Twenty-eighth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has forced many institutions of higher learning across the globe to delve into emergency remote teaching and learning. Most universities in the United Arab Emirates have resorted to emergency remote teaching as a preventative measure to reduce the spread of the global pandemic. The question that arises is, are first-year students who are primarily used to traditional face-to-face teaching ready for emergency remote teaching? The purpose of this study is to investigate first-year students’ perceptions regarding emergency remote teaching at a federal university in the United Arab Emirates. The study was conducted using a quantitative approach where 391 first-year students were requested to complete a closed-ended questionnaire. An average response of 4.35 (5-point Likert-scale where 5 is strongly agree) suggests that the majority of students have access to technologies that support emergency remote teaching and learning. However, a lower average response of 3.73 was found in terms of students being prepared for emergency remote teaching. In fact, 57 students (14.7% of the total) reported that they are ill-prepared for it. It is recommended to provide more academic student support to these students by assigning them an online tutor/mentor or by providing them with more social learning opportunities, as they may feel lonely and isolated.