An Exploration of Students’ Experiences of Learning in an Online Primary Teacher Education Program
This study examined students’ experiences of learning in the Bachelor of Education Primary (Language Arts) program offered by the School of Education, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Trinidad, in partnership with UWI Open Campus (UWIOC). It is the first and only online program offered by the School at the University’s St. Augustine Campus. A qualitative methodology was used to explore the experiences of eight students, who were selected using a purposive sampling strategy. The participants were selected from UWIOC sites in five islands in which the program is offered. Data were collected through audiotaped interviews, which were conducted face-to-face with students in Trinidad and Tobago and via Skype with students in the other islands. The findings suggest that, generally, the students’ expectations of learning in the online program were met. Human, technology-related, and course-related factors seemed to facilitate students’ learning in the program. The findings also indicate that students experienced some human, technology-related, and course-related challenges in the program.
MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching
