Self-reflection and perception of medical and allied courses faculty to online teaching compared to traditional teaching: A mixed-method study

Objectives: Most teachers have minimal experience with online teaching since most of their learning and teaching years have been spent in a traditional face-to-face classroom. So how do instructors prepare themselves to teach online? What are their expectations of this new learning environment for the first time? The nature of faculty preparation and duration of experience affecting the performance between faculty will vary considerably, and support provided for online teaching also vary over a period of time. The objectives of this study were to obtain/ collect the perception of medical and allied course faculty employed at Deemed to be University, Pondicherry, to online teaching compared to traditional teaching. Materials and Methods: The online questionnaire and informed consent were mailed to all the faculty, and they were instructed to rate on a five-point numerically coded Likert scale (Always = 5, Frequently = 4, Sometimes = 3, Seldom = 2 and Never = 1) their satisfaction level to an online lecture class. Preliminary details, such as name, age, gender, department, college and post P.G experience, were obtained. Based on the scoring, inferential analysis was done. The online discussion session was done amongst selective participants, and a thematic analysis of the same was done. Results: A total of 119 participants responded to the questionnaire. An unpaired t -test was applied, and a significant difference ( P ≤ 0.05) was observed in the 17 questions in the study population between online and traditional lectures. Conclusion: Faculty were overall not satisfied with online lecture classes as they had trouble providing set induction and adequate closure, enabling pupil participation during lecture presentation and time management compared to traditional/conventional lecture classes. Faculty feel that online teaching can continue in the post-pandemic era for a few selectively chosen appropriate topics, and the class duration should be short. A blended approach to learning can be adopted in the future.