A aurvey of the living experiences of professors and students in virtual classes during COVID-19: A case study of Kurdistan University

Conducted as a phenomenological qualitative research, the present study aims to explore the lived experiences of university professors and students with online classes during the Covid-19 pandemic. The statistical population consists of all the professors and students of the University of Kurdistan who either had taught/taken online classes before the coronavirus outbreak or experienced them for the first time during the pandemic. The theoretical saturation was reached after interviewing 31 students and professors. The findings suggest that, as opposed to traditional education, online classes led to the decline and loss of various academic opportunities, functions, and roles. According to most of the students surveyed, in the absence of physical classes, interaction and dialog among and between both sides (student–student, student–professor, and professor–professor) diminished dramatically. And, they were rather replaced by a form of mechanical, one-dimensional transfer of knowledge from a “transmitter” to a “receiver,” negatively affecting the learning, creativity, productivity, and skills of students. According to the professors, the rise in online classes in Iran has changed their role from “keepers of information” to, at best, “protectors of knowledge.” Most of the professors also believed that another unwanted outcome of the spread of online education had been the loss of interaction and dialog among the university’s faculty members.