Distance teaching in times of Covid-19 – from zero to hero? Experiences and best practices of a university lecturer trying to create a student-centred distance teaching approach

Abstract

This article deals with the challenges of distance teaching during the Covid-19-induced global pandemic. As hardly any university teacher was prepared for switching from traditional in-class teaching to distance teaching, and as most universities were neither personally nor technically equipped for such a dramatic change, nearly everybody had to start from zero. As a university teacher in Germany, I devised my own student-centred method of distance teaching, combining various available means and tools for distance teaching and learning, which include: Videos, WhatsApp and Zoom (VWZ). The VWZ-approach turned out to be a very promising and effective method of distance teaching and learning. It puts the students in the centre and gives them better control over their study and learning process at anytime, anywhere, and according to their own learning speed, while the teacher is constantly available for them to provide guidance, answer questions and give them feedback.