Student and teacher’s perceptions of web-based learning and academic practices on a pre-sessional programme during the COVID-19 era

Abstract

After the announcement of the World Health Organisation (2020) to classify COVID-19 as global pandemic (Crawford, 2020), the education system has undergone a transformation to be fully online in considerable number of educational institutions. Web-based learning resources were already integrated into education before the pandemic, but its integration deepened during the outbreak as it became even more essential tool for teaching and learning. The pandemic resulted in the temporary closure of schools and universities; international higher education, in particular, has been heavily influenced by how the virus spread across affected countries (d’Orville, 2020). Accordingly, this study investigated the abrupt change in learners’ and teachers’ engagement with educational systems after the outbreak of COVID-19. The focus was investigating the perception of the unexpected and forced transition in the education system and the extend of influence of this change on the roles and identity positioning of students and teachers of higher education. The programme used for data collection was the 11-week virtual Pre-sessional Programme offered by the University of Southampton. It is a full-time intensive academic programme that aims to improve international and EU students’ capability and confidence in using academic English language for their further study. As this is phenomenologically-informed research, it is interested in understanding the experience, as its purpose is collecting information in order to illustrate the perception of individuals or groups of people (Lester, 1999). The research instruments used in this study were documentation analysis, classroom observation, and unstructured and semi-structured interview.
The results of this study revealed that there were lower than desired levels of student-student interaction, student-teacher interaction, and teacher-teacher interaction during, and sometimes beyond, live classes. Participants highlighted the importance of academic and social interaction within the educational environment. This was despite the availability of different features on the used online platforms such as chat, camera, and sound functions, and despite the various factors that facilitate communication. The experience of undertaking this programme during this time of the pandemic was stressful and isolating, and the majority of participants seemed to lack a sense of shared ingroup membership during this time.
Based on the findings, teachers often relied on traditional teaching methods in the online setting due to the sudden nature of transition. This shift introduced power dynamics that placed the teacher as the authority figure, which conflicted with the declared learner-centred philosophy of online education adopted by the programme. Teachers struggled recontextualizing their knowledge and skills into the programme, as their professional academic identity was constructed based on their previous experience. While students had to deal with common aspects of UK HE transitional programmes, such as focusing on research skills, being independent learners, and developing
criticality. Students and teachers apparently needed more time to adapt to the new learning and teaching environment to be able to use it effectively. The negotiation of teachers’ and students’ roles in this environment made the way the programme was delivered differ significantly compared to the ways it was structured and outlined in programme documents, tutor induction materials, and learning/teaching resources. During the interviews most of the participants stated a preference for the face-to-face learning environment, as they saw it as a space that would allow them to interact in a more meaningful and effective way, and really live the experience, as one participant described.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Kate Borthwick: orcid.org/0000-0003-2251-7898

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