Abstract:

The organization of work remotely in Latvia has been used before, but the current global pandemic caused by the coronavirus has led to the introduction of remote work in all areas. It already seems very clear that the coronavirus crisis will now affect not only the labour market and other areas of the economy, but also the provision of education at all levels.

To transform studies into remote studies, the existing conditions must be changed, teachers had to change the way they teach, and students had to change their learning. In addition, it is known that mathematics is one of the most complex academic disciplines, the study of which in digital form is a time-consuming and methodically complex process, the expansion of which is relevant. This posed challenges for both teachers and students. As engineering studies are mathematically intensive, a comparative study of remote mathematics studies has been conducted at two biggest technical universities in Latvia: Riga Technical University and the Latvian University of Life Sciences and Technologies.

At present, studies at Riga Technical University are flexibly planned so that students can acquire the study program as qualitatively as possible. The study process at the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies also is mostly organized remotely, allowing for practical and laboratory work and face-to-face examinations that cannot be organized remotely.

The nature of knowledge has changed as it becomes publicly available. Given the changing educational needs of students, the aim of this study is to answer important questions - do teaching staff manage to create the learning process that students want, or do studies remotely ensure the same quality of studies as in person? How different learning didactic units are organized - lectures, exercises, knowledge assessment using online tests, consultations, structured knowledge, practical knowledge, seminars, discussions, effective learning approaches, argument management, innovative thinking strategies, etc. In this regard, a survey of Riga Technical University and Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies students was conducted on various indicators characterizing the quality of studies, including the professional activities of lecturers for the provision of remote studies.

The questionnaire also included open-ended questions, where students could record their comments and suggestions on the content of the subject, teaching methods, and the organization of the study process in general. The study results show that video lectures are important part of remote studies as most of the students surveyed used them very often.

The analysis of the results provides wider opportunities to modernize and optimize the mathematics study process, with a focus on the possibilities provided by technology, ensuring the availability of math education.

Keywords:

Mathematics, online tests, remote studies, video lecture.