An Analysis of Undergraduate Microbiology Students’ Beliefs and Attitudes Related to Virtual Learning

Abstract

Since the inception of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, undergraduate microbiology students globally have had their education disrupted causing uncertainty with their education, learning, and career trajectories.Undergraduate students have faced challenges with the transition of online/virtual learning and interacting with their fellow colleagues and instructors. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged the education system globally and created a major paradigm shift that forced educators of all levels to adjust their traditional face-to-face pedagogy to an online mode of pedagogy instantaneously. I initiated this study because of the dilemma that the COVID-19 pandemic had on students’ experiences and instructors’ in meeting the challenges of transferring a course entirely online in a relatively very short time. The purpose of this study is to investigate the following: (1) to what extent do undergraduate students change their knowledge about topics in microbiology relevant to the course presented online? (2) to what extent do the undergraduate students change their opinions relating to topics addressed in a microbiology course relevant to the course presented online? (3) how do undergraduate students experience computer-based learning in a microbiology course relevant to the course presented online?