A comparison of attitudes towards remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic between students attending a Chinese and an Australian campus.
- Publisher:
- American Physiological Society
- Publication Type:
- Journal Article
- Citation:
- Adv Physiol Educ, 2022
- Issue Date:
- 2022-03-24
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The COVID-19 pandemic has been a strong driver for moving more teaching and learning activities online. Border restrictions have had a severe impact on international students either hoping to enrol in courses offered in Australia or continue with such courses if they are already enrolled. The online learning experience is likely different between students onshore and offshore. This study took a unique opportunity to investigate any such differences in students' attitudes towards remote learning, necessitated by the pandemic, by comparing two cohorts of students, Australia- vs. China-based. The preferences of students based in Australia as to remote learning were commonly about the convenience of attendance and availability of the video recordings, whereas the latter was not considered likely were the classes delivered face-to-face instead. However, students in China had a strong preference for face-to-face sessions, with the lack of prior experience in an English-speaking learning environment and hesitance to speak with the lecturers and engage in the learning activities possible reasons for this. In quizzes, students in Australia performed better than those in China regardless of local or international student status. This difference may be due to the Australian-based students' prior experience of English-speaking environments and open-book quizzes. In conclusion, remote learning in a familiar language and learning environment is accepted by students, whereas if the teaching is delivered in a second language using unfamiliar teaching methods, remote learning will require additional scaffolding to enhance their learning experience.
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