Proceedings of The 6th World Conference on Teaching and Education
Year: 2023
DOI:
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The Emergency Remote Teaching Experience of the Arabian Gulf University During COVID-19 Pandemic
Prof Alajab Mohammed Alajab Ismail,Prof. Alaaeldin Abdelhamed Ayoub Mohammed
ABSTRACT:
Following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, a global closing of countries’ borders and academic institutions occurred. Universities however were compelled to continue its usual educational activities and services. Shifting to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) was the only foreseeable alternative to complete the academic year for many universities specifically those adopting traditional face-to-face teaching. This paper aimed to assess the adoption of ERT in the Arabian Gulf University and reflect on the lessons learnt. Adoption of ERT in the College of Graduate Studies (CGS) was assessed. Two questionnaires were developed and used to assess the ERT experience from both students’ and academic staff perspectives. Around 98% of the CGS students and 96% of the academic staff participated in the study. The results indicated that Zoom and Moodle were the mostly-used platforms, while live lectures and PowerPoint presentations were mainly used as teaching methods. Moreover, the results showed that the overall satisfaction level with ERT experience gradually increased for both students and academic staff, and reached its maximal point at the end of the experience. However, there was no significant effect of gender and academic degree on the satisfaction level of the ERT. From this disruptive educational experience, it could be inferred that given the international diversity of AGU students and the success of ERT experience, remote teaching would be a good alternative to conventional teaching in emergency and non-emergency situations in the CGS. Nevertheless, developing specific rules and regulations for the implementation of a resilient blended teaching policy at AGU was recommended.
keywords: Emergency Remote Teaching, Arabian Gulf University, COVID-19