Students’ Perception of the Role of Online Teachers:Comparing Routine and Emergency Times

Abstract

Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic forced the education system to instantly transition to online learning and teaching. Studies show that the challenges of emergency remote teaching (ERT) differ from those of online learning during routine times. Do student’s perceptions of teachers’ roles during online learning differ between ERT and routine online classes as well? Addressing this question can illuminate different aspects of the role of a teacher at different times, thus facilitating the improvement of online learning. This study compares students’ perceptions of their teachers’ roles in the online courses they attended during the pandemic, with perceptions of students who attended online courses in routine times when distance learning was a regular part of the academic program. The participants who attended online courses during routine times were 520 undergraduates in a teacher-education college. A second group of 475 undergraduates from the same college responded at the end of a semester of emergency online learning during the pandemic. Both groups answered questionnaires regarding their perception of four aspects of the role of online teachers: pedagogical, technical, affective, and differentiating. The findings showed that during emergency times, students had significantly higher expectations for teachers’ technical and affective roles than in routine times. However, students had lower expectations regarding teachers’ differentiating role during emergencies, and similar expectations for teachers’ pedagogical role in both situations. These findings highlight the need to plan curricula to suit different situations and different needs, and emphasize the different characteristics of the teachers’ role in different situations, in order to optimally address students’ needs in times of routine and emergency alike.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Emergency Remote Teaching in Higher Education From the Students’ Perspective: The Portuguese Case

“…Conversely, 11% of them stressed this as a weakness of the ERT that stresses the importance of the teacher in the learning process and for the students' satisfaction (Flores et al, 2021;Ozfidan et al, 2021;Parker et al, 2021). Given that students had higher expectations regarding teachers' technical and affective roles (Sason et al, 2022), they may have felt that many teachers were not prepared for the online learning challenges.…”

“…In Portugal, the higher education institutions (HEIs) abruptly moved from face-to-face to online classes from March to July of 2020. This period, which has impacted students from all over the world, was also called emergency remote teaching (ERT) since all the actors, including students and teachers, had no alternative or time for preparation (Gillis and Krull, 2020;Sason et al, 2022).…”

“…Students also stressed teacher engagement as a strength of the online learning experience (Flores et al, 2021;Parker et al, 2021), as it is an essential element in the learning process. According to the study by Sason et al (2022), during emergency times, students have significantly higher expectations of the teachers' technical and affective roles. Although recognizing the importance of self-motivation, and the individual learning approach, students valued the interaction and discussions as important attributes of online classes to motivate them to learn (Ozfidan et al, 2021), pointing out the importance of pedagogical practices, such as the teachers' support, the quality of the materials provided, and the quality of interactions (Flores et al, 2021).…”

Teachers’ role in online learning: Perspectives of prospective Indonesian EFL teachers

“…Teacher roles are one of the areas of study in this field. Previous studies focused on generating a theoretical framework on teacher's roles and learner autonomy and measuring their roles in the online learning process (Ammenwerth, 2017;Bajrami, 2015;Han, 2014;Herbert et al, 2022;Huang, 2017;Huang, 2018Huang, , 2019Huang, 2021;Sadeghi & Sahragard, 2016;Sakai, Chu, Takagi, & Lee, 2008;Sason, Wasserman, Safrai, & Romi, 2022;Wang, Stein, & Shen, 2021).…”

Parents’ and children's paradoxical perceptions of online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic

“…The differences in positive and negative opinions of online learning are inextricably linked to numerous contributing factors. First is internal elements which include everything that originates inside an individual and manifests as personal qualities, such as attitudes, beliefs, values, life experiences, expectations for online learning, and abilities to use technology (Dong et al, 2020;Giovannella, 2022;Owusu-Fordjour et al, 2020;Sason et al, 2022). The other factor is the external one, which refers to conditions or circumstances outside the individual, such as the fulfilment of needs and infrastructure conditions that support online learning (Bast, 2021).…”