Teaching and Learning During COVID 19: Perspectives of Undergraduate Oral Health Students

Abstract

Introduction: COVID -19 has caused disruptions in higher education across the world. Our university adapted a blended model of learning, moving between traditional campus-based sessions and online sessions. Material and Methods: The purpose of this study was to investigate the students’ perceptions of their experience of teaching and learning during the pandemic. An anonymous electronic questionnaire-based survey was sent to students. The data was subject to analysis. Results: 67 students responded to the survey.32.8% of the participants felt face to face sessions were better than online sessions and 37.3% said that face to face and online sessions offer similar benefits. 37.3% preferred live online sessions while 46.3% preferred recorded videos. 40.3% of students reported finding transitioning into practical sessions challenging. 65.7% reported having been moderately impacted by COVID-19. Adaptation to online sessions, the level of engagement, the ability to seek clarifications, preparation for assessments and the ease of transition into practical sessions were all positively correlated to the level of impact by COVID-19 with p<0.05. Conclusion: The adaptability to and acceptability of online teaching and learning sessions has been high. A significant number of participants have reported finding the transitioning into practical sessions challenging. Keywords: COVID-19, Online learning and teaching, blended learning, higher education.