It’s right before Thanksgiving, and it marks the near end of the fall semester for many students, professionals, and professors. This semester, like in the spring, was “unprecedented” in nature on various fronts.
With everything going on, the messages educators have gotten this year and semester have been pretty consistent. Some messages focused on staying the course and operate as if things were “as normal” – whereas others were saying to completely pivot and change everything during this time.
What did I do? I knew there were certain things that I couldn’t do before, but I also wanted to make sure I provided my students with the experience and education they need to be competitive in the workplace.
In a time of a global pandemic, I was able to lead my students to learn all aspects of the strategic nature of PR with 1) a new PR textbook (the one I wrote!) for the first time and 2) work with one of the biggest class clients I’ve had as a professor: Chipotle.
No pressure, right?!!
I knew we would be in good shape and would excel this semester. The 12 students – a mixture of graduate and undergraduate students – worked extremely hard on their research, creative brainstorming sessions, and writing sessions to produce a final project which was both inspiring and unique.
Plus, Chipotle provided them with a unique, relevant and fun challenge for college students to be excited about.
We had our final presentations in our last class meeting and I was *SO* proud of how the students were able to really take this project head on – with everything going on – and bring together a strong research based proposal that was creative, innovative, and strategic in nature.
What were some of the lessons I learned from this experience? Here were some of them:
All but one of our classes were done via Zoom. The myth that online learning is not as valuable as in person is a myth. In fact, I felt we were able to accomplish a lot more during this time. In person exercises, engaged conversations with guest speakers, breakout sessions, and mini presentation / collaboration sessions.
Having regular class meetings and class schedule. As I mentioned before, we were scheduled to be a hybrid class, but the class voted early on to go completely online – but we still met virtually at the same time as our scheduled class. This produced a sense of normalcy and connection – students would know we would be meeting regularly and would need to be prepared accordingly.
It was also important to break down the timing for each section of the class meeting for the students. We would start off with an overview of what we will be covering for the class, when we would take a break, and then what will be covered after the break. Before signing off – outlining key elements that will be expected for the next class meeting.
Lead with positivity and kindness. We have all been through *A LOT* this year, and before this year, I have always made sure to bring a positive attitude and approach to my classes and teaching. This year, I made sure this was consistent throughout each exchange, interaction, session, one-on-one meetings, etc. This really helped create a positive, dynamic, and energetic learning and supportive environment.
Inspect what you expect. It’s important to set expectations and best practices accordingly early and consistently. I made sure there was time to provide updates on the client project (the last 10-15 minutes for each class meeting was dedicated for group meetings for the client project).
Here were some other elements that fall into this category:
- Outline expectations CLEARLY in each assignment. More detail = better. Additional resources and readings that would be helpful? Major key.
- Provide examples of work you expect to see. Sometimes, students do not know what to expect or the level of detail you are looking for in certain assignments. Along with the assignment guidelines, I always provide examples for students to look at and get inspiration from.
- Lead by example. I absolutely LOVE the phrase our dear family friend John would say about working with neuroscience graduate students on work ethic by saying “I do not expect you all to work harder than I do.” I share this with my students, and they smile – and then realize how much I work and the bar has been raised.
Be adaptive and agile to changes. We had one class right before our client presentation where I had a set plan in place for what we would be covering, but I realized the class was looking to get some feedback for their project and collaborate in real time. Plans change of course – and this was no exception.
Keeping clients posted and updated. Making sure there is constant communication and updates for the class clients is key. Also explaining the format of the class (online), student breakdown (grad/undergrad), and sharing syllabus with them is very important to be transparent on the course and course expectations.
I am extremely, EXTREMELY grateful to Erin, Tyler, Adam, and the entire Chipotle team for allowing us to be able to have this once in a lifetime learning and professional experience this semester. You all have lifelong supporters and advocates for Chipotle!
Overall, it was a tremendous semester for the record books. I am very proud of my students and I know they will continue their great work in future classes and in their career. Personally, I was able to learn a lot in the process and I am looking forward to bringing this same energy and excitement into my classes for 2021.
Thanks and have a great day!
Best Wishes,
