Synchronous Teaching Research Articles

Measuring Emotional Self-Efficacy of Students in Online Synchronous Teaching Environments in India

ABSTRACT Emotional self-efficacy of students has been found to be associated with their overall performance in different contexts. The exponential growth of online education and increased use of online synchronous teaching-learning environments presents an opportunity to assess the emotional self-efficacy of students in this unique context. Although there has been research in the area of technological self-efficacy, the unique demands of real-time online teaching in synchronous environments necessitate a deeper understanding of emotional self-efficacy. Grounded in Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory (1982) and Mayer and Salovey’s Emotional Intelligence model (1997), this study aims to develop and validate a standardized scale to measure the emotional self-efficacy of students in online synchronous teaching environments in India. The study was conducted on a diverse sample of 480 students from two universities in India. Exploratory factor analysis was performed on the first draft of the scale, which initially included 19 items scored on a 5-point Likert Scale. Two items were dropped from the scale model, with the final version containing 17 items. The four factors identified are “Perceiving emotions,” “Using emotions to facilitate thinking,” “Regulating emotions,” and “Recognizing classmates’ emotions.” The identified factors aligned with the adopted theoretical framework, and the cumulative proportion of variance in the rotated solution was 61.9%. The test–retest reliability of the scale was 0.752. The research has significant implications for designing online courses and programs, as well as for creating policies and practices to capitalize on the emotional gains of students through a well-planned strategy. The study calls for further research in the area of cross-cultural applications of the scale and the relationship between emotional self-efficacy and educational outcomes.

Emotional Support in Online Teaching and Learning Environment: A Systematic Literature Review (2014–2023)

The provision of appropriate emotional support is influential in establishing a positive and stimulating online learning environment that can elevate students’ emotional well-being, improve their learning experience and enjoyment, and increase their academic achievements. In the present study we examine 16 papers on emotional support in online teaching and learning environments. We aim to understand (a) the emotional support given to online learners and (b) the effectiveness of emotional support in online teaching and learning environments. The review shows that the emotional support given to online learners includes empathy, understanding, motivation, and encouragement. These verbal and nonverbal emotional supports are mainly from teachers, family members, and peers as well as some online agents or applications. Most of the emotional supports influence online learners’ performance and have a favorable impact on their emotional states. The systematic review shows that there has been little research on technology-based emotional support and synchronous teaching and learning environments. We propose that more research should be carried out in these areas.

When Learner-Centered Teaching and Learning Goes Online: Zooming into Linear Algebra Tutorials During the Pandemic

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic shifted higher education online, drawing attention to synchronous learning and instruction on digital communication platforms. Learner-centered teaching practices in the tertiary level, such as mathematical discussions, have been shown to benefit student learning. The interactions involved in online synchronous mathematical discussions have been studied less. Most research taps into these aspects drawing on students’ academic outcomes and reflective interviews. This study explores instructional practices as they unfold online, with a focus on student-instructor and student-student interactions. We zoom-in to online synchronous teaching and learning processes on a popular communication platform by analyzing Linear Algebra tutorials in the first pandemic year. Using the commognitive framework, we characterize instructional interactions with the construct of a learning-teaching agreement. The analysis resulted in three interactional patterns, where in all cases, the tutorial transformed at some point to the one dominated by the instructor.

Use of an intelligent tutoring system for a curriculum on augmentative and alternative communication: Feasibility for implementation

AbstractBackgroundOver 8 million children with disabilities live in Africa and are candidates for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), yet formal training for team members, such as speech–language therapists and special education teachers, is extremely limited. Only one university on the continent provides postgraduate degrees in AAC, and other institutions provide only short modules at an undergraduate level. The need for an introductory training course on AAC that is accessible by university students continent‐wide was identified. An online programme, namely an intelligent tutoring system (ITS), was identified as a possible option to facilitate interactive learning without the need for synchronous teaching. The use of an ITS is shown to be effective in developing knowledge and clinical reasoning in the health and rehabilitation fields. However, it has not yet been applied to student teaching in the field of AAC.AimTo determine both the feasibility of an ITS to implement an AAC curriculum for students in four African countries, and the usability and effectiveness of such a system as a mechanism for learning about AAC.Method & ProceduresThe study included two components: the development of a valid AAC curriculum; and using the ITS to test the effectiveness of implementation in a pre‐ and post‐test design with 98 speech–language therapy and special education students from five universities.Outcomes & ResultsStatistically significant differences were obtained between pre‐ and post‐test assessments. Students perceived the learning experience as practical, with rich content.Conclusions & ImplicationsThe findings suggest that the ITS‐based AAC curriculum was positively perceived by the students and potentially offers an effective means of providing supplementary AAC training to students, although modifications to the system are still required.What this paper addsWhat is already known on the subject Professionals typically lack formal training in AAC. In Africa, this presents a serious challenge as there are over 8 million children who are candidates for AAC. A need for an introductory training course on AAC, which can be accessed by university students continent‐wide, was identified.What this paper adds to existing knowledge An AAC curriculum was developed and integrated into an ITS, an online programme allowing interactive learning through asynchronous teaching. Students from four African countries completed the AAC ITS curriculum. The curriculum was positively received by the students and statistically significant changes in knowledge were identified.What are the practical and clinical implications of this work? This feasibility study shows that the use of an ITS is an effective means of providing AAC training to university students in these African countries. The results provide a valuable contribution toward ensuring the equitable distribution of AAC training opportunities in the African context. This will have a significant positive impact on those who are candidates for AAC.

Protective and risk factors at school level during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Perspective of primary school students with LD and ADHD from Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia

AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic and its effect on the world led to major changes in educational practices worldwide and presented many challenges for students from vulnerable groups. In this study, we examined protective and risk factors related to schooling from the perspective of students with learning disabilities (LD) and/or attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during the pandemic in three European countries. Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews with 53 primary school students and analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results showed that additional individualised educational support from the school was the most common protective factor, followed by the availability of synchronous teaching. On the other hand, lack of individualisation and additional educational support, and shortcomings in teaching strategies during distance education, were the most common risk factors. These findings lead to the conclusion that school professionals need additional training on academic accommodations for LD and/or ADHD students and how to provide them under the conditions of distance and hybrid education.

The Synchronous Online Environment: Impact on Instructor’s Academic Empathy

The COVID -19 pandemic has ushered in a new era of pedagogical strategies and offered a unique window into students’ lives. Among the many challenges and advantages of the online environment, the daily exposure to students’ lives—magnified during synchronous online teaching—served to humanize them in the classroom. This research delves into a novel area, exploring whether this heightened exposure to students’ day-to-day environments outside of the physical classroom leads to academic empathy from their instructors and whether it results in a better understanding of students’ individual challenges and circumstances. The results showed that synchronous instruction increased faculty members’ empathy for students’ diverse personal experiences. A significant discovery, however, was the role of student camera usage in enriching the synchronous online experience. Ultimately, the study underscores the benefits of students having cameras on during synchronous online classes to create a more connected and empathetic classroom environment.

A Synching Ship: Perceptions of Synchronous Instruction

A Synching Ship: Perceptions of Synchronous Instruction

Students’ preferences for teaching and exam delivery modes in accounting education post-COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a revolution in the delivery of modules in higher education. This paper aims to answer the research question: What are the preferences of undergraduate accounting and finance students regarding teaching delivery and exam modes following the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown? Specifically, we focus on campus, online synchronous, and hybrid synchronous teaching delivery and exam modes. To address this research question, we conducted an online questionnaire surveying students at a U. K. university. Our data show that modules involving calculations, such as financial accounting, are preferred to be taught on campus, whereas theoretical modules like business law are preferred to be taught online. Additionally, the data reveal reasons for these preferences, including community learning, isolation, concentration, and access to recordings. This research contributes valuable insights into optimising accounting education. We advocate for flexibility in both teaching and exam delivery within accounting education, recognising the diverse needs of students.

Developing Synchronous Online Teaching Practices through Emotion Contagion Theory using ADDIE

Student engagement is a critical factor in online learning. The higher the engagement, the more effective time and effort students spend pursuing their goals. An increasing volume of research indicated that engagement is malleable through effective pedagogy. While most research focused on course structure and content, teaching and learning activities and the teacher’s role, this study aimed to add a human touch to online elementary learning since emotional engagement is the most influential factor in elementary education. The objectives of this study were to develop teaching practices in synchronous online sessions at elementary levels through Emotion Contagion Theory. The synchronous online teaching practices were developed based on the findings of preliminary studies of Generation Alpha’s online learning experience and the factor of emotional engagement. The development was conducted using the ADDIE Instructional Design Model, and Emphatic Concern, Emotion Contagion, and Communicative Responsiveness Model. As synchronous online learning is the facet of online learning, this study aimed to provide a guideline for elementary online educators to serve as a part of effective online education targeted at Generation Alpha, aged 7-12. Both descriptive qualitative and descriptive quantitative analyses were conducted. The development process adhered to the ADDIE model's five steps, encompassing Analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. (2) The content expert's validation demonstrated agreement. The overall user's questionnaire responses averaged into the "good" category. Overall, users express that the module is qualified and easily comprehensible. Users suggested to provide more examples of non-verbal cues. Experts proposed a revision of the background colour to make it more interesting, add more details on how to create a genuine smile, and develop the teaching practices into a tangible synchronous teaching kit to increase its accessibility.

The Efficiency of Online Assignments as an Asynchronous e-Learning Tool

The online learning experience that accompanied the Covid-19 pandemic has been diverse. Both teachers and students have had to discover new online learning methods and tools in order to cope with the new phase. Some teachers relied on virtual meetings and synchronous instruction, whereas others either solely relied on asynchronous instruction through e-assignments or combined the latter to other methods like synchronous e-meetings. While the integration of synchronous tools in distance instruction seems to be more relevant, asynchronous assignments may have an important potential in e-learning given that not all students can access the course at the same time. Indeed, one of the advantages of asynchronous e-assignments is learning anytime, anywhere. For this, the in-hand paper seeks to focus on online assignments and their efficiency to university EFL students. Our purpose is to discover how students view these assignments, and whether they are efficient in learning according to them. We also wish to investigate whether students prefer synchronous online meetings or asynchronous learning tools like e-assignments. In this regard, the sample is made up of fifth-year EFL students at ENSB. By and large, the main findings of this study demonstrate that the majority of EFL students consider asynchronous e-assignments as an efficient e-learning tool.

The evolution of teaching physical education online during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT This study examined the evolution of online teaching for fourteen New England K-12 physical education teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Commencing where Foye and Grenier ([2021]. Teaching during a pandemic. Physical educators’ reflections on teaching remotely. Journal of Online Learning Research, 7, 133–151.) left off, the current study contrasts participants’ experiences in the spring of 2020 with their experiences during the 2020–2021 academic year. Participants engaged in semi-structured interviews. Interview data underwent thematic analysis, with Whittle et al.’s (2020. Emergency remote teaching environment: A conceptual framework for responsive online teaching in crises. Information and Learning Sciences, 121(5/6), 311–319.) emergency remote teaching environments framework providing contextualisation for the study. Three sizeable differences emerged from March 2020 to the 2020–2021 academic year: participants widely utilised synchronous teaching environments, which they unanimously preferred to asynchronous environments; blended learning environments allowed for face-to-face engagement; participant concerns regarding student accountability and lacking interpersonal socialisation dropped from March 2020. Participant experiences are utilised to help guide future online physical education practices.

Vocal Self-Perception of Singers During COVID-19 Pandemic.

to compare the self-perception of vocal fatigue and use of singing voice during the COVID-19 pandemic between professional and amateur singers and to relate this self-perception with vocal use characteristics during this period. Participants were 121 singers divided into professional singers group (PSG) (12 men and 20 women) comprising singers who depended exclusively on singing as a profession and an amateur singers group (ASG) (37 men and 52 women) of singers who did not depend exclusively on singing for their livelihood. All answered online questionnaires through Google Forms ®. Sociodemographic and vocal characteristics were investigated before and during the pandemic; symptoms of vocal fatigue were assessed through the vocal fatigue index (VFI); and self-perception of use of singing voice through the evaluation of the ability to sing easily protocol for Brazil (EASE-Br). In the comparison between groups, the PSG presented higher scores of vocal fatigue in fatigue and vocal limitation (P=0.045), vocal restriction (P=0.002), and recovery with vocal rest (P=0.008) domains than did the ASG. There was no difference between the groups regarding the use of singing voice. Based on the relationship between self-perception and vocal use characteristics during the pandemic, it was observed that the presence of vocal complaint was the only factor associated with self-perception of fatigue symptomatology in both groups. Regarding the self-perception of the current status of the singing voice, singing time, the presence of vocal complaints, the need to increase visual concentration, and the perception of vocal worsening during the pandemic were considered predictive for amateur singers. For professional singers, vocal complaints and vocal training were predictors for self-perception of the current status of the singing voice. Professional singers presented with higher scores of vocal fatigue than did amateur singers. The symptomatology of vocal fatigue was associated with the presence of vocal complaints in both groups. However, self-perception of the current status of the singing voice was different between the groups and was associated with vocal training for professional singers and characteristics of vocal demand of singing voice during the pandemic period for amateur singers.

The Essentials or Fundamentals for Harnessing Technologies to Improve Teaching and Learning through Online Learning as Part of Digital Transformation in Higher Education

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation and usage of the fourth industrial revolution tools in most developing countries where teaching and learning most occurred through face-to-face interaction. To reap successes in the digitally transforming teaching and learning in universities, it is crucial to reconcile the key essential (factors) that need consideration for digital transformation and the challenges hindering the phenomenon. This study explored the fundamental factors for harnessing technologies for teaching and learning in State universities in Zimbabwe. The study employed a desk research approach. The study revealed that tertiary institutions were struggling to effectively implement online learning due to factors such as lack of strategy and vision on the implementation process, lack of financial resources, poor technological infrastructure, poor digital competences among lecturers and students as well as lack of adequate technical support. Instructors in these institutions mostly resorted to asynchronous online learning approaches because they lacked up to date gadgets for synchronous teaching and learning. Similarly, students preferred asynchronous learning due to data challenges as it offered self-pacing and flexibility. In limited cases lecturers make use of WhatsApp, Google Classroom, Google Meet and Zoom. The findings were that in order to institutionalise online learning as key component of digital transformation in state universities the fundamentals to be addressed include of procurement current and compatible IT infrastructure, comprehensive training and education to improve digital competences, incorporate digital transformation and the fourth industrial revolution into university curriculum to equip students, provision of internet data and improved internet connectivity.

Teaching Knowledge Synthesis Methods through Online Research Consultations

Requests to meet with academic librarians for support on knowledge synthesis (KS) projects have escalated due to an increasing number of learners embarking on KS projects as part of their course work, along with the recommendation in KS methods guidance to consult with a research librarian to ensure a comprehensive search. While there are program descriptions and evaluations of library-led and other KS methods training for groups or self-directed learning opportunities, little evidence examines the teaching practices of academic librarians in individual KS research consultations. The objective of this research is to explore teaching encounters during online KS research consultations and describe the often invisible aspects of that labour through the findings from an online-mediated, focussed ethnographic study. The study draws on data from focus groups, observations and interviews, as well as autoethnographic sources. We use a sociomaterial lens to analyze the stories in the data and illuminate the complexities of the virtual, synchronous teaching encounter between academic health librarians and learners. We present a composite narrative elaborating on the social, technical, and material elements assembled before, during, and after an online KS methods consultation to emphasize the invisible and affective labour of librarian teaching practices about comprehensive searching and KS methods.

STKD: Distilling Knowledge From Synchronous Teaching for Efficient Model Compression.

Knowledge distillation (KD) transfers discriminative knowledge from a large and complex model (known as teacher) to a smaller and faster one (known as student). Existing advanced KD methods, limited to fixed feature extraction paradigms that capture teacher's structure knowledge to guide the training of the student, often fail to obtain comprehensive knowledge to the student. Toward this end, in this article, we propose a new approach, synchronous teaching knowledge distillation (STKD), to integrate online teaching and offline teaching for transferring rich and comprehensive knowledge to the student. In the online learning stage, a blockwise unit is designed to distill the intermediate-level knowledge and high-level knowledge, which can achieve bidirectional guidance of the teacher and student networks. Intermediate-level information interaction provides more supervisory information to the student network and is useful to enhance the quality of final predictions. In the offline learning stage, the STKD approach applies a pretrained teacher to further improve the performance and accelerate the training process by providing prior knowledge. Trained simultaneously, the student learns multilevel and comprehensive knowledge by incorporating online teaching and offline teaching, which combines the advantages of different KD strategies through our STKD method. Experimental results on the SVHN, CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100, and ImageNet ILSVRC 2012 real-world datasets show that the proposed method achieves significant performance improvements compared with the state-of-the-art methods, especially with satisfying accuracy and model size. Code for STKD is provided at https://github.com/nanxiaotong/STKD.

Designing adaptive online support for problem-based learning

This paper describes the work-in-progress of a novel solution to the problem of designing an LMS course structure that supports students in a problem-based learning course. The students come with a wide variety of prior experience in the field, they need to learn a set of complex skills that build on each other, they need to work partially asynchronously, and the design solution needs to be scalable. A lean weekly structure is proposed that is embedded with the synchronous teaching, intricately connected to a parallel hub of support material whose design allows students to construct their own bespoke learning journey. The course design draws on cognitive load theory to direct student attention only to what will be useful to them at any point in the course, and the support materials themselves follow universal design for learning principles to cater for a wide range of student learning needs.

Transitioning from face-to-face to distance education. Part 1: A cross-sectional study in the former Yugoslavia during COVID-19

Background The countries of the former Yugoslavia have health and education systems with the same tradition but these have changed over the years. Little is known about how family medicine teaching transitioned from face-to-face to distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives to investigate student/teacher experience in transitioning from face-to-face to distance education. Methods A cross-sectional, online survey was conducted among 21 medical schools of the former Yugoslavia between December 2021 and March 2022. Under/postgraduate teachers and students who taught/studied family medicine during the academic year 2020/2021 were invited to participate. Of 31 questions for students and 35 for teachers, all but nine open questions were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results Seventeen of 21 medical schools contributed data involving 117 participants representing all countries of the former Yugoslavia. At the beginning of the pandemic, 30%, 26% and 15% of teachers, students and trainees, respectively, received formal preparation in distance education. Of these, 92% of teachers and 58% of students/trainees felt they were not adequately prepared. Synchronous teaching was the main method used, with a third using hybrid methods. All participants were least confident about online assessment. More than 75% of respondents agreed that lectures could be kept online, not patient consultations or practical skills’ classes. Conclusion Teachers used various old and new methods to provide learning opportunities despite COVID-19 constraints. Effective technology-based strategies are essential to ensure assessment integrity and enhance the learning environment.

Lived Experience: Students’ Perceptions of English Language Online Learning Post COVID-19

The purpose of this study was to assess university students' perceptions regarding online learning post-COVID-19, with a focus on international relevance. 260 students were surveyed online across six dimensions of online learning using an online survey. The findings indicate that synchronous audio and video learning can be an effective alternative to traditional learning, especially for male students. Online learning success requires taking student demographics and digital equity into consideration in a competitive higher education landscape. In addition, the study recommends further research to determine the effectiveness of online learning across disciplines and diverse student populations. The findings of this study indicate that successful online learning outcomes in international educational settings require the incorporation of digital technologies and synchronous teaching methods.

What Form of Online Teaching Do High School Students Prefer?

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching has moved overnight from a traditional classroom setting to a virtual setting. This has been a great challenge for students, and especially for teachers. Most teachers have not had a lot of experience teaching in a virtual setting. In the course of only a few days, teachers were forced to fully devise and organize teaching subjects without receiving any particular training. Previously, numerous advantages and disadvantages of online teaching compared to traditional forms of teaching have been elaborated. There are three basic forms of online teaching: synchronous teaching, asynchronous teaching based on materials prepared in advance and individually tutoring students. The paper describes research involving 56 9th grade student concerning their attitudes towards online teaching and preferred forms of online teaching. The results suggest students slightly prefer traditional forms of teaching over online teaching. In addition, students appear to favor the asynchronous form of online teaching based on recorded resources as well as teacher availability for prompt feedback. Overall, the conclusion is that, despite some disadvantages of online teaching, it also has some positive features that can possibly be retained in the future.

Comparing student perceptions of in-class, online synchronous, and online asynchronous instruction

This article compares the efficacy of undergraduate teaching for in-class, online synchronous, and online asynchronous modes of instruction with implications for adapting the modes of instruction in computer information processing. The study uses a repeated measures design with pairwise comparisons while controlling for instructor, students, and course content across these modes of instruction. The study examines the following six perceptions held by students: instructional aspects such as instructor facilitation, student-to-student interaction, instructor-to-student interaction, course design, learning outcomes, and student satisfaction. The study also examines actual student performance on homework, quizzes, and exams. All findings were interesting and insightful. Student perceptions of almost all instructional aspects were significantly higher for the in-class mode than the two online modes of instruction. However, actual student performance was significantly better for online modes of instruction. The discussion section triangulates these statistical results with a review of 3000+ open-ended student responses to explain results, provide guidelines, and suggest future research. Keywords: Asynchronous instruction; distance education; E-learning; in-class; online; synchronous instruction