Online teaching, mental well-being and learning

During the second wave of COVID-19 in the Faroe Islands, in autumn 2020, an online survey was conducted, focusing both on student wellbeing and the online didactics and pedagogy used. The respondents were both university students and upper-secondary students. The students’ feedback shows that most of them prefer onsite teaching, as they tend to experience some negative impact on their motivation, concentration and focus with online learning. Also, the social aspects are highlighted as an essential factor for a positive learning environment. On the other hand, the students also see the benefits of online teaching, especially for those living far away, and when students are prevented from attending for various reasons. To assess the students’ well-being, the WHO (Five) Well-Being Index was used as part of the survey, measuring the well-being over the last two weeks. The teaching methods used for the online teaching were not particularly suited or adapted to online learning, and as a whole teachers and students had no experiences with online teaching prior to the COVID-19 lock-down.

Kanningin legði seg eftir at kanna, hvussu undirvísingin undir COVID-19
stongslinum royndist sambært teimum lesandi. Dentur varð lagdur bæði á trivnað og á hvørjir undirvísingarhættir vórðu nýttir, tí nýggjar greiningar av dátum frá eldri kanning úr Føroyum og Íslandi bendu á eitt samband millum trivnað og hugburð til skúlan. Tey spurdu vóru lesandi á Fróðskaparsetrinum og á Glasir, og tey svaraðu einum spurnablaði á netinum. Svarini vísa, at flestu lesandi vilja heldur hava vanliga floksundirvísing. Víst varð á sosial sambond sum avgerandi fyri eitt gott læruumhvørvi. Hinvegin sóu tey lesandi eisini fyrimunir við netundirvísing, t.d. minni ferðing, og sum ein møguleiki, tá ikki var gjørligt at møta á staðnum. Trivnaðurin hjá teimum lesandi varð mettur við WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Svarini hjá teimum lesandi benda á, at nýttu undirvísingarhættirnir á netinum líkjast nógv teimum, sum verða brúktir til vanliga floksundirvísing. Fleiri av teimum lesandi mæltu til, at lærarar fáa formliga undirvísing í at undirvísa á netinum, áðrenn farið verður aftur í holt við netundirvísing.