Abstract

With COVID-19 pandemic, virtual teaching and learning of all subjects had become a new norm of education. Though virtual teaching and learning used to be a common practice in some higher learning institutes in many countries that offer distant education, the implementation of this mode across all education levels in Samoa only happened since March 2020. Due to this sudden shift of teaching and learning modes, most of the students as well as teachers (lecturers) entered this new norm of education quite unprepared. Despite of numerous reviews and changes implemented in virtual teaching and learning since it was started, there is limited effort made to understand students’ perceptions about the virtual learning of science. Literature studies showed there were both advantages and disadvantages experienced by students participating in virtual learning in many different places around the world. Therefore, this paper aimed to explore students’ perspectives of FOE science students in virtual learning and the impact of these sessions to them. In particular, the students enrolled in the course HTE360: Teaching Science at Primary Level, during COVID-19 pandemic were involved in this study.
Qualitative research design was selected and data from the research participants were collected through in-depth interviews methods. The study suggests shifting the focus onto the learner/user of the virtual platform prior to the implementation of the course to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and necessary skills. In addition, ongoing supports should be available to enhance tasks/activities participation, build community of learners and motivate peer collaborations throughout the virtual learning process. Future study in the similar scope is recommended to be conducted with multiple research approach to gather more in-depth insights about virtual teaching and learning of FOE courses.

Keywords: Virtual teaching, virtual learning, pandemic, activity participation, university course.