Distance Education from Teacher and Learner Perspective

Abstract

This study aims to determine the views of individuals who have experienced the distance education process as both students and teachers. The study group consists of individuals who both enrolled in graduate education programs at a state university and taught actively at K-12 institutions. The study is conducted with a phenomenological design. The Miles Huberman model was used in the analysis of the data. The problems faced by the participants in the distance education process, in which they took part both as teachers and students, were grouped under “instructor dimension, student dimension, family dimension, infrastructure, hardware, and physical environment dimension, social interaction dimension, and process dimension”. The views of the participants on the assessment and evaluation processes in distance education as students were grouped under “measured learning outcomes, assessment and evaluation tools, assessment and evaluation systems, other factors that affect evaluation, negative situations, and positive situations”. The same sub-themes occurred, except for “positive situations”, when the views on assessment and evaluation processes in distance education were examined from the perspective of the teachers. Views on e-teacher qualifications were grouped under “technical knowledge, knowledge of instructional design, social skills, knowledge of pedagogical content, management skills, and knowledge of assessment and evaluation”.

Keywords

• Distance education
• e-teacher competencies
• Graduate student
• K-12 teacher
• Problems in distance education