Online course experiences matter: adapting and applying the CEQ to the online teaching context during COVID-19 in China

This paper reports two consecutive studies investigating Chinese students' course experiences of online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a sample of 2,894 undergraduate students from 12 universities, Study one adapted the Course Experience Questionnaire in the context of online teaching and learning, and provided some evidence supporting the psychometric qualities of the refined six-factor, 33-item Chinese version of the Online Course Experience Questionnaire. Using this scale, Study two examined the relationships between students' course experiences and their efficacy for completing online learning tasks and satisfaction with online teaching with a sample of 6,299 students from four universities. In general, the results showed that the Online Course Experience Questionnaire is a reliable and valid tool for assessing the quality of online teaching. After controlling for students' demographic variables, various factors of students' online course experiences were significantly associated with their academic efficacy for and satisfaction with online teaching. The results call for attention to the roles of clear goals and standards, emphasis on independence, and appropriate assessment in online teaching. These findings enrich the current knowledge of students' course experience, and have implications for the improvement of online teaching during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.