Social Work Education

The International Journal

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‘I’m going to need a lot of therapy for this

someday:’ Finding your ‘grit’ in graduate school
during COVID

Jill M. Chonody

To cite this article: Jill M. Chonody (2021): ‘I’m going to need a lot of therapy for this
someday:’ Finding your ‘grit’ in graduate school during COVID, Social Work Education, DOI:
10.1080/02615479.2021.1950671

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2021.1950671

Published online: 06 Jul 2021.

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SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION
https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2021.1950671

‘I’m going to need a lot of therapy for this someday:’ Finding

your ‘grit’ in graduate school during COVID
Jill M. Chonody
MSW Program Coordinator, Boise State University, Boise, USA

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Completing a social work graduate degree can be an exciting and Received 1 March 2021
a challenging time for students, but the addition of a global pandemic Accepted 29 June 2021
is likely impacting their educational experiences. Using a modified KEYWORDS
version of Photovoice, a photography-based research methodology, COVID; graduate education;
and reflection essays, this exploratory study sought to elevate the resilience; coping strategies;
voices of graduate students’ (N = 16) perspective on learning during strengths
COVID in an American university. Findings from the qualitative ana­
lyses of the photographs and their captions and the reflective essays
suggested that many students realized their inner strength by perse­
vering when life got very hard. Themes from these analyses were
slightly more positive (i.e. support from others; developing coping
strategies; improved graduate experience) than negative (i.e. lone­
liness; emotional; being sick). Students’ viewpoint on learning during
COVID provides insight into how instructors can develop creative
pedagogies and support students as they persist in their pursuit of
a social work degree.

Introduction
Graduate school represents a time for change and an opportunity for growth and likely
engenders some degree of stress (Trout & Alsandor, 2020). Social work incorporates
unique educational challenges, such as potential field placements with vulnerable popu­
lations and a curriculum that examines social problems (e.g. suicide, sexual abuse), which
may bring up strong emotional responses for students. Additional barriers to graduate
school for some students, including poor academic engagement and disruption of work-
life balance (De Jonge et al., 2020; Kee, 2020; Poppa et al., 2020; Smoyer et al., 2020), have
been exacerbated by the onset of a global pandemic.
COVID-19 certainly caught people off guard, and as they were making plans for their
futures, abrupt and meaningful changes to life and future planning occurred, including
attending graduate school. This study, based in the United States (US), sought to explore
graduate social work students’ learning during the pandemic for both returning students
(i.e. those completing the final year of their two-year Master of Social Work [MSW]
program) and beginning students (i.e. first year students in the two-year MSW program
and advanced standing students who complete their MSW in one year). Photovoice,

CONTACT Jill M. Chonody jillchonody@boisestate.edu MSW Program Coordinator, Boise State University, 1910
University Drive, Boise, Idaho 83725, USA
© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 J. M. CHONODY

a photography-based research methodology, allowed them to capture their experiences

visually, and photograph captioning and a reflective essay allowed them to process their
perspectives and the accompanying pictures through their writing.

Literature review
Photovoice and teaching and learning
Photovoice is a specific approach to research that combines photography with community
based participatory research methods (CBPR; Wang & Burris, 1994, 1997; Wang &
Redwood-Jones, 2001). Community strengths and challenges are often the focus along with
sharing this information with key stakeholders, frequently in an exhibit, to facilitate mezzo or
macro change (Wang & Burris, 1997). Elevating the voice of participants and empowering the
community toward change has added to the benefits of this approach (Catalani & Minkler,
2009), which has been used widely. Photovoice includes the process of picture taking,
captioning and writing about the photographs, and then sharing the images and processing
the content in a small group (Wang & Burris, 1997). The author has experience utilizing
Photovoice as a CBPR methodology with youth in Philadelphia (Chonody et al., 2012, 2013)
and using a modified version as a teaching and learning activity (discussed below; Chonody,
2018).
Photovoice draws from the way in which visual imagery is intertwined with our social
and cultural lives. Photography is a pillar of our daily lives, especially for younger genera­
tions, due to its accessibility on smart phones and the focus of many popular apps, such as
Instagram (Chonody & Amitrani-Welsh, 2014; Chonody, 2018). This form of communica­
tion can be a way to facilitate conversations or relationships (Van Dijck, 2008) and can
touch aspects of human consciousness that are not evoked by words alone (Harper, 2002).
Visual materials can also be processed for meaning, which may generate by new ideas
(Black, 2011). Thus, creative pedagogies can be useful in the classroom (Leavy, 2009),
particularly for a discipline like social work, which seeks to interrogate complex social and
personal issues. Furthermore, the act of taking pictures and then reading them can produce
self-reflection (Chonody & Amitrani-Welsh, 2014; Weiser, 2013), which is at the heart of
social work education.
Photovoice has been used in many different ways pedagogically and in
a multitude of academic disciplines. For example, Black students in South Africa
explored their experience at an institution that was previously ‘white only’ (Cornell
& Kessi, 2017), and in another study, Photovoice was used as a way to connect
students to science (Cook & Quigley, 2013). The Chonody (2018) completed a study
utilizing photography with social work graduate students to examine their ageist
biases. Quantitative and qualitative results of the two-part activity suggested that
this methodology facilitated self-reflection, and attitudinal changes occurred for
most students. Based on this previous study as well as consistently using photo­
graphy for in-class activities (e.g. students interview each other using a picture of
their choice from their phones), this exploratory study was developed to learn more
about social work students’ experiences of learning during COVID.
 SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 3

COVID-19 and higher education

Previous periods of economic recession suggest that student enrollment increases for
some sectors of higher education (Dundar et al., 2011), and universities are certainly
concerned about the impact of COVID on their budgets as students weigh their educa­
tional options (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center [NSCRC], 2020).
Educators are facing significant hurdles in providing engaging content and learning
opportunities during a pandemic where stress levels may be high and demands are
plentiful and competing. Innovation in technology allowed for higher education to
continue teaching and learning activities (Mclaughlin et al., 2020); however, the creation
of ‘quarantine curriculum’ (Ross, 2020) has likely been uneven, and some students may
be feeling as if their education was derailed. Research in this area highlights students’
concerns regarding the effectiveness of online education and lack of face-to-face contact
with their peers (Kee, 2020; Poppa et al., 2020; Smoyer et al., 2020). Issues of technology
accessibility, including the Internet (e.g. Dinh & Nguyen, 2020; Papouli et al., 2020),
instructors who felt unprepared and poorly trained to teach using technology (e.g. Csoba
& Diebel, 2020), and disruption in interpersonal relationships (e.g. Smoyer et al., 2020)
are all probable contributors to variability in students’ educational experiences, particu­
larly at the onset of COVID-19. As a result, educators and administrators are considering
how best to prepare for a social and health crises, such as creating comprehensive policy
that allows the university to pivot, training opportunities for instructors and students on
new technologies, and developing collaborative units within the university to support
and mentor one another.
Individual reactions to social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and the pandemic as
a whole have run the gamut; however, international studies indicate that amongst
students, increased fear, greater substance use, and more mental health symptomatology
are present (Gritsenko et al., 2020; Odriozola-González et al., 2020; Pan, 2020; Yehudai
et al., 2020). In a large study in Greece, 550 mostly undergraduate students indicated that
virtual platforms were used for academics, social needs, and solitary or volunteer
activities (Papouli et al., 2020). These shifts to digital and virtual experiences are
indicative of the optimism students took toward finding new ways to meet their various
needs and their ability to ‘look on the bright side’ (Papouli et al., 2020, p. 1112).
Studies conducted in the US also point to fear and stress. One such study found that
graduate students (n = 212) compared to undergraduate students (n = 134) were less
likely to look forward to returning to campus, perceive themselves as high risk, and prefer
online coursework (Ebell et al., 2020). In another, smaller study of graduate students
(N = 32), 55% expressed high degrees of stress in March as the pandemic shocked
Americans and altered regular routines, but by April, only 40% still indicated this level
of stress (Trout & Alsandor, 2020). Moreover, some students indicated that class time
was a needed break from the social strife that was occurring in the US (e.g. murder of
George Floyd, protests), and the ‘stress from being at home’ (Trout & Alsandor, 2020,
p. 153). Finally, in a qualitative study of graduate students’ (N = 7) perceptions of the
pandemic, five themes emerged from their reflective writings: acceptance of online
learning; management of disappointment; experience of loss of power and control;
anxiety and fear; and coping strategies and relief (Kee, 2020). These student focused
studies on the emotional reactions experienced as a result of COVID are similar to
4 J. M. CHONODY

community-based studies, which have found that younger people were lonelier and more
socially isolated than other age groups (Teater et al., 2021) and had higher stress levels
pre-COVID and during-COVID (Chonody et al., under review).

Social work student studies

At the time of this writing, five student studies specific to social work were identified, and
two of those studies utilized Photovoice as their methodology. In a study of under­
graduate social work students (N = 186) in Vietnam, findings suggested that students did
not struggle with transitioning to online education, but Internet quality was an issue,
such as being ‘kicked out,’ unable to log on, and unable to hear the lecture (Dinh &
Nguyen, 2020). In addition, students identified positive aspects of virtual learning like
convenience and flexibility. In a study in the Netherlands, the impact of the pandemic on
undergraduate students’ experience (N = 10), with six of these participants from social
work, was examined (De Jonge et al., 2020). Findings indicated that both the motivation
to study as well as the process for learning was significantly impacted by COVID.
Students were frustrated by being at home all the time, felt disconnected from others,
and developed some insecurity in meeting the demands of higher education. Lastly, in
a study of undergraduate social work students (N = 122) in the US, some participants
indicated a dislike of online learning and difficulties with conceptual retention (Smoyer
et al., 2020). Yet, others preferred the online format for its flexibility in completing
assignments. Qualitative results from this study pointed to the negative repercussions
associated with lack of contact with instructors and classmates, which included the
inability to ask questions in the moment of their instructors, lack of in-class activities,
and low opportunity for engagement with others (Smoyer et al., 2020). To the author’s
knowledge, this is the only social work specific study in the US, and no studies of social
work graduate students’ experiences during COVID were identified nationally or
internationally.
Two international studies with social work students that also utilized Photovoice were
identified, and a large, ongoing, non-social work specific student study at Cal State, Long
Beach, USA, which is included here due to its overlap with the current study. First,
a study in Turkey examined the facilitators and barriers to online education, which were
primarily situated around technology, the Internet, and communication in both
strengths and challenges (Doyumğaç et al., 2020). That is, effective teaching and learning
hinged on access to adequate technology (e.g. computers, tablets) and good quality
Internet, equitable opportunity, and clear communication. The second social work,
Photovoice study focused on the real-time lived experience of Israeli students in their
internships (Malka, 2021). Four themes emerged from the data: challenges associated
with the pandemic; conceptualization of their experience; coping skills; and outlook on
the future. Students highlighted the ways in which social workers (and students) are
managing their own emotions while also supporting others; the pandemic was no
different in that way. However, the use of reflection to create a way to conceptualize
their experience along with developing new coping mechanisms were important ele­
ments that also shaped the way that they were thinking of their future professional selves
(Malka, 2021). Finally, the Cal State study is implementing Photovoice to encourage
students to document their experiences with COVID (Holland, 2020). These data have
 SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 5

not been coded yet, but some of the work is featured on the university’s art museum
website (see: https://www.csulb.edu/carolyn-campagna-kleefeld-contemporary-art-
museum/students-respond-to-covid-19-photovoice-project) and in an article written
about the project (Holland, 2020).

Current study
This exploratory study examines graduate social work students’ experience of attending
graduate school during the pandemic. Building on the substantive literature and the
author’s previous experience with Photovoice (Chonody et al., 2012, 2013) and a study of
a photo-based activity developed for another course (Chonody, 2018), a Photovoice-type
activity was developed to garner students’ perspectives on learning during COVID.
Specifically, this activity combined photography with self-reflection. Students were
asked to take photographs over a two-week time period documenting their experiences
in graduate school. Appendix A has the full description of the activity. Once this portion
of the activity was complete, students were asked to write a reflection paper and chose 10
photographs to include with their paper. Prompts were provided to provide structure to
the paper’s content (see Appendix A), and students were asked to caption their photo­
graphs. These materials were then uploaded into a secure Google folder that was held by
another instructor until grades were completed. This instructor provided the author a list
of participants so that extra credit could be applied.
To ensure that students did not feel compelled to participate in the study, but still had
an opportunity to earn extra credit, an alternate activity was developed. For this activity,
students were asked to research how the pandemic has impacted social work practice,
including the particular challenges that it has created for clients and social work practi­
tioners. In addition, they were asked to consider the future of social work practice. That
is, how might social work change in light of COVID. All of the details about this activity
can also be found in Appendix A. However, none of the students participated in the
alternative activity.

Method
Data collection
Data were collected from master’s students in social work enrolled at Boise State
University at the end of the fall semester in 2020. Only students enrolled in the author’s
courses were offered the opportunity to participate in the study, and extra credit was
awarded for their participation. The author was teaching one course (Foundation of
Practice) in the first semester of the full program (i.e. two year), and another course
(Assessment of Mental Disorders) in the first semester of the second year of the program
(i.e. returning full program students and advanced standing students). In the full
program, 22 students were enrolled, and in the advanced year, 23 were enrolled in the
author’s section. They were briefed about the study during a regular (online) class
meeting, and the study details were posted to their online learning management system,
which included the letter of consent and how participants’ identities would be protected.
Approximately 23 advanced students in the MSW program were excluded from study
6 J. M. CHONODY

participation because they were not in enrolled in the author’s course. Prior to data
collection, ethical approval was acquired from the Institutional Review Board. Student
names and identifying photographs were excluded from the manuscript to protect their
identity as well as any specific details that could reveal the student’s identity (e.g. age,
race/ethnicity, living arrangements).

Data analysis
Data consisted of the photographs and their captions and the reflection paper each
student wrote. The photographs were analyzed in the context of the captions and the
reflection paper to determine what links could be made between these two sets of data.
Photographic content was examined for patterns and within the overall content from
the paper. This approach to reading the photographs supports the theory that photo
documentation provides the photographer an opportunity to illustrate key ideas and
issues as she/he sees them (Allen, 2012), and the content of the photograph reflects
participants’ beliefs and feelings (Weiser, 2004). Given that photography can be used to
represent abstract concepts, analyses of the photographs and their accompanying
captions provides insight into the student’s perspective. In addition, the use of open-
ended questions in the activity support the expression of thoughts and emotions
associated with the photograph (Stevens & Spears, 2009). Thus, analyses sought to
capture and elevate students’ voices, while providing some thematic representation
across the data to inform pedagogy.
Utilizing conventional content analysis (Lune & Berg, 2017), photographs, captions, and
reflection papers were examined. This approach seeks to interpret meaning from the data
by developing themes directly from the content of the data rather than beginning with
a theory (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). This analysis is appropriately used when describing
a phenomenon, particularly if there is limited information on it (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005).
The data were read once all the way through and some general notes and observations on
potential patterns were kept. That is, the photographs and captions for one student were
analyzed together to generate a set of groupings. Then, the reflection paper for the same
student was read, and general impressions were recorded. Next, all of the data were read
again, and preliminary categories were created. Analyzing the manifest content generated
initial themes, which were then reviewed for content overlap. Themes and categories
emerged directly from the data, which is consistent with conventional content analysis
(Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). Once thematic groupings were created, data were read for a third
time and coded using the thematic codebook. To ensure consistency in the categorizations,
data were read a final time, and the themes were further refined to ensure representation of
the content. Immersion in the data was facilitated by this iterative process and allowed for
greater comprehension of the content.

Results
Sample
Of the 45 students who were given the opportunity to participate in this study, 16
completed the activity. The breakdown of student status in the program was nearly
 SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 7

evenly divided. That is, six first-year full program students, six second-year full program
students, and four advanced standing students participated in this study.
Sociodemographic data were not collected individually on students to protect their
anonymity. Based on the author’s knowledge and the submissions, all of the students
were women and ranged in age from approximately 21 to 35.

Photographic content
Of the 153 photographs that were submitted across the sample, most fell into in just five
categories: pictures of computers/Zoom screen, selfies, family/friends, COVID related
pictures (e.g. masks, social distancing signs, test results), and pets. Some photographs
incorporated two of these themes, such as a selfie with personal protective equipment
(PPE) or a selfie whereby the participant was crying or in a state of distress related to
COVID sickness or stress. Interestingly, students who had more photographs of com­
puters/zoom screens in general also had more negative self-reflections compared to those
students with fewer computer photographs. The students with more positive self-
reflections tended to have more pictures of family, pets, and friends.

Thematic results
Themes were grouped by negative (n = 96) and positive (n = 101) responses to learning
during COVID. Negative responses were captured in four themes: ‘I’m on an island;’
‘whirlwind of emotions;’ being sick; and ‘I didn’t get the full learning experience.’ The
theme of ‘I’m on an island’ is so named for a direct student quote and is reflective of what
many have felt during the pandemic; that is, lonely. Many of the students wrote about
their need for other people, including their classmates and professors. For some, living
alone made the pandemic even more challenging in terms of both social needs and
physical ones. One student’s reflection exemplifies how hard it has been:
I am a social, extroverted individual . . . it has been difficult for me to feel so disconnected
from the community. I am grateful for video chat, but it is not nearly the same as getting
together with a good friend over coffee.

Use of apps (e.g. Slack, Marco Polo) and live video chat (e.g. FaceTime, Zoom) was
frequently mentioned as ways to keep in touch and help alleviate the loneliness, but as the
student above mentioned, something is still missing. Another student, like a number of
others, spoke to the isolation by simply stating, ‘I have been a lot lonelier in this past
semester as it is not as easy for me to reach out to my classmates when I don’t see them
regularly.’ The absence of contact is reflected in Photograph 1, which shows an empty
campus in the middle of the day.
The second theme of ‘whirlwind of emotions’ is also a direct quote from a student’s
reflection paper. Interestingly, some of the selfies for students who discussed feeling ‘emo­
tionally turbulent’ or ‘fragile’ were of themselves crying, and their self-reflection papers were
wrought with sadness, anxiety, and fear. One student described her tearful selfie as such:
[This photograph is] a perfect picture of my daily emotional state. My reality of being burnt-
out, anxious, stressed out, and overwhelmed was constant throughout the entire semester.
I was upset because I did not sign up for graduate school to be online, and I never would
8 J. M. CHONODY

Photograph 1. Empty campus.

have guessed that our nation would be trying to survive a pandemic, but here I am now,
thankful for this experience. This semester was my first experience of feeling anxiety and my
first ever panic attack.

Photograph 2 illustrates the struggles of this time period and the anxiety that was
generated for some of the students. The confusion of suddenly trying to navigate
a pandemic, complete coursework, attend a field placement, and be present for their
relationships with family and friends left some students reeling. One student described
the experience like this:

For me, it felt like a roller coaster ride I never asked to go on, that would not stop to let me
off. Navigating this new normal for me was a challenge; I like to have choices; with COVID,
my options were stripped from me, which was tough. The pandemic happened so fast, so
there was no real time to process what was going on. I feel like we were in school, then
suddenly, it was online. Everyone had to adjust to the new normal, which was a struggle for
professors and students.

The title of the paper was drawn directly from a student’s title for the reflection paper
—‘I’m going to need a lot of therapy for this one day.’ While her reflection was one of the
 SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 9

Photograph 2. Moment when I felt overwhelmed and struggling with anxiety. I probably sat like this
for about forty five minutes unable to move.

Photograph 3. This is after I tested positive for COVID-19 and I kept reading this page over and over
again. Maybe I had a false positive because everyone who I got sick tested negative.

most positive ones submitted in terms of learning during COVID, this statement speaks
to the complicated nature of living and trying to thrive during a pandemic.
Being sick was the third theme for the negative responses from students’ reflections.
Several students who participated in this study tested positive for COVID during the
10 J. M. CHONODY

Photograph 4. Zoom has been my main form of interaction with my professors and classmates.

semester, and others were tested due to similar symptomatology, but then tested nega­
tive. Photograph 3 shows one of the positive test results although negative test results
were also captured by the students. One student who got very sick during the semester,
but did not have COVID, wrote, ‘Everyone was “scared” of me . . . I was left to take care of
myself.’ For another student with a chronic health condition, she also felt stigma. ‘Every
time I cough in public, people look at me.’ Finding a way forward for what used to be
considered a routine was suddenly much harder. In addition, for a student who got
COVID during the semester, the physical and emotional consequences took a toll. She
wrote:
 SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 11

Photograph 5. Dinner and a cohort chat.

Photograph 6. Our resident emotional support animal . . . As much as she loves all the time we spend
with her during periods of quarantine, it likely exhausts her to feel all our emotions.

COVID for me felt like I was paralyzed from doing anything. Looking at screens was
incredibly painful as the headaches were ragers; I lost ten pounds from the inability to eat
for two weeks; and the only comfort I got was when I was sleeping. I felt like a failure.

The final theme for the negative responses was ‘I didn’t get the full learning experience.’
Many students discussed their dissatisfaction with online learning and how they did not
feel like they got the education that they wanted despite paying a lot of money for it. One
12 J. M. CHONODY

Photograph 7. The cake I made that with M. [classmate] for K’s [classmate] birthday. It reminds me
how I have friends that turned into family.

simply described it as ‘awful.’ Another student’s response was quintessential for this
theme:

The most awkward and difficult part of online school is online courses and Zoom meetings.
It is painfully awkward to press the unmute button to either ask a question or participate in
discussion. I was talkative and interactive in in-person courses and now I am a lot less
engaged. I get distracted a lot more easily and have a difficult time sitting at home all day.

Several students also spoke to the lack of engagement that they felt with online learning.
Photograph 4 captures a common picture in this study, and this student’s reflection
illustrates those feelings:

I feel that I have lost the connections I had with peers and professors and the corresponding
learning that comes from the in-person class environment. I find it excruciatingly difficult to
sit through and more importantly remain present for the duration of zoom classes. Despite
a professor’s best efforts, this feeling of disengagement has led me to multitask during class.

A larger number of the essays were either positive overall in their content or balanced
between the negative and positive aspects of graduate school during COVID. Positive
 SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 13

Photograph 8. A typical day in my ‘office’.

responses were represented in three themes: finding ‘grit’ and coping strategies; support of
family, friends, classmates, professors, and pets; and how COVID improved the graduate
experience. The theme of finding ‘grit’ and coping strategies is taken in part from the
sentiment of one student who stated, ‘Throughout this experience, I have gained a lot of
grit and discovered new avenues to cope.’ A number of students reflected on their
realization that they had the capacity to overcome the complexity of the COVID and
school, and further stated that had it not been for the pandemic, they would not have
known this about themselves. One student’s writing reflects this theme:
14 J. M. CHONODY

Being in graduate school during COVID has been the hardest thing I have faced in my
educational career. Academically, I did not know if I would survive the semester, but here
I am today, saying I can do it! . . . School was very hard, but now I know that I have the
capacity to do hard things.

Resilience and perseverance were hallmark in the reflections as were the development of
new coping strategies. For example, Photograph 5 and its accompanying caption exem­
plify how one student found a way to connect with her classmates and reaffirm her
gratitude. Other personal strategies and coping skills included exercising, working in new
spaces (e.g. coffee shops), Zoom church, social distance catch-ups with friends, taking
a drive, hikes, and music. Another student addressed this from multiple angles and
indicated that she was ‘reconnecting’ with herself, finding new hobbies, reconnecting
with people that she had not talked to, and researching different topics. She concluded by
writing, ‘[COVID] has shifted my focus into finding joy and expressing gratitude more
than I did prior.’
Nearly all of the students explored the support that they are receiving from family,
friends, classmates, professors, and/or pets. One student wrote: ‘Franklin [dog] is thrilled
to have me home all day!’ Photograph 6 shows this special relationship between a student
and her dog and the caption reflects how she receives support from him. The friendships
formed in the program also had a prominent place in the reflection papers, and
Photograph 7 demonstrates the ways in which the students rely on each other and
have developed close bonds. This particular student hits on many of these resources
when she writes:

Within the first couple of months, I truly felt as though I had met people who will be some of
my forever friends. I find the support of my classmates and teachers to be the greatest
support. All of my professors have been so understanding of the additional stress we are
under, and have been so flexible with deadlines if we are feeling overwhelmed and/or sick.
Generally, I have found a lot of support in everyone in my life’s ability to give grace and be
flexible with others, which has contributed greatly to my sense of well-being during this
time.

The final positive theme encapsulated the ways in which COVID improved the
graduate experience. The most common benefits that students mentioned were financial
(e.g. save on gas money, parking tags), but some also discussed intellectual benefits (e.g.
new tech savvy). One student incorporated both of these benefits:

In terms of my learning, I must admit, the pandemic has actually worked to my benefit.
First, without commuting to and from campus and the distraction of hanging around
campus with friends, I have had more time to sit down, focus, and complete assignments
systematically. Additionally, with all the information and resources online, I am able to
conceptualize the material more easily.

Additionally, one student spoke to another convenience—‘the ability to attend class

without pants on or in pajamas.’ Photograph 8 shows one of the perks of completing
class from home. The ability to see the bright side of COVID and how it improved their
lives in some ways showcases the flexibility of these students as well as their optimism.
 SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Discussion
Findings from this study add to the growing body of literature on how university students
are coping with COVID and the impacts that it is having on their learning. Themes found
here are reflective of some previous findings, which pointed to increased fear and mental
health symptomatology in students (Gritsenko et al., 2020; Kee, 2020; Odriozola-
González et al., 2020; Pan, 2020; Yehudai et al., 2020). That is, students in this study
explored their anxiety and stress related to COVID (i.e. ‘whirlwind of emotion’) and the
changes that the pandemic caused to their graduate experience as well as their personal
lives. Anxiety, tearfulness, stress, fear, and uncertainty were amongst the emotions that
students expressed. Fear about contracting COVID was present in only a few of the
essays, and for a few others, being sick either with COVID or something else had an
impact on their learning and caused fear, stigma, and greater isolation. These findings
suggest that pedagogy on self-care could be incorporated into course curriculum to
expose students to new strategies for coping with high emotional states. For example,
students could create a self-care plan of action as part of a practice course, and then in
a research course, they could implement one or two elements and measure change as
a single-system design activity. These activities would provide an avenue for personal and
professional learning that has a direct application.
Students’ responses to virtual education were in part represented in the theme of
‘management of disappointment’ found in Kee’s (2020) study. Some of the students in
the current study expressed disappointment about graduation (i.e. undergraduate)
being cancelled and being in an online graduate program when they signed up for
a face-to-face one. Relatedly, disengagement due to the virtual platform combined with
staying at home left some students feeling their education was short changed, while
others appreciated the flexibility and the money that they saved not going to campus.
As Smoyer et al. (2020) concluded, there are ‘outliers on both ends who either abhorred
or embraced the online classroom,’ which may apply here, too (p. 653). On the other
hand, quite a lot of positivity was found in the students’ writings. Even for those
students who were anxious or emotional, many also expressed gratitude for their
experience and wrote about their newly found inner strength or ‘grit.’ Whether they
developed new coping strategies or relied on technology to meet their needs, students
demonstrated the ways that they were moving through this experience and not getting
stuck. These reflections were touching in their content as students wrote about their
lives in vulnerable ways, and yet in the end, they found that they were capable of ‘doing
hard things,’ which is a powerful life lesson.
Unsurprisingly, students spoke of the loneliness that they felt, which has been estab­
lished in the COVID substantive literature (e.g. Teater, 2021). The isolating nature of
online learning, and for many students also an online internship, combined with the lack
of socializing with friends and family left many students feeling like they were ‘out on an
island.’ Again, most had positive ways that they met this challenge, such as meeting at
a coffee shop with masks and social distancing, virtual happy hours with classmates,
attending Zoom yoga, and FaceTime with loved ones. These findings are reflective of
Papouli et al. (2020) results, which suggested that students were focused on the ‘bright
side’ of COVID by using digital technology to meet social and emotional needs. Problem
solving and flexibility of coping strategies are important skills for navigating the bumps
16 J. M. CHONODY

in life, but also as a professional social worker, these are extremely useful skills. These
findings speak to the creativity of students to find innovative methods to alleviate lone­
liness and/or social isolation, which suggests that advancing curriculum that challenges
students to be creative in their problem solving, including innovative ways to utilize
technology, can be of additive value to traditional educational techniques. For example,
students could be given an assignment whereby they explore the meetup app, which is an
international app and website (meetup.org) that seeks to link people with similar
activities and interests (e.g. running, photography, reading) for the development of
new friendships. As part of the assignment, they could be asked to identify one group
that they might interested in and then task them with developing their ideal meetup
group. Students may seek out a group or actually develop a group based on their exposure
to this activity, which in turn could help build community connections and help alleviate
social isolation or loneliness.
Likewise, students lamented on their lack of contact with their professors and classmates,
which was also found in previous studies (De Jonge et al., 2020; Poppa et al., 2020; Smoyer et al.,
2020). Instructors had limited options to create those connections given stay-at-home orders,
particularly for newly, incoming students. Given the disengagement that many feel while on
Zoom, other strategies to mitigate this issue are necessary. For example, the author set up a ‘speed
dating’ event in the park prior to fall classes so that students could get to know each other while
also being mindful of social distancing. Students were given different lists of ‘ice breaker’ type
questions (e.g. Who would play you in a movie? What type of movie would it be?), and they took
turns asking a question with one other person, and then they all switched. Even after all the
students had met (~ 2 hours), they stayed to continue chatting. The author also helped students
create social media accounts with one another prior to the start of class by asking a student to take
the lead and invite others. Anecdotally, these strategies contributed to the students having an
opportunity to recreate the connections of a regular cohort, and perhaps the pandemic will
actually create greater closeness within these groups as evidenced by one student’s comment that
she felt like she had met her ‘forever friends.’ The results highlighted that students wanted that
greater connection with their professors, and perhaps the disconnect that they felt could be
partially alleviated through the use of technology. For example, the app Slack could be used to
create a group chat amongst students and the professor to facilitate group discussion about the
course, its concepts, and the assignments. This may help students feel like they have greater access
and connection to both their instructor as well as their classmates.
Additionally, the photographs in this study had overlaps with Malka’s (2021) findings.
In particular, themes related to the challenges of the pandemic and the coping strategies
that were employed. Students in this study captured these challenges through a plethora
of computer and Zoom images, emotional selfies, PPE selfies, social distancing signs, and
empty places (e.g. campus). Yet like Malka’s (2021) results, students’ coping strategies
were also on full display in their pictures of dogs, cats, friends, babies, partners, class­
mates, exercising, and doing hobbies. Viewing the photographs and their captions within
the context of the students’ essays allowed for a deeper understanding of their experi­
ences. While the future remains uncertain, even with a renewed sense of optimism that
appears to be blooming with the rollout of the vaccine, instructors may need to pivot
again due to returned COVID restrictions. By elevating the voices of students, instructors
can think about how their needs can shape potential shifts to teaching and learning
activities. To elevate the students’ voices and tap into what they are experiencing, a short
 SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

video reflection could be used as a check-in whereby each student identifies one challenge
and one strength for the week. The instructor could then circle back after watching these
and validate these feelings and make suggestions for course changes or resources for
additional support.
Lastly, the current study also adds to the substantive literature base on teaching and learning
methods that incorporate photographic activities. Specifically, Photovoice provides unique
insight into how students were experiencing graduate school during a global pandemic. The
use of visual representations and self-reflection integrated into the methodology captured
students’ perspectives from multiple angles and added to the way in which their viewpoint
can be understood. Photovoice, or an adaptation of it, can be an engaging way to interact in the
physical classroom or the virtual one. Depending on how it is used, students may also use the
method in their work with clients. For example, the author uses photography to teach mind­
fulness. In this activity, students are asked to be mindful for one day of what they are grateful
for in their lives. They then send their five favorite pictures to the author who then creates an
anonymous slide show, which we then silently watch together as a group. Students write a short
reflection on the activity and often speak to the powerfulness of the structure and how this
could be something that they might use with a client. Future research should seek to study
creative pedagogies and offer further methods of engagement for teaching and learning that
move beyond the traditional ‘sage on the stage’ type model of instruction.

Implications for virtual learning

To be effective in virtual classrooms, educators need greater training and resources in
technology (Kee, 2020). Universities will need to invest in educating instructors on
evidence-based practices in virtual learning and how to create online courses that
students want to take. This will require a financial investment for trainers, books,
ongoing education, and additional resources. Quality and accessibility to the Internet
at home for both instructors and students is also an issue (Onalu et al., 2020; Papouli
et al., 2020), and some students in the current study also pointed to the difficulties of
‘stable’ connections due to the sheer number of people in their household who were all
online at once. Without access, pedagogy is a moot point, and instructors should be
mindful of this problem and help students find alternatives if possible.
To increase instructors’ confidence in virtual teaching, collaboration and facilitating
excitement about technology may be beneficial (Archer-Kuhn et al., 2020). Sharing ideas,
resources, and failures provides support to instructors as they meet the challenges of
transforming themselves into online instructors. Inspiring instructors to ‘think outside
the box’ is necessary as social work curriculum is ultimately in need of greater innova­
tion, such as interactive human simulation (Smoyer et al., 2020), and field education that
offers a wider variety of learning experiences. Creative pedagogies, innovative activities,
and flexible learning can contribute to better student experiences in that learning is
facilitated through greater engagement. For example, recently published manuscripts
showcase some novel approaches, such as an academic-led field placement focused on
applied research and its role in social work as a way to create social change (Morley &
Clarke, 2020) or a student-developed learning project that connected community mem­
bers in need of social connection with a student (Morris et al., 2020).
18 J. M. CHONODY

Engagement is central for deeper learning, and something the students felt was lacking
in a Zoom setting; however, increased use of creativity may generate greater student
engagement by challenging them to think in new ways through varying methods. In part
this may be realized in experiential learning activities aimed at skill building and
application of course content. While this can be more readily achieved in the classroom
through small groups, in an online setting, breakout rooms can be used. For example,
three students can be assigned to a breakout room, and one student interviews another
student while the third student observes the process. The observer then provides feed­
back to the interviewer, and the process is repeated until everyone has served in each role.
The instructor can also join the rooms to provide additional observation and support to
the students; thus, creating greater connection between the students as well as with the
instructor. Students could even use a photograph as a way to facilitate the interview
whereby the interviewee chooses a picture and shares it. As the interviewer reads the
photographs and asks questions, the interview commences.
Another way that engagement might be increased is through the use of art. That is,
mindfulness can be taught by showing a piece of art on a shared screen and asking students
to go into the image (e.g. What do you see? How does the picture make you feel? If you were
there, what would you hear?). Following the viewing of the artwork, greater self-reflection can
be achieved through a short one-minute paper or in small groups, which adds some greater
integration of their experience and how they grounded themselves in the work. Relatedly,
students could be asked to ‘show me’ the concept. For example, the instructor could task
students with showing the class what intersectionality looks like. The students could use video,
photography, artwork, drawing, music, dance, or something else entirely. Then as a group, the
media can be deconstructed and course content could be woven into the discussion. These
types of application tap into different modalities of thinking, learning, and reflecting, which
may create engagement and connection to the course content.
Nonetheless, the push and pull of teaching and learning through online platforms can
leave educators and students alike feeling unbalanced. Additional emotional support for
students is likely needed (Kee, 2020) as many students are trying to juggle caretaking,
employment, childcare, partnerships, and graduate school (e.g. De Jonge et al., 2020).
Counseling centers on campus may be one resource for students, but instructors who
provide space during class time for students to express their concerns and elicit support
from others may be another aspect of this (Trout & Alsandor, 2020). Check-ins at the
beginning of class, including the use of ice-breakers, ‘happy hour’ drop-in sessions, or
‘brown bag’ talks may also help facilitate connection and support. Moreover, transparent
and regular communication with students can help reduce stress and feelings of uncer­
tainty caused the pandemic (De Jonge et al., 2020) and support students in planning their
educational requirements more effectively. Learning management systems can be utilized
for communication, including COVID updates, job opportunities, free trainings, words
of encouragement, reminders, and good news from the school or the university.

Limitations
The findings from this study should be considered within the context of its limitations.
First, findings are based on a small, convenience sample from one university; thus, they
are not representative of students’ experiences and perspectives on graduate school
 SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

during the pandemic. Nonetheless, the range of emotions and the resilience found
amongst this sample provides some interesting insights into what students may have
been experiencing as they tried to learn and live their lives during a complicated time
period. Second, and relatedly, students self-selected for participation. While 35% of all
the author’s students elected to be part of the study, 65% did not. Therefore, those that
participated may have been different from the other students in significant ways. Perhaps
participants were more on the ends of the emotional continuum. That is, they were
emotionally impacted in key ways or they felt pretty resilient in their efforts given that the
data did not reflect a more middling ground in reactions. Third, the depth of information
was limited due to the written nature of the reflection; thus, internal differences of the
participants may not have been fully captured. Similarly, the element of time is important
as their feelings and perspective may have changed over time. Fourth, the extent to which
photovoice and this activity in particular could capture students’ feelings and their state
of mind may be limited in that some degree of impression management may have
occurred in completing these activities. Use of interviews or focus groups may have
expanded the information and provided a closer look at student experiences as well as
what needs may have been met by the school as well as how this likely shifted over time.
Future research may seek to replicate this study, but expand the data collection methods
to gain greater depth of knowledge.

Conclusion
Supporting graduate students as they face significant challenges is nothing new for social
work; however, this past year, social work educators have encountered a different type of
barrier in that all of the students (as well as the instructors themselves) were negotiating
unprecedented times. Being present for students and allowing for grace as they face the
stress and difficulties of graduate school, social work education and training, and cope with
the pandemic can support their journey. Using innovative teaching and learning activities,
utilizing technology, and creating something fun for students that addresses pedagogical
objectives can help them build their reflective skills and recognize their strengths.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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 SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 23

Appendix A
Description of Activity for Research

● If you decide to participate in this activity, you will have two tasks to complete over the next
three weeks. First, you will take photographs using your phone or your camera that reflect your
experience of graduate school during COVID-19. I would like you to participate in this part of
the activity for about two weeks so that you have a nice collection of potential images to share.
● Second, once you’ve completed your picture taking, you will write a reflection paper to
accompany them. You will chose 10 photographs that best reflect your experience of graduate
school during COVID. I invite you to create captions for them. Using these 10 photographs and
your personal perspective (please use first person for the paper), write a 3-page paper that
addresses the following:
○ Briefly describe the photographs and their meaning to you.
○ Tell me about your experience with COVID while going to graduate school.
○ How did COVID affect your learning and/your experience with graduate school?
○ What helped during this time?
○ What were your challenges during this time?
○ What was an unexpected positive? Negative?
You may include other reflections as they emerge for you.
● Your photographs and reflection paper will be uploaded into the Google folder that was created
by Dr. X. You will receive an invitation to this folder where you will create a subfolder with your
name and the course number. Dr. X will send me a list of participants toward the end of the
semester so that I can award 10 extra credit points for the course.
● Dr. X will give me access to the Google folder with your documents after grades are completed.

Alternate Activity

If you do not want to participate in my study of students’ learning experience during COVID, but
would like to earn extra credit, you can complete an alternate activity. You will need to:

● Explore the ways in which the pandemic has impacted the practice of social work.
● Using online resources as well as peer-reviewed literature, discuss the ways the challenges that
COVID created for social work practitioners and their clients and how the field sought to
overcome these challenges.
● Reflect on this information in the final two paragraphs and consider what the future of social
work practice might look like.
● This paper should 5 pages in length and include at least 5 references.
● You will receive an invitation to this folder where you will create a subfolder with your name
and the course number (re: Last name_503). Dr. X will send me a screenshot toward the end of
the semester so that I can award 10 extra credit points for the course.
● Dr. X will give me access to the Google folder with your documents after grades are completed.