Pandemic Pedagogy: Evaluating Remote Education Strategies during COVID-19

TL;DR

This study evaluates remote teaching strategies during COVID-19, showing moderate effects on learning outcomes but significant improvements in student satisfaction across diverse demographics, providing insights for future online education.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive retrospective analysis of remote teaching practices during COVID-19, highlighting their impact on student satisfaction and learning outcomes, with evidence-based recommendations.

Findings

Remote teaching moderately affected learning outcomes.

Remote teaching significantly increased student satisfaction.

Results were consistent across demographics.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated an abrupt shift in the educational landscape, compelling universities to transition from in-person to online instruction. This sudden shift left many university instructors grappling with the intricacies of remote teaching. Now, with the pandemic behind us, we present a retrospective study aimed at understanding and evaluating the remote teaching practices employed during that period. Drawing from a cross-sectional analysis of 300 computer science students who underwent a full year of online education during the lockdown, our findings indicate that while remote teaching practices moderately influenced students' learning outcomes, they had a pronounced positive impact on student satisfaction. Remarkably, these outcomes were consistent across various demographics, including country, gender, and educational level. As we reflect on the lessons from this global event, this research offers evidence-based recommendations that could inform educational strategies in unwelcoming future scenarios of a similar nature, ensuring both student satisfaction and effective learning outcomes in online settings.