An action research plan on online teaching and learning practices.
Abstract
As an education student, I realized the lectures that was online based had problems and challenges that needed urgent solutions. This paper focuses on the nature of online teaching and student learning. The paper elaborate how students encounter technical difficulties, how understanding and consuming bulky lessons can be challenging, if students preferred face-to-face lectures rather than blended learning. In the collection of data, surveys had to be conducted. Questionnaires and interviews where going to be used to gather information on the challenges that were related to online teaching and learning. Despite the use of the qualitative method or design to collect data, the quantitative approach, which was going to be introduced to be able to derive data from the performance of students after the online learning and teaching practices. Data analysis of the research was intended to answer the research questions and objectives and sought to provide solutions from the evaluation in order to improve upon the problems online teaching and learning practices generates.
Keywords: online teaching, online learning, asynchronous learning, technical difficulties, face-to-face learning, traditional classrooms,
Background
Some years back, brick classroom was the only means where teaching and learning could take place. The traditional classroom was used for most teaching and learning practices. The classroom had teaching and learning materials, posters and other equipment that was used to facilitates teaching and learning. Student were present in the classroom with a teacher who was bound to impact on the students. Face-to-face lectures has been in a existence for a very long time. It has to do with the teaching, assessing and impacting of knowledge with physical proximity until the evolution of the world had to introduce technology and then giving birth to online teaching and learning. Today because of the outbreak of COVID-19, the implementation of online teaching and learning has being effective more than face-to-face lectures.
Online teaching refers to teaching that takes place over the internet. Online learning is referred to as E-learning. However online teaching and learning is referred to one part of distance. Distance learning generally referring to the learning that doesn’t take place in a traditional classroom but across internet. Online learning is internet based and the courses are offered synchronously and/or asynchronously.
The advent of the World-Wide Web (WWW) in 1991 was a powerful catalyst for moving distance education forward, and a milestone in the rapid expansion and growth of online teaching and learning. Maloney-Krichmar and Abras (2003) stated that WWW “facilitated the wide spread use of web site and development for online community groups supported by the web pages and various forms of communication software” (p.4). since then, colleges and universities both in the United States and around the world have offered not only just online courses but entire degree programs online as well (Wallace, 2003).
Introduction
As the world evolved, the introduction of technology has led to the use of online means in the teaching and learning process. Face-to-face lectures has now minimized after the outbreak of COVID- 19. Recently the use of the internet to teach and learn has been the norm. The increasing rate of using online teaching and learning is now common, institutions all over the world and many higher educational institutions are now offering fully online courses combining online instructions with face-to-face teaching. Statistics done by the Pew Research Center (2011) show that in 2010-2011 academic year, 89 percent of four-year colleges and universities offered courses taught fully online, or hybrid/blended online, or other forms of distance/non-face-to-face instruction (Parker, Lenhart, &Moore, 2011). Of all students who enrolled in higher education in 2013, 32 percent took at least one online course (Allen & Seamen, 2013). Online teaching and learning seeks to provide the same knowledge that is been impacted on student during a face-to-face lecture. The have been several debate as to face-to-face lectures been more beneficial than online teaching and learning. There are many positive outcomes of online teaching and learning and the same applies to face-to-face lectures. The study however is not to research on these aforementioned characteristics of online teaching and learning or face-to-face, but to generate findings on the challenges the online teaching and learning practice has given rise to.
Problem statement
Despite the practices of the internet in the teaching and learning process, it has given rise to some challenges. These challenges such as difficult to grasp bulky lessons, difficulties to learn due to lack of physical proximity, difficulties to be able to finish assignment that were given in bulk, course alignment issues, internet technical difficulties, understanding becoming a problem, and more. Technology which seeks to make man’s work easier and faster also breeds negative results and as a means to understand and look at these challenges, research are been conducted in order to find solution to these problems urgently. The research makes intentions in the research questions and objectives as follows:
Research objectives
The study intends to achieve the following specific objectives:
- To know if technical difficulties encountered by student in online teaching and learning practices affect student performance.
- To identify if students understand what is been taught during online teaching as compared to face-to-face lectures.
- How student cope with online environment and manage their experience.
Research questions
- How does technical difficulties affect the performance of students?
- Do student understand what is been taught during online lectures as a compare to face-to-face lectures?
- How are student coping with online learning and teaching experiences?
Literature review
As a problem that affect the educational institution across the world, a lot of research finding have been deduce to identify challenges that affect online teaching and learning.
Learners identity – Learners may feel isolated and disconnected in online courses (Mclnnery & Roberts, 2004), which may affect learning. Affiliation with the community of learning influences learners’ sense of identity and learning (Koole, 2014). Particularly from a social constructionist perspective, learners and the community within which they interact socially cooperate their identities. Therefore, it is critical to help learners develop a shared sense of belonging, purpose, and norms (Koole, 2014; Lapadat, 2007).
Learners’ readiness – Learners’ readiness to attend online courses is one of the major issues discussed in literature (Hung, Chou, Chen, & Own, 2010; Smith, Murphy, & Mahoney, 2003). Not all learners can successfully participate in online courses, Identifying and adopting learning styles and skills required to participate in online courses can be challenging for learners (Mayes et al., 2011; luyt, 2013).
Learners’ participation – learners’ nature of participation and engagement in online settings is another major issue discussed by researchers. Some researchers considered participation through interacting with peers and instructors by writing (Romiszowski & Mason, 2004: vonderwell & Zachariah, 2005), while others suggested that learners who obvserved the interaction and spent time on reading more than writing were still engaged in learning (Hrastinski, 2008, 2009; Wise, Speer, Marbourti, & Hsiao, 2013).
Research plan
Data Collection
The study seeks to identify the challenges that online teaching and learning practices entails. As the result of this, the collection of data will involve the students and teachers. Information will be derive from students using questionnaires and interviews. With the side of the students research questions stipulated in the questionnaires such as if they face technical difficulties with the online teaching and learning, if they are able to cope with the pressures the online teaching and learning brings, if face-to-face lectures were more beneficial and understanding than the online teaching and learning practice. Teachers will be interviewed and would give answers to questions such as the online experiences, if assessing and teaching online is beneficial as compared to face-to-face practices, if lack of interactions with student physically limits impartation of knowledge unto students.
Data analysis
Since the data collection would not only involve the qualitative approach but invite the use of quantitative approach to generate data relating to the performance of the student after online teaching and learning practices. The data analysis would be directed towards the mixed method approach for analyzing the data. The use of SPSS would be to analyzed test score from online and face-to-face lectures and will be compared. The data from the questionnaires and interviews would be analyzed to determined what solution would be used to improved
Act on evidence
- After the analysis on data if the research question which states how does technical difficulties affects student performance tends to be true, then means should be adopted in order to solve the problem at hand. Technical difficulties which seeks to affect the performance of student means the technical aspects of online teaching and learning should be improved to support teaching and learning practices.
- With the research question that stipulates if student understand lessons from online lectures as compared to face-to-face, if data collected tends to be in favor with either face-to-face or online teaching understanding it will be appropriate to implement the practice that will be more favorable.
- If student are coping with online learning and teaching experiences after data analyze, then it would be reasonable to implement the online teaching and learning practices. But the case where the whole practice is condemn then it would be good to use the face-to-face approach or blended or hybrid practice.
Evaluation
In the case where the analysis of the data calls for a change in problem at hand we would need to evaluate and find solutions to the problem. But a case where there is no need for a change, practice would need to be maintained and also improve along side. Data analysis will proved the solutions as to which practice would be more suitable or more appropriate for teaching and learning practices. If the challenges out weight the advantages and there is a need for a change or improve, the evaluation that will be conducted will be able to fish out the problems and provide adequate solution to the improvement of the practice or provide alternative solution to help promote teaching and learning practices.
Limitations
As to when the use of questionnaires and interviews are used, teachers would be relaxed or appropriate with some answers they give. To derive information from such sample population, open ended text would be used to collect data from the
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