Background: In the wake of COVID-19 pandemic all the educational institutions in India have suspended in-campus activities as a means to curtail the spread of the disease and have embraced online teaching to impart education. Emergency remote teaching has become a new norm, wherein different learning management systems and video conferencing tools have replaced the classroom teaching in this unprecedented circumstance. Objective: This study aimed to assess the students’ perception towards emergency remote teaching. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive questionnaire-based survey was conducted among undergraduate students pursuing MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) and BSc (Bachelor of Sciences) in Forensic Science who attended live interactive online classes in June 2020.A pre-tested structured proforma was administered through electronic form. Data collected was further analyzed for descriptive statistics like mean and percentages. Results: A total of 123 out of 239 undergraduate medical and biomedical students attending the online classes participated in the present study. 60.16% of the respondents preferred classroom teaching over the online teaching method and they perceived that online teaching is less effective than classroom set up. 82.11% of the students reported technical glitches while attending online classes. Lack of discipline, decreased student-teacher and peer interaction were stated as drawbacks of this method of teaching. Conclusion: The study suggests that classroom teaching is preferred over emergency remote teaching among undergraduate students. Online platforms can be utilized to teach as an adjunct to classroom teaching but cannot be considered as a replacement for traditional teaching methods. © 2021, Punjab Academy of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology. All rights reserved.
Students’ perception of emergency remote teaching during COVID -19 pandemic