Online Teaching and Learning in Biomedical Sciences: Students’ and Staff’ Attitudes and Experiences on the New Educational Environment Imposed by the COVID 19 Outbreak

The aim of this pilot study is a preliminary evaluation of previous models / modalities of online teaching at the Faculty of Medical Sciences in Serbia and to examine the attitudes of students and academic staff about education during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as their previous experiences. The research was designed as an observational qualitative epidemiological study which was conducted on a population of students and academics staff at the Faculty of biomedical sciences, University of Kragujevac during the pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Serbia. The first phase is a pilot study which included 332 participants performed between December 2020 and January 2021. The pilot study questionnaire is formed for the purposes of the research and consists of 17 closed-ended questions with graduated answers. Students and academic staff completed the questionnaire through an online learning platform in all environments and from all electronic devices. The importance of this study is reflected in the fact that it provides detailed and valid data that can serve the purpose of improving the efficiency of online teaching at the faculties of medical sciences in Serbia In general, the results of our study indicate that in addition to great inexperience, both students and academic staff cope well during online education and the changed environment and learning conditions despite all the difficulties.