Online Learning Approaches for Science, Engineering and Technology in Distance Education

Abstract

Online learning has been adopted in distance education worldwide. The rise of the use of digital technology in teaching and learning has enabled distance education institutions to adopt online learning to reduce costs and improve student success. The purpose of this paper is to investigate appropriate teaching approaches that could be applied in an online learning model to achieve the desired success in student progress without reducing student autonomy. The results of this study indicate that cognitivism, social constructivism and connectivism form the basis of relevant teaching approaches in the 21st century with regard to curriculum and material design. The success of the students' learning is determined by the conducive environment created by the educators using technological means. Teaching approaches, such as community of practice, the integrative approach, apprentice and experiential learning, project- and problem-based approaches, as well as a competency-based approach, seem to dominate the Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) environment in the online teaching space. Students and their lecturers continue to engage after their formal interaction on an online platform.