Faculty Perception about E-Learning and Teaching Anatomy: An Experience of COVID 19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic has led to a drastic shift from traditional teaching to e-learning using various strategies. Awareness and feedback of faculty regarding online education is essential to identify major challenges in online teaching, which will ultimately be helpful in making the online learning methods more effective.

Aims & Objectives: To assess perceptions of medical faculty about students' e-learning and teaching of Anatomy in medical colleges of Lahore.

Place and duration of study: The study was conducted at seven medical institutes of Lahore & study was conducted from December 2020 to August 2021 (9 months).

Material & Methods: Based on Descriptive, cross-sectional design and using convenient sampling Thirty-seven (37) faculty members including demonstrators & Professorial staff from Anatomy Department were selected from different medical colleges of Lahore. Self-administered 2-part questionnaire form was given to participants for data collection after taking their informed verbal consent. Results were described using Percentages, Mean, Median and Mode. They were analyzed using Kruskal Wallis test because the data was not distributed normally, and non-parametric test was applied as the normality value was <0.05. A p-value less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results: Statistically significant difference was noted amongst three responses out of 13 questions. Most of the faculty members agreed that online education is not a suitable alternative to face to face education (p= 0.028). They agreed that students' scores are lower in e- learning (p=0.04) and technology tools can't replace lectures (p=0.049). Faculty considered e-learning difficult to manage as compared to face to face learning. Moreover, majority were undecided about favorability of distant learning.

Conclusion: Faculty perceived various challenges in implementing distant learning. However, it is essential to embrace this shift towards e-learning and consider this mode of teaching as an inviting challenge. The perspective of Anatomy faculty regarding online learning will improve and support e-learning process in future.