Difficulties faced by undergraduate students in group interactions during COVID-19 and the highest motivation-inducing delivery method
Difficulties faced by undergraduate students in group interactions during COVID-19 and the highest motivation-inducing delivery method
By Kroon Maria Isabella Wilhelmina, Lam Hin Wang Walter, Marjan Lotfi Fard, Park Ji Hyeon
(Funded by HKU Common Core Transdisciplinary Undergraduate Research Grant)
Abstract
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, online education became ever so prevalent and crucial. The hasty shift of learning mode to online platforms through implementing various delivery methods affected students in a range of ways. Group interactions are arguably the most affected due to the differences between face-to-face and online communication. Students may have found themselves having to deal with situations that likely would not have occurred if not for online learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate difficulties faced by undergraduate students in group interactions during COVID-19 and the highest motivation-inducing delivery method. It must be noted that some difficulties are more impactful in nature than others despite being less frequent. Subsequently, a survey was constructed with questions that collected a posteriori data as quantitative numbers which were visualised as graphs to reflect delivery methods at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). In relevance to group interactions, difficulties; significance in learning; the most motivation-inducing delivery method; and differences in how students who have and have not had face-to-face classes perceive online learning will be analysed. The study highlights findings from 150 undergraduates that delivery methods involving interactions are more impactful; the role of engagement or lack thereof; inducing motivation with more group interactions; contradictions between interactiveness and motivation; and the highest and lowest motivation-inducing delivery method. Therefore, this study suggests that the ideal delivery methods are live Zoom meetings for lectures and tutorials, and face-to-face for practicals.