Lessons From the 2020 Democratic and Republican Conventions - for Teaching Online
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ADVICE
Lessons From the 2020 Democratic
and Republican Conventions — for
Teaching Online
The political conventions offered academics a few lessons on
what to do — and a lot on what not to do — in a virtual classroom
By Jonathan Zimmerman
AUGUST 31, 2020
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DNCC, GETTY IMAGES
On the first night of the Democrats’ 2020 convention, the host Eva Longoria
acknowledged the obvious: “We had hoped to gather in one place.” So had the
Republicans, of course, who likewise shifted their convention to a mostly virtual
format because of the coronavirus. And so did you, if you’re teaching at one of
the thousands of colleges that have moved classes online for the fall.
Until very recently, many of us expected to return to our physical classrooms at
least part of the time during the new semester. Now that most of us can’t, what
can we learn about teaching from this summer’s virtual political conventions?
If you think that’s a ridiculous question, I understand why. Conventions are akin
to propaganda — not to education — and aim to inspire the faithful and
persuade the fence-sitters, rather than to challenge, inquire, and teach. But if
you watched carefully, you could nevertheless pick up a few lessons —
perhaps especially on what not to do — that might help you improve your own
online teaching.
Lesson 1: If you plan to give lectures, record them beforehand. President
Trump mocked taped speeches by Michelle Obama and others at the
Democratic convention, promising that more of the GOP’s addresses would be
live. And so they were. But without live audiences, it didn’t make much of a
difference. When we lecture in class, we rely upon our students’ facial
expressions, body language, and other reactions to energize the room. None of
that comes across in a live lecture on Zoom, and you can control the quality of
a lecture much better if you’re recording it.
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Lesson 2: When you record lectures, don’t pretend you’re speaking in
front of a crowd. That’s what the GOP’s Kimberly Guilfoyle seemed to do, in
the most widely ridiculed speech of either convention. Shouting at the top of
her lungs for six ear-shattering minutes, the former Fox News host appeared to
be conjuring the roar of the audience. Try to do that, and you may well end up
a meme. Your students will cancel you (and your class) faster than you can say
“drop-add date.”
Lesson 3: Don’t go to the other extreme and pretend there’s no audience
at all. In a study of contrasts, Guilfoyle’s boyfriend, Donald Trump Jr., was
lethargic, glassy-eyed, and detached. In short, he was boring. The goal, for all
of us, should be somewhere in between: Try to be accessible but not agitated,
connected but not contrived. You don’t need to act like a carnival barker or a
megachurch minister, but you do need to seem like you care. If you don’t,
nobody in your class will, either.
Lesson 4: Try to prerecord other activities, too. One of the most popular
innovations this year was the Democrats’ virtual roll call, including a Rhode
Island party chairman who announced his state’s delegate votes while standing
next to a plate of calamari. Suddenly everyone was chatting on social media
about Rhode Island’s “official appetizer” (yes, it really is) and the chef
displaying the dish, who was clad in a black face mask and a cook’s coat and
cap. By comparison, the Republicans’ “live” roll call from Charlotte was deadly
dull. So if students are presenting to the class, for example, consider asking
them to record their talks beforehand, instead of speaking live. With more time
— and more digital tools at their disposal — they’ll engage “the audience”
better than they would if they were simply talking synchronously on Zoom.
Lesson 5: Vary the stylistic menu. Whether live or recorded, too many
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speakers at both conventions used the same dull format: standing stiffly at a
lectern, eyes straight ahead. (The echoes in the empty auditoriums didn’t help,
either.) Michelle Obama’s speech won plaudits, in part, because it used
multiple camera angles; ditto for Jill Biden’s talk from a school classroom,
which diverged from the dull venues of most other speeches. So try to spice up
your own visuals. Change your speaking position and your backgrounds
(virtual or real) whenever you can. Err on the side of less formal. It will make a
difference.
Lesson 6: Try to build in other surprises, as well. An online class allows
you to control content, pace, and style. But that also means it can descend into
robotic predictability, unless you deviate from the routine now and again. Some
of the most compelling moments at previous conventions were unscripted:
think of Al and Tipper Gore’s kiss in 2000, or Clint Eastwood‘s talking to a chair
in 2012 (I’m not suggesting you do either of those in your virtual class). This
year’s GOP convention added a few unexpected twists, including President’s
Trump’s pardoning of a convicted bank robber and his appearance at a
naturalization ceremony for immigrants. Those moments — whatever you think
about the ethics of using those people without their knowledge as political
props — got people’s attention. Anything that you can do to alter the rhythm of
your own virtual classroom will help to keep your students engaged.
Lesson 7: Use humor — but judiciously. Some of the best television came
on the last day of the Democratic convention, which was hosted by the actress
and comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Even Republicans admitted that they
chuckled at her one-liners about President Trump. (“When Donald Trump
spoke at his inauguration about ‘American carnage,’ I assumed that was
something he was against, not a campaign promise.”) But we can’t all be Julia
Louis-Dreyfus. Her repartee with the former presidential candidate Andrew
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Yang fell flat, because, well, Yang isn’t a professional comic. Odds are, you
aren’t either, so if you’re going to try to be funny, do it in small doses.
Lesson 8: Splice in music, art, and other eye/ear candy. John Legend’s and
Common’s performance of “Glory” — in honor of the late Rep. John Lewis —
stole the show at the Democratic convention. (And I’m not just saying that
because Legend is a Penn grad!) Of course, we can’t all be performers. But
nothing prevents us from breaking up our classes with images, video clips, and
recordings. This much we know: Students would rather look at those things
than at you or me.
Lesson 9: Ask how it’s going. Then ask again. During the conventions, the
airwaves were full of debate about the online format itself. Are we looking at
the future? Or will voters want to return to the old face-to-face ceremonies,
after the coronavirus crisis is over? In education, the students are our voters.
Keep asking them what’s working in your virtual classroom — and what isn’t —
and whether they’d like to come back to the campus classroom once they can.
Lesson 10: Meet informally with your students, when possible. President
Trump accepted the Republican nomination before about 1,500 people on the
South Lawn of the White House, where they mostly ignored the mask and
social-distancing recommendations of his own scientific advisers. But the
Democrats’ postconvention party — in a Wilmington parking lot — showed that
you can still gather safely, even in large numbers. Some colleges are allowing
professors to meet informally with their students, in outdoor settings and other
places, and you should jump at that if you can. Sometimes, there’s just no
substitute for being together.
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If you have questions or concerns about this article, please email the editors or
submit a letter for publication.
TEACHING & LEARNING STUDENT SUCCESS FACULTY LIFE
Jonathan Zimmerman
Jonathan Zimmerman teaches education and history at the University of
Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Amateur Hour: A History of College
Teaching in America, which will be published in the fall by the Johns Hopkins
University Press.
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2020 The Chronicle of Higher Education
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