Rabayah (2013) conducted a study of Arab students perceptions towards online learning in tertiary education and found that students favoured highly structured teaching approaches. This included practices where students expected to be provided with an outline of what was to be studied, all materials, strict deadlines and reward and grading mechanisms. He also found that students were “addicted” to the teacher-centered approach. Societal hierarchy is a strong aspect of Arab culture (Rabayah, 2013). This enters the classroom in the form of the predetermined role of the learner and instructor. He highlighted that high-context students were not independent and required continuous direction and encouragement from teachers.

This lack of independence and autonomy presents itself as a potential obstacle for students and teachers especially those who are using a virtual classroom or distance learning approach. In order to provide students with the support and scaffolding needed, educators should be using blended learning or flipped classrooms. Rabayah (2013) found that students who had better relationships with teachers spent more time online completing course tasks. In terms of content delivery, teachers should use highly structured learning management systems such Moodle or Google Classrooms as a vehicle for delivering online content that compliment the concepts being covered in the classrooms. In addition teachers need to work collaboratively with students to build students motivation by providing opportunities to develop mastery, practice autonomy and experience purpose (Pink, 2009).

 [TheRSA]. (2010, Apr, 1). RSA ANIMATE: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

References

Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.

Rabayah, K. (2013). Arab learners’ cultural values and their interference with e-Learning. CSEDU 2013. Paper submitted to the 5th International Conference on Computer Supported Education. 154-159. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266602211_Arabic_learners’_cultural_values_and_their_interference_with_E-learning_environments