard to have 3 hours worth of the same subject taught all at once. Even though this is a class for my major, and something I’m really interested in, it’s so hard to have a lively discussion in break-out rooms when everyone is tired after a 75 min lecture.”
In my experience, we often end class twenty or so minutes early but spend the full two hours and forty minutes beforehand listening to our professor. While it is certainly nice to end class early, staring at a computer screen for so long can lead to eye strain and fatigue. Most days after a three-hour online class I leave with a headache from staring at my screen for so long. Not only is it hard on the eyes and brain to stare at a screen for so long, but it is also often difficult when professors are actively teaching to find a time to stand up, stretch, or go use the bathroom during those three hours.
College faculty recently voted to continue having the option of the modular class for the Spring semester and student reactions are again: mixed. “I think in the future I would rather take one hour and fifteen-minute classes than take three-hour classes. I’m able to digest the material better that way and can be a bit more active in those classes than in three-hour classes. But that being said, if there was a class that I really want to take that was three hours I’ll probably still take it,” said Maccione. “I’m definitely going to avoid taking another 3-hour long class. I’m really sad that this class is 3 hours because I feel like I missed out on learning so much about such a fascinating topic simply because the topic is complex and after hyper-focusing for 75 minutes; it is really challenging to do that again right after with the same topic,” wrote Klauber in an email.
Personally, unless the class was something I really needed to take for my major, I would not take it. While I used to spend six hours a day in classes in high school, I have grown to prefer the shorter blocks the College typically offers, and that make it much easier to schedule my day. It’s really difficult for professors and students alike to fit fifteen weeks of class into seven weeks. Only registration for the Spring will let us know how many other students will consider taking three-hour classes for another semester. •
