The COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented public health emergency, challenged higher education and threatened students’ well-being in several ways. With the abrupt shift to online learning, were instructors able to maintain a focus on educating whole students, in addition to teaching subject matter? We answer this question by investigating “formative education,” an approach to teaching and learning that emphasizes holistic development, exploring formative education online during the pandemic. This qualitative study investigates the strategies of 37 college faculty who provided successful formative education online. A cross-subject analysis of data from faculty interviews and supplemental materials (course artifacts, course evaluations, student interviews) uncovered three teaching approaches that faculty used to achieve formative education online: empathic (centering students’ emotions), reflective (facilitating deep inquiry), and adaptive (having flexibility in meeting students’ needs). These approaches could help instructors design online education that engages the whole person.

COVID-19大流行是史无前例的公共卫生突发事件，它以多种方式挑战了高等教育并威胁着学生的福祉。随着向在线学习的突然转变，教师除了教授主题以外，还能集中精力对整个学生进行教育吗？我们通过调查“基础教育”（一种强调整体发展的教学方法），在大流行期间在线探索形成性教育来回答这个问题。这项定性研究调查了37位在线提供成功的形成性教育的大学教师的策略。对来自教师访谈和补充材料（课程工件，课程评估，学生访谈）的数据进行的跨学科分析发现了教师用于在线实现形成性教育的三种教学方法：善解人意（使学生的情绪居中），反思（促进深入的探究）和适应性（具有满足学生需求的灵活性）。这些方法可以帮助讲师设计吸引整个人的在线教育。