Best foot forward through transformed TIL paradigm for effective online learning in India: A survey study with higher education students in Delhi-NCR

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 enforced an abrupt and complete nationwide lockdown in India that was justified in its goal of preventing the spread of infection in a highly populous country like ours with poor health infrastructure and limited coping abilities. The best option to continue the disrupted education of millions of students was to transfer the delivery of course content through internet-based platforms. This led both teachers and students of regular Indian universities to continue their teaching learning process by rapid conversion of physical classrooms to online classes with both the stakeholders having no previous experience of participating virtually. The main objective of the study is to examine the perspective of students enrolled in higher education institutes, mainly in Delhi/NCR on the effectiveness of online learning mode as compared to traditional face to face classes. The study also analyses whether it has been able to transform the mindset of students towards online learning. The research methodology is quantitative by adopting a survey method for gathering data from a pool of respondents by asking a series of questions in a structured manner. By adopting a convenience sampling technique, 210 undergraduate and 39 postgraduate students had been approached to participate in this survey. The findings and conclusion brought out many hurdles faced by the students even in Delhi and adjoining regions. Knowing e-learning practice is going to play a prominent role in future education and realising an urgent need to redefine contemporary learning pedagogies for effective web-based delivery, this study proposes modification in the customary roles of all three stakeholders, namely, Teacher, Institute, and Learner -TIL