Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education ISSN (2210-1578) J. Tea. Tea. Edu. 9, No. 2 (July-2021) Email: dchebab@uob.edu.bh , amoulay@ruw.edu.bh, mrabbani@uob.edu.bh. http://journals.uob.edu.bh Taking the Debate on E-Learning Pedagogical Strategies Beyond Students and Technology Spheres: An Insight into the Instructor's Core Mission Daouia Chebab 1 , Amine Moulay 2 and Mustafa Rabbani 3 1 Economics and Finance, University of Bahrain, Sakhir, Bahrain 2 Architectural Design, Royal University for Women, Riffa, Bahrain 3 Economics and Finance, University of Bahrain, Sakhir, Bahrain Received Day 29 January 2021, Revised 15 March 2021, Accepted 25 March 2021, Published 01 July 2021 Abstract: Within nowadays’ rapid changing world and the growing complex environments, the academic debate on how to enhance the E-learning pedagogical strategies has focused mainly on two aspects. First, on the quality of technologies as it is strongly employed to ease and assist an active and collaborative learning process to engage students further and guide them towards diverse learning experiences. Second, on fulfilling the needs of the learners in a way to meet their expectations from different cultural backgrounds and learning styles’ perspectives. However, few studies emphasized the crucial role of the instructor in this debate, especially how to relate the new learning and teaching paradigm along with the student-centered approach to the effective use of online technologies in education. Hence, the present review argues that among the tripartite elements influencing the E-learning pedagogical strategies, that is, the students, the technology, and the instructor, further in-depth attention should be given to the major role of the instructor. Indeed, as effective knowledge starts with learner’s engagement, advancing the debate on the fundamental role of instructors that hel p in providing a genuine lecturer-student interaction in the virtual learning platforms is crucial to fit the requirements of today’s society’s educational needs. Therefore, this research emphasizes the crucial instructor’s skills that are necessary for students’ engagement in the E-learning platforms. Hence, this review goes beyond the conditions of boredom and disengagement to target the roots of the instructor’s role and mission to deliver and communicate knowledge effectively, which can be traced back to the “theory of knowledge” and to essential communication skills. Keywords: E-learning, Pedagogy, Theory of Knowledge, Communication Skills, Student Engagement. INTRODUCTION Higher education institutions all over the world are paying close attention to online courses that are developing fast and gaining a wide acceptance (Sangrà, Vlachopoulos, & Cabrera, 2012). At the same time, literature suggests that in terms of outcomes, no major differences exist between the traditional face to face classes and the e-learning platforms. However, significant contrasts exist in terms of factors that influence students’ satisfaction (Altunisik, 2013). These factors encompass the content and the quality of the course materials, but most importantly, the interaction between instructors and their students and between students themselves as the interaction process is considered more important than the lecture itself (Ilie & Frăsineanu, 2019). This gives further emphasis on students’ engagement, the importance of the student-centered approach, and the fundamental role of the instructor in terms of using innovative means to stimulate discussion, convey knowledge effectively, and raise students’ interest, attention, and motivation. Indeed, student engagement is vital to deliver good quality learning outcomes, as it is a significant predictor of students’ performance and academic achievement(Amado & Roleda, 2019; Waraet al., 2018) Consequently, studies on e-learning platforms and student engagement reached a new level of urgency and drove significant research attention in recent times (Eccles & Wang, 2012). The emerging body of literature on online platforms is highlighting their ability to transform students’ experience in terms of reflexivity, connectivity, interaction, and hence, affecting their level of engagement (Grindle, 2019). http://dx.doi.org/10.12785/itte/090201