Exploring the Nature, Opportunities, and New Challenges of Online Teaching- Learning Process at University Level: A Faculty’s Perspective

Abstract

The primary aim of the current qualitative study was to investigate faculty perspectives on the online teaching and learning process at the higher education level. The investigation encompassed 3,782 teachers, the targeted population being those from the five public-sector higher education institutions in South Punjab, Pakistan. A semi-structured interview protocol was designed to collect data from 18 respondents using convenience sampling. The data were transformed in NVivo 12 for thematic analysis after being organized in an Excel sheet. The findings indicate that a robust learning platform should be developed for teachers to engage students in group projects, discussion boards, and peer-review activities that make the online learning environment feel like a community. The study recommends that universities adopt a reliable and effective learning management system (LMS) to enhance online teaching and support teachers' professional development, enabling them to utilize online learning platforms better.