COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN A PANDEMIC SETTING: HOW LEARNING HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY COVID-19

Abstract

The current pandemic of COVID-19 has caused major upheaval to the world and to the field of higher education. Specifically, we examined how these changes affected collaborative learning practices. Based on a literature review of collaborative learning, it has been established that the benefits of using collaborative learning practices is significantly better than traditional methods. However, research has not been fully described on the effects of a pandemic on education or collaborative learning. The current environment offers ample resources to tackle such a question. We used SurveyMonkey to send questionnaires to undergraduate students to learn what they thought about the online modality as well as to gather student testimonies about various topics. Students shared common sentiments regarding wanting to return to regular schooling, however some students shared how they prefer the new modality due to increased convenience and freedom. Many students even requested that semesters following the pandemic continue to be offered in the online modality. These findings indicate that the pandemic may cause lasting changes in the field of education, and that society as a whole might have a new normal after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed. Possible areas of growth include offering a more robust online educational experience and sociopolitical changes that make fighting a future pandemic easier and more effective.