Validation of Factors Affecting Learning Experience in Emergency Remote Teaching

Abstract

For more than 2 decades, online or e-learning has been the major approach to distant education. However, a new variant of online learning AKA emergency remote teaching or ERT has emerged and increasingly becoming popular. ERT refers to the temporary transition of educational activities (instruction, assessment, advising) from the traditional to online to avert the crisis. This differs from a typical online or e-learning wherein educational activities are intended to be delivered online and are thus carefully designed, planned and implemented to fulfill this intention. With regards to existing literature, few publications have identified the differences between online learning and ERT, and expressed concerns over the quality of educational activities in ERT. Currently, studies that validate student learning experience in ERT are lacking in literature. ERT is an emerging pedagogical approach that was widely adopted in Spring 2020 due to COVID-19, hence it is imperative to validate its impact in students’ learning experience as well as instructors’ teaching experience. In this research, we focus on the following research question: what factors affect students’ learning experience and instructors’ teaching experience in an emergency remote teaching? To answer this question, we collected data from 240 students and 98 instructors during the implementation of ERT in our institution in Spring and Fall of 2020. Using a combination of ANOVA and Turkey’s Honestly Significantly Difference (HSD), we analyze the data to determine the factors that can be used to predict student learning experience and teaching experience in ERT. Our results of this study will inspire more studies in ERT and inform effective delivery of instructional activities in time of crisis.