Coining Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: Reference to COVID-19 Pandemic in South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to conceptually explore and examine teaching in higher education during and post COVID-19 era. This paper uses literature-based approach which considers a narrative review of literature as its main approach in exploring and examining data related to online teaching and learning in higher education. There has been various challenges and criticisms about online teaching ever since lockdown regulations instigated by COVID-19 in South Africa. Online teaching and learning has been criticized for their lack of quality assurance in higher education. Although there are claims, hiccups and criticisms of the quality assurance and credibility of online teaching and learning, accessing education is inevitable irrespective of the challenges encountered. Accessing education is important and goes beyond or post COVID-19 pandemic whereby distance learning should be endorsed in higher institutions. The paper argues that the usage of online platforms during COVID-19 pandemic became a panacea for the students who were remote from physical institutions of higher learning to access higher education. Therefore, the paper submits that while COVID-19 would have its aftermath in higher education institutions, there are lessons and prospects that could be drawn from the challenges. The paper recommends the re-thinking strategies that could possibly be employed to enhance students’ learning and engagement thereof. Among those strategies, is a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that encapsulate the blended method of pedagogy and Open Distance Learning (ODL) that may be effective in teaching and learning in the current circumstances.