Undergraduate student opinions on emergency remote teaching during COVID-19 pandemic: a case study

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken education around the globe due to the sudden closure of schools and universities. Undergraduate students have suffered the confinement while continuing their courses by Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) from home. The objective of this research is to determine the opinions on ERT versus face-to-face classes of students enrolled in the Bachelor’s Degree of Industrial Technology Engineering at the Universitat Polite`cnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech (Spain). An end-of-semester online survey was sent to all the students enrolled in the 19/20 spring Chemistry subject. The students’ comments were analyzed using the constant comparison method. Six categories were created using an inductive method and student responses were classified according to these categories. In general, the results show that these students prefer face-to-face classes rather than the methodology used during the ERT. They also prefer classes via video-conference if remote teaching is required. There is a diminished perception of socialization with both instructors and peers. Some students positively value that their autonomous learning has improved, and would like to continue accessing the material online even if face-to-face classes were resumed. They also state that completing weekly exercises helped them stay connected to the subject and to sustain learning, and thank instructors for the efforts made to adapt the methodology to the exceptional situation. The information gathered will enable teaching staff to design a remote teaching methodology that meets students’ needs better than ERT, should further confinement be required by the authorities due to health emergencies or other types of catastrophic events.Peer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de QualitatPostprint (published version