Does Pedagogy Matter in Virtual Remote Teaching?: Perspectives From Students’ Voice

https://doi.org/10.9743/JEO.2023.20.3.17

Abstract

This study is centered on investigating students’ preferences and measuring the level of their virtual remote learning experience satisfaction in a university-level language course within the framework of Social Constructivism. Using mixed methods, data collection was made primarily through a survey and focus group discussions of college students’ (n = 35) virtual remote learning experience utilizing a learning management system and other synchronous and asynchronous interactive applications. The study identified the instructional elements in the learning design that the students perceived as most important. It assessed the levels of students’ satisfaction in terms of interaction, collaboration, and feedback support and examined if these variables are significantly different in Virtual Remote Teaching (VRT). It reported that the overall satisfaction level in VRT registered at 4.17 or interpreted as Exceptionally High. Further, the One-way ANOVA test revealed a p-value at 0.00000109, which is lower than the significance level at 0.05 and means that there is a significant difference between the three pedagogical elements or that they are unequal in VRT. Finally, recurring themes are identified in the students’ expressed preferences. Instructor Interaction and Content Interaction are the two most mentioned codes that students identified as “the strongest element” of the course. Conversely, “teamwork or group work” is “the weakest factor” that students perceived as a gap in their learning experience in VRT. Based on the findings, sets of implications for virtual teaching practice are discussed in terms of course design and delivery, including the proper utilization of technology in higher education VRT. 

Keywords: e-learning, virtual remote teaching, interaction, collaboration, feedback