Distance education: the case of California State University in Sacramento

On July 2, 2020, Abai KazNPU held a webinar «Distance Education in the United States: the Case of California State University in Sacramento», within the international project «Evidence-based educator preparation and organizational culture». The project is funded by the Government of USA, the U.S.-KAZAKHSTAN UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS GRANTS PROGRAM with the support of the American Council for International Education.

The webinar leader was Bayan Sapargaliyeva - head of the Department of International Programs and Cooperation, project coordinator from Abai KazNPU. The speaker was Alexander Sidorkin, project coordinator, professor, Dean of the College of Education, University of California at Sacramento.

Alexander Sidorkin explained the current situation at the University of California, located in the capital of the State of California - Sacramento. It is a state university with about 30,000 students, the university graduates as teachers, engineers, police officers, accountants, social workers etc from mass professions needed in the State economy.

The speaker presented the situation of distance education at the university before moving to quarantine COVID-19. In mid-March 2020, US universities switched to online education. The University of California in Sacramento provided technical support, interviewed the needs of teachers, and gave teachers some time to transfer their courses to online education. The university solved specific problems in connection with the practice of students. According to the results of the questionnaire for teachers, I had to rethink the aspects of teaching and questions arose: How to evaluate the work of students? What assignments to students? How to rethink the objectives of the course? The question of the quality of teaching online was raised. The quality of teaching in higher education is very difficult to measure; there are no objective tools. It is measured through the subjective perception of teachers and students. According to the university, the quality of education has declined. Students come to the educational institution for the experience of staying at the university, for personal communication. The experience of personal communication in teaching has independent and applied value. There is always a question of motivation as a social, physical interaction each other. The meaning of education is not the receipt of information, knowledge, but the relationship between people through personal communication.

The online webinar had about 90 participants, representatives of universities in Europe, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, including: Tartu University, Moscow City Pedagogical University, Moscow Pedagogical State University, Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University, L.N. Tolstoy Tula State Pedagogical University, St. Tikhon`s Orthodox Humanitarian University, Center for Advanced Training of the Astrakhan State Polytechnic College, M.M. Adyshev Osh Technological University, Kazakh National Women`s Teacher training University, Amanzholov East Kazakhstan State University, Taraz State University, Kazakh-German University, M. Auezov South Kazakhstan State University, Pavlodar State Pedagogical University, AlmaU - Almaty Management University, Central Asian University, Academy of Civil Aviation, Zhangir Khan West Kazakhstan Agrarian and Technical University, Kazakh-Russian Medical University, Narxoz University and Abai KazNPU.

Participants of the webinar spoke: Academician of the Russian Academy of Education, professor of Moscow State Pedagogical University - Alexander Naumovich Dzhurinsky, emphasized that there are no obstacles to blended education, online learning and personal contact of the student and teacher complement each other. Alexander Naumovich agreed with the speaker about the best education is still direct interaction with the student.

Rector of Moscow State Pedagogical University, associate professor Igor Mikhailovich Remorenko thanked the speaker and colleagues for their active participation in the webinar, commented that participation in such online webinars promotes their own understanding. Igor Mikhailovich said that the Institute for the Content of Education of the Moscow State Pedagogical University analyzes various elements of the content of education during the transition to distance education. Some courses require collective discussion, joint construction of an intellectual model. Not every knowledge is reproduced by viewing, somewhere this knowledge contains intellectual overcoming, the restructuring of one`s own worldview position, which also needs synchronous training. This intellectual overcoming also cannot be accomplished without discussion, a certain dialectical transformation. In this sense, the idea of education must be expanded and in this matter, distance education helps.

Aymena Kurmangali, Doctor of Political Sciences, lecturer (Institute of Sorbonne-Kazakhstan, KazNPU) thanked the speaker for a relevant topic and expressed the opinion that online education will probably become an elite education in the future and the best teacher`s assessment is the student`s opinion.

Summing up the results of the online meeting, it is noted that the degree of involvement of teachers and students has a huge role in distance education, this assesses the quality of education in general. If participants in online education saw their goals and their progress in mastering the material, then this is a good course.

«At the same time, education in a relationship between each other extends to the student`s knowledge. Relations are the independent value of education. Human life is the construction of systems of relations, which he constantly builds. We know that people with a higher level of formal education build their lives better, their relationship capital is just as important as knowledge of the subject, which explains their continued success in life» concluded the webinar, Alexander Sidorkin.

The webinar held in a friendly atmosphere, the participants expressed their gratitude to the speaker for an interesting online meeting.

Information on next webinars can be found in the announcements on the website of Abai KazNPU.

Contacts for communication within the project: Cel.: +77017326344, e-mail: bayan_sapargaliyeva@mail.ru, bonya_sh@mail.ru

Video material

Department of International Cooperation