Differences in the perception of the role of instructors among Western and Chinese students in online teaching practices

Abstract Background The global introduction of complex measures directed at the containment of the COVID‐19 spread has spurred a massive shift to distance learning among educational institutions. As far as such a learning mode is rather forced and, probably, only a few establishments faced no difficulties with it, the matter of assuring teaching activities' effectiveness in the practice of e‐learning is relevant. Objectives The main purpose of this article was to assess the efficiency of online‐based tools and technologies in the context of distance education and develop a set of recommendations aimed at improving the effectiveness of online teaching. Methods The research methodology was based on an empirical approach presupposing an exploratory questionnaire survey addressed to university students. As for the e‐learning platform used, the focus was set on Microsoft Teams. Results and Conclusions In general, the conducted investigation unveiled that the perception of the role of the instructor differs among Western and Chinese students in terms of willingness to accept psychological help and the feeling of safety during online lessons. Given this, it is reasonable to pay more attention to the psychological well‐being of international students. The comprehensive analysis of survey outcomes allowed the development of a set of recommendations able to enhance the effectiveness of teaching in online settings. These encompass, for example, giving preference to small student group formations, setting greater emphasis on means increasing students' motivation to learn, involvement of instructors in the development and delivery of video lectures, the introduction of automated student assessment, use of multimedia information, and informing students about possible ways of interaction.