How Students Say They Want to Learn

Student Voice Matters 2021 (Part 3)

In part 1 of SVM 2021, it was revealed that 3 in 5 students say they want to learn via a combination of offline and online learning. In this third and final instalment of SVM, we explore the nuances surrounding how students say they want to learn in the future. Which online platforms do they prefer to learn on? What type of support should teachers be offering, and in what capacity? Find out below.

1. Students rank Google Meet as their most preferred online learning platform, followed by WhatsApp, Telegram & Zoom.

“(on positives of online learning)… Pembelajaran lebih menarik dengan pelbagai laman pendidikan seperti Portal Delima, Quizizz, Kahoot, Padlet serta Telegram.” -17 year-old male student from Selangor

“(on negatives of online learning)… penyertaan pelajar yang tidak konsisten walaupun menggunakan Google Meet dan Zoom. Overall, membosankan dan mengganggu konsentrasi.” — 17 year-old male student from Johor

“I can (keep) up to date with the teachers using platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram without having face to face with them. This actually made me less awkward and (I) get to ask more questions privately.” — 17 year-old female student from Sarawak

“…since the online classes started, I personally felt that I was losing my interest in studies… some of my teachers just use Telegram to teach which is totally boring and not effective at all..” — 15 year-old female student from Johor

Key Findings:

• Students indicate Google Meet as their most preferred online learning platform. This is in contrast to the previous year, where it ranked 7th in preference.
• Google Meet on average scored slightly higher than Zoom (6.40 vs. 5.78), indicating a slight preference for Google Meet over Zoom. This may be due to the wider use of Google Meet in Malaysian public schools as a primary video conferencing tool.
• Preference for Google Classrooms (over other platforms) has also decreased from previous year, where it ranked 2nd, compared to 5th this year.
• Students continue to rank WhatsApp and Telegram highly (#2 and #3 respectively) as platforms for online learning.
• Students also tend to rank social platforms such as Discord, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter lower. This may be because students find it difficult to see these platforms as effective means to learn.

• There is a difference in preference between students who chose to respond to the survey in English and students who answered in Bahasa Melayu.
• For respondents who selected Bahasa Melayu, Telegram is their most preferred platform, followed by WhatsApp. They also tend to rank synchronous platforms (non real-time) such as Google Meets and Zoom lower than students responding in English.
• This is reflected in the ~57% of Bahasa Melayu respondents who rank either Telegram or WhatsApp as their top platform, compared to only ~20% from English respondents.

2. Students want more fun activities, clearer learning structures, and interactive engagement in their lessons.

“Guru-guru boleh mengajar anak murid dengan cara yang menyeronokkan dan ceria” — 13 year-old male student from Terengganu

“(Teachers should provide) …consistent learning structure and motivation to students. e.g. after finally a year of online learning only has my school fully emphasised and making sure that teachers mark the students’ work given on GC (Google Classroom). That is essential because when someone completes their work, they would want to know about their mistakes… This kind of support is important…” — 17 year-old male student from Selangor

“More interaction with students and frequent use of engaging and interactive websites (Kahoot! , Quizizz etc.)” — 16 year-old female student from Penang

Key Findings:

• ~70% of students indicate that they need more fun & engaging activities to improve their online learning experience. This is higher than in the previous year’s survey, where only ~37% of students reported the same.
• Clearer and more consistent learning structures continue to be a major need according to students, with ~56% indicating that 2021 vs. ~47% in 2020.
• About 2 in 5 students say better internet access & technical devices would improve their online learning experience.
• Major themes in ‘Others’ include less intense learning schedules and reduced workload.

3. Students generally indicate that they need medium to high levels of support from their teachers when learning a new topic.

“Ensure students are completing their homework and occasionally give online assessments to find out students’ progress.” — 17 year-old female student from Selangor

“Saya harap pihak sekolah,terutama guru-guru meningkatkan kecemerlangan dalam pembelajaran saya dengan mengulangkaji pelajaran dengan berkali-kali.” -13 year-old male student from Johor

“Sentiasa memberi sokongan kepada pelajar dan tidak memberikan kerja sekolah yang terlalu berlebih-lebihan. Sebagai contoh, jika murid sudah hantar kerja sekolah, guru patut membalas mesej murid dan berkata bagus dan sebagainya.” 14 year-old female student from Perak

Key Findings:

• ~95% of students indicate that they need medium to high levels of support from their teachers when learning a new topic. This is consistent across all years of study, with most Form 1/ Year 7 students (77.8%) indicating that they need a high level of support when learning a new topic.
• Students who indicate that they require a low level of support are 3 times more likely to prefer fully online classes compared to students who say they need medium or high levels of support).

4. Students rank individual revision (with resources provided) as their most preferred method of learning.

“(teachers can support via) constant check-ins but the trust in students to learn and study independently.” — 17 year-old female student from Putrajaya

“Saya berharap pihak sekolah dapat memperkenalkan kaedah mengajar yang baharu untuk guru-guru semasa menjalankan pembelajaran atas talian.” — 17 year-old male student from Selangor

“A learning style where it is able to challenge our thought process rather than fully lecture based/ spoon-feeding. To reconsider the structure of lessons, whether assessments of understanding necessarily need to be done by exam or assignments only.” — 18 year-old female student from W.P. Labuan

Key Findings:

• Students rank individual revision to be their most preferred learning method (35%), followed by classroom-based lessons (29%), small group discussions (21%), and project-based activities (15%).
• For students who indicate that they prefer fully offline classes in the future, they are also more likely to rank classroom-based lessons as their most preferred method of learning (40%).
• This is in contrast to students preferring fully online classes, who are least likely to select classroom-based lessons (10%), and instead prefer individual revision (48%) or small group discussions (31%).