Keep on Learning: Academic exhaustion and teaching evaluation in digital times

Since the onset of the Corona pandemic in early 2020, teaching and learning at universities has changed profoundly due to the measures aimed at contact reduction. The present study aims to evaluate online teaching in political science from a students’ perspective. Based on a quantitative online survey, an evaluation of sub-facets of online teaching compared with classroom teaching has been measured. Moreover, three impact factors on the global evaluation level have been identified and tested. Study constraints are supposed to influence online teaching evaluation negatively. Dialogue with lecturers as well as social exchange with fellow students are assumed to have a favourable effect. A mediating role of academic exhaustion is hypothesised to explain the effect of these factors on teaching evaluations both for online lectures and online seminars. Our data support the assumed negative effect of study constraints on teaching evaluation and a positive effect of social exchange. Dialogue with lecturers has no significant impact. While the relationship between study constraints and evaluation is fully mediated, the impact of social exchange is partly mediated by academic exhaustion. These interrelationships are evident for both online lectures and online seminars. Practical implications for future teaching in political science are discussed.