An Evaluation of Online Science Classes Based on Students’ Science Learning Experiences

Abstract

Online science courses have become increasingly popular due to their accessibility and convenience. Consequently, evaluating their quality is essential for ensuring students receive a rigorous and valuable education. This study investigates the effectiveness of online science classes in terms of student- faculty interaction, time on task, active learning and cooperation among students by considering the participant students' experiences and their evaluations of online science courses. The participants were 2034 students from different middle (year 5 to 8) and high schools (year 9 to 12) during 2022-2023 academic year. All of the participants attended online science classes from 2nd half term of 2019-20 and whole school year of 2020-21. The data was collected by using the Student Evaluation of Online Teaching Effectiveness (SEOTE) scale, which was developed by Bangart (2005). The student responses were evaluated based on their school year, frequency of attendance, and means used to access online science classes. The findings of the study revealed that the participant students were not satisfied with online science learning experiences in terms of faculty-student interaction, time on task, cooperation among students and active learning practices. The study also found that faculty-student interaction, time on task, cooperation among students were important predictor of active learning for online science learning practices. Based on the findings the study suggests that when designing or implementing online science classes, students’ engagement, teacher-faculty interaction, creating opportunities for students to cooperate and helping students to actively engage in the activities should be taken into consideration by teachers.