Mathematics students’ perception of distance learning – a case study in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

As consequence of the pandemic COVID-19, on March 16, 2020, all classroom activities in educational institutions in Portugal were suspended, forcing abrupt changes in teaching and learning methodologies. Emerging from this reality, it is important to know teaching and learning settings experienced by teachers and students. This work focuses on a case study: higher education students enrolled in the academic year 2019/2020 in the Mathematics Degree at a public Higher Education Institution (HEI). The aim is to analyze the perception of these students about the distance learning (online) that they were forced to, with adaptation to new methods of distance learning, acquisition of new learning processes and work habits, among other changes, in the context of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, a questionnaire was developed to collect information and, with it, a survey was applied to all mathematics students enrolled in that HEI. In this paper, the responses of students who participated anonymously in the survey are described and analyzed. A quantitative descriptive analysis of the responses shows that, although most of these students show a preference for mostly face-to-face teaching, they also report positive aspects of distance education, such as the interaction among students promoted by group activities. However, less positive aspects are reflected, namely, being less effective in the expected teacher-student interaction, as well as in creating a favorable environment to their participation and enrollment in the learning process.