Online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic: the experiences and perceptions of undergraduate occupational therapy students at two Australian universities
Abstract
Purpose
To investigate if first-year occupational therapy students who have had no on-campus, face-to-face learning experiences differed from second-, third- and fourth-year students in their perceptions and experiences of online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Methods
One hundred and fifty-one occupational therapy undergraduate students (80.8% female; 66.2% 20–24 old) completed the Student Engagement in the e-Learning Environment Scale (SELES) and the Distance Education Learning Environment Scale (DELES). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with bootstrapping was completed to examine the differences between first-year and senior students’ perceptions and experiences of online learning.
Results
Significant differences were observed across several SELES and DELES scales: peer collaboration (SELES) (p = .001), interactions with instructors (SELES) (p = .026), student interaction and collaboration (DELES) (p = .003), authentic learning (DELES) (p = .026) and active learning (DELES) (p = .013).
Conclusion
The findings demonstrate significant differences in first-year and senior students’ perceptions and experiences of online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. The outcomes highlight the importance of facilitating collaborative and active engagement for all students by implementing academic, technological and social support measures within occupational therapy curricula.
© 2021 Ted Brown, Luke Robinson, Kate Gledhill, Annette Peart, Mong-Lin Yu, Stephen Isbel, Craig Greber, Jamie Etherington, published by ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.