Community college instrumental faculty using technology to engage remote learners during a pandemic: A basic interpretive study

Abstract

A paradigm shift in online learning impacted the United States and the world due to COVID-19 (Li & Lalani, 2020). This shift rapidly thrust community college instrumental ensemble faculty, ensemble directors, and ensemble performance directors into an online learning environment. This unprecedented transition from Face-to-Face (F2F) to online classrooms necessitated a heavy reliance on technology to engage remote learners. This basic interpretive study aimed to better understand their experiences pivoting to remote instruction during the pandemic years of 2020 to 2021. Hence, this study explored community college performance faculty's challenges and opportunities during COVID-19. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with seven participants from five Southern California community colleges meeting all of the following criteria: (a) instrumental ensemble faculty, (b) taught online during the pandemic, and (c) director of bands, conductors of the wind ensemble, concert band, jazz band, or music directors of the orchestra. The findings of this study reflect the experiences and attitudes of ensemble performance faculty regarding the emergency transition. This study explored how instrumental ensemble faculty addressed their concerns about utilizing various tools and technologies to engage remote learners during the pandemic. The conceptual framework used to analyze the data was the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) [Venkatesh et al., 2003] and Kolb's (1984) Experiential Learning Model (ELM). Within the framework, UTAUT helped identify four core constructs to explain how participants adopted various technologies and online teaching methods into their practice, while ELM helped identify how participants overcame concerns about using technology. Overall, the framework helped to describe the participants’ intentions to use an information system and their subsequent usage behavior. The findings revealed significant challenges in technology adoption, inequities in resource access, and a strong preference for F2F instruction. Thus, these challenges also highlighted opportunities for growth, innovation, and the need for systemic changes in how institutions support ensemble performance faculty. As education evolves in a post-COVID era, emotional and psychological support systems must be accessible, highlighting a critical need for ongoing, proactive support that addresses the technological, psychosocial, and well-being aspects of transitioning to online and hybrid learning environments (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2021).