Abstract
BackgroundOnline learning is an attractive option for educators, especially as means of overcoming the challenges posed by the global pandemic. Although it is best to evaluate student readiness prior to commencement of an online course, to ensure successful development and delivery of student-centric teaching and learning strategies, readiness towards online learning among physiotherapy undergraduates is unknown. The main aim of this study was to examine physiotherapy undergraduates’ readiness towards online learning.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, participants were selected through a combination of total population and convenience sampling. The Student Online Learning Readiness questionnaire was distributed among physiotherapy undergraduates from two public and two private universities in Malaysia to investigate their technical, social and communication competencies. Information about device characteristics were obtained to evaluate their equipment readiness. Descriptive and group comparisons were conducted using independent t-test, and analysis of variance with p < 0.05 as level of significance.ResultsA total of 352 physiotherapy undergraduates participated. The response rate was 81.6%. The results showed that physiotherapy undergraduates in these four institutions had moderate levels of readiness towards technical competencies (M = 3.7 ± 0.5), social competencies with instructor (M = 3.7 ± 0.6), social competencies with classmates (M = 3.8 ± 0.6) and communication competencies (M = 3.6 ± 0.5) related to online learning. The overall readiness for these four competencies was moderate (M = 3.7 ± 0.4), however the physiotherapy undergraduates had high (> 80% possessed smartphones and laptop) level of equipment readiness. Institution and gender had no significant effect on the level of readiness (p > 0.05). Year 1 and 2 had significantly higher levels of social competencies with instructor compared to final year physiotherapy undergraduates (p < 0.05).ConclusionPhysiotherapy undergraduates in these four institutions had moderate to high levels of readiness towards online learning. Technical, social and communication competencies could be further enhanced with appropriate strategies.SignificanceThis study provides an insight into the level of readiness towards online learning among physiotherapy undergraduates. The findings of our study shed light on issues to consider when designing online courses. A pre-course training for undergraduates prior to the commencement of online courses may be useful.Trial registrationNot Applicable.
Highlights
Online learning is an attractive option for educators, especially as means of overcoming the challenges posed by the global pandemic
This study provides an insight into the level of readiness towards online learning among physiotherapy undergraduates
Online learning has been an attractive option for educators to address some of these challenges, more so with the current COVID-19 global pandemic
Summary
Online learning is an attractive option for educators, especially as means of overcoming the challenges posed by the global pandemic. Higher education including physiotherapy has been confronted by numerous challenges [1, 2] These include a new generation of learners [3], pedagogical shift in learning [4], teaching of psychometric skills [5] and lack of standard instructional methods. Online learning has been an attractive option for educators to address some of these challenges, more so with the current COVID-19 global pandemic. Online courses have been reported to have various advantages such as having greater learning flexibility, diverse representation of students [7], promoting collaboration, self-directed learning [8], crowd sourcing, overcoming the barriers of distance and time [9], as well as being able to attract expertise beyond geographical boundaries [10]. The exact reasons for this are not clear but could be attributed to the course not suiting the specific needs of the learners, unengaging course design or even a lack of readiness towards online learning
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
