Re-thinking the online distance instruction based on students’ feedback

During the covid-19 pandemic, schools at all levels were often closed and online distance instruction (ODI) was applied. The main objective of this research was to discover the main didactic features of online distance instruction; and based on the collected data to define didactic recommendations towards improving the quality of the process. Five hypotheses were set that evaluated students’ opinions in the areas of teachers’ support for learners within ODI, types of sources exploited within ODI, means used for practising and fixing new knowledge within ODI, assessment of learners’ performance within ODI, and students’ feedback on ODI. In total, 272 respondents from upper secondary and higher education institutions participated in the research. Each respondent described the process of online distance instruction in two courses they selected of 64: (1) in a course that they appreciated, liked, enjoyed, and considered efficient from the point of view of their learning; (2) in a course that caused them discomfort in learning, as it was conducted in a way that did not suit them, and their learning did not bring the expected learning outcomes. Data were collected via a questionnaire; Chí-square test, adjusted residuals, and t test for comparison of means were calculated. Before the research started, teachers were trained in online distance instruction. Therefore, we expected that they will be competent in designing online distance courses and the courses will follow didactic principles. The results discovered significant differences in the frequency of occurrence of observed features in courses that received positive feedback compared to those having negative evaluation. However, some exceptions were detected.