ONLINE LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC: MAINTAINING STUDENT MOTIVATION IN A REMOTE TEACHING CONTEXT

Abstract

COVID-19 has forced educational institutes all around the world to suspend in-person teaching and adopt emergency remote teaching (ERT). The unprecedented academic environment brought by the pandemic led to the evolution of online teaching as an ineluctable tool for education. The process of helping students to stay motivated while learning remotely and without face-to-face support from the teacher can be challenging. This study highlights the students’ perception of and motivation towards online classes in respect to internet connectivity and accessibility. Since online teaching is essentially a student-centered learning approach, the motivational level of students plays an important role in making teaching protocols effective. In this paper we will explore several factors which are determinants for online learning and play an important role in diminishing the students’ motivation to learn. The present research illustrates that motivation is the influential factor in learning activity and the teacher needs to be more creative in delivering material during learning activity in a virtual environment.