Investigation of the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning of chemistry laboratory courses at Farhangian University from the perspective of professors and student teachers

This research aimed to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning of laboratory units in the chemistry education field of Farhangian University during the outbreak of the Corona virus. The research is applied and has been done using quantitative and qualitative methods. The statistical population was all the student teachers, as well as all the chemistry professors of Farhangian University who had the experience of educating chemistry laboratory units in face-to-face and virtually. 180 student teachers and 14 professors participated in the research. The research tool was two researcher-made questionnaires and three open-ended questions. The content validity of the questionnaires was confirmed by 3 faculty members of Farhangian University. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.87. The biggest disadvantage of the e-learning of chemistry laboratory units from the perspective of participants was the lack of practical skills. The biggest advantage was saving time, reducing purchasing costs, reducing the consumption of chemicals, less environmental pollution and greater safety. Most of the participants considered the only way to compensate for the shortcomings of e-learning of laboratory units is to hold these units in face-to-face. No significant difference was observed between male and female professors and also among students by entry years and gender.