Science and Math Educators and Their Students’ Perceptions of Online Teaching and Learning: Case of the Lebanese University

Abstract

This study investigated the perceptions of science and math educators and their students at the Lebanese University related to online teaching and learning during the Covid-19 lockdown. For this purpose, two questionnaires were elaborated and validated based on two theoretical frameworks: The Community of inquiry for online learning environments and the Online collaborative learning theory. 35 educators (14 math and 21 science) and 245 students (109 math and 136 science) participated. Results showed that both science and math educators, with no significant difference between them, adjusted their courses for online teaching utilizing new resources shared with students. Online teaching allowed them to create an interactive community that encouraged students to explore concepts, construct explanations, apply and reflect on their learning. Both science and math students agreed that online learning enabled them to be more independent to explore new ideas and reflect on them with the instructor playing the role of a tutor rather than a knowledge transformer. The findings imply that online environment can allow active learning, and can provide the opportunity for students to acquire skills like, problem solving, critical thinking and collaboration. Further research is recommended related to critical thinking in online environment.

Remote teaching as the catalyst for change in teaching values and practices: experiences of instructors within one chemistry department during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The third survey section used the CoI framework as a lens to provide additional insight into the challenges instructors encountered. The CoI framework has been used to characterize the effectiveness of online teaching and learning (Garrison et al, 2000;Garrison, 2007;Arbaugh et al, 2008;Shea et al, 2010;Akyol and Garrison, 2011;Flener-Lovitt et al, 2020;Tan et al, 2020;Shaaban, 2021). The framework is grounded in social constructivism (Garrison, 2007;Kozan and Caskurlu, 2018) and comprises three main presences: the extent to which the learners construct meaning through sustained communication and reflection (cognitive presence), the ability of the students and instructors to project themselves socially and emotionally as 'real people' (social presence), and instruction, including content selection, organization, and presentation (teaching presence).…”