Learning Through a Pandemic

Student Voice Matters 2021 (Part 1)

Over the past year, we saw remarkable resilience from teachers and students alike to persevere in learning despite the challenges presented by the pandemic.

In 2020, Project ID conducted the Student Voice Matters survey to understand how students are coping with the sudden switch to online learning. We found a majority of students preferred offline (in-classroom) learning. This was underpinned by connectivity issues and inconsistent learning structures.

Since then, recurring school closures have prevented students from returning to normalcy, and virtual classes continue to be the core mode of learning for many students. Project ID has since conducted over 100 interactive online workshops in areas such as self-development, career aspirations, entrepreneurship and emotional management.

Student Voice Matters 2021 looks to study changes in the Malaysian students’ online learning experience after a year and how they want to learn moving forward. This year, we heard from 761 Malaysian students between ages 13–21.

The study returns in a 3-part series, the first of which will cover the online learning experience in the past year (Part 1). Then, we will explore how unpredictable school closures have affected student well-being (Part 2) and finally, we offer insight on how Malaysian students say they want to learn in the future (Part 3).

1. Students want to learn using a combination of online & offline classes

“I prefer this option (a combination of online & offline) because although I find online learning more comfortable and effective, I miss physical classes with the chattering of students and a teacher. I think offline classes are also important to build better social interaction skills…” — 17 year-old female student from Kuala Lumpur

“Firstly, online classes allow me to search information straightaway so that helps keep me curious and dedicated to learning. But on the other hand, online classes are exhausting… so I rather we get to study offline too where we get more time to interact without barriers and form discussions.” — 16 year-old female student from Pulau Pinang

“Kelas atas talian membantu saya menambah baik input & output kemahiran saya & ilmu yang ada agar dapat dicurahkan daripada hanya secara fizikal. Pun begitu, kelas fizikal tetap menjadi medium terpenting dalam sistem pendidikan kerana ada sesuatu keistimewaan yang sukar digambarkan dengan kata².” — 16 year-old male student from Kelantan

Key Findings:

• 58% of respondents indicate that they would like to learn via a combination of online & offline classes compared to 35% who want to learn via physical classes and 7% who would like to have fully online classes in the future.
• Students prefer blended learning because it allows them to retain elements that they appreciate from both online and offline classes (i.e. maintaining the flexibility & comfort of online classes while being able to occasionally interact with friends & teachers).
• Students who indicate that they prefer fully online classes also indicate a higher level of comfort with virtual platforms.

2. Students indicate that lack of self-motivation is among the biggest challenges that they face in online learning.

“…There is also a lack of structure in online school. The ability for teachers to pick and choose when they have classes is extremely frustrating, I find myself in class at 8pm on a Sunday. Not to mention the workload is significantly heavier because many of our teachers believe that “because you are at home, you have a lot of time” — 17 year-old female student from Selangor

“Saya kadang kala sukar untuk memahami pembelajaran yang diajarkan oleh cikgu secara dalam talian berbanding bersemuka. Selain itu, talian internet yang lemah menyukarkan saya untuk menyertai kelas…” — 16 year-old female student from W.P. Labuan

Key Findings:

• This year, over 55% of students indicate lack of motivation as a challenge that they face when learning online, compared to ~35% in 2020. This could be attributed to lengthened school closures and significantly reduced social interaction with their peers.
• Internet accessibility is also a key issue for many students, with ~46% of respondents indicating that poor internet connection is a challenge for them.
• Unclear & inconsistent learning structures remains to be a key challenge that students face in online learning. Many students share stories of unproductive classes and lack of clarity surrounding how & when they will be learning.

3. Online learning experiences of students differ based on year of study.

“…saya tidak selesa belajar dalam talian. Bukan itu sahaja, saya kurang faham dan tiada semangat untuk belajar kerana saya tidak merasai suasana di sekolah. Jika di sekolah saya mempunyai cenderung untuk belajar tetapi di rumah saya merasakan banyak halangan seperti saya kena buat kerja rumah…” — 17 year-old male student from Perlis

“…I can manage my time better since I’m home all day so I can do my homework during lunch break.” — 13 year-old female student from Sarawak

Key Findings:

• Form 5 / Year 11 students generally rate their learning experiences lower compared to their peers in other years. Many of them express that they have experienced increased levels of stress in the past year given uncertainty surrounding SPM examination dates and increased load of homework as schools are using submissions as attendance markers.
• Form 1 / Year 7 students indicate the highest average scores for their online learning experience compared to their more mature peers. This may be due to a combination of factors such as a higher familiarity with virtual learning environments and the lower-stakes nature of their learning.

4. Students who are more comfortable with virtual learning platforms generally rate their learning experience to be better.

“(when learning online) we can use lots of technology during our presentation which lead to a more interactive and fun learning process…” -16 year-old male student from Kedah (rated their comfort with virtual platforms 9/10)

“I was really excited to start online class last year, but it’s really hard to get used to the apps because it’s the first time I’ve ever used Google Meet and Zoom. And it was quite difficult to understand what the teacher was saying because of the connection. It’s also hard to ask questions.” — 17 year-old student from Selangor (rated their comfort with virtual platforms 4/10)

“…since teachers post their videos on Youtube, it is easier for me to do revision and rewatch the video without limitation. Online classes through Google Meets are also very helpful. With the help of presentations, I can understand what was taught easier. Besides, I can record the meeting and rewatch it later which is very helpful.” — 18 year-old female student from Sabah (rated their comfort with virtual platforms 7/10)

Key Findings:

• There is a positive correlation between students who are more comfortable with virtual learning platforms and rating of their online learning experience.
• For teachers, teaching on platforms that are familiar to students may yield better results, be it on synchronous platforms such as Google Classrooms and Zoom or in asynchronous platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram.
• Additionally, when introducing a new virtual platform in online classes, it is important to ensure that students are given time to familiarise themselves with the interface before engaging in teaching activities.

5. Students are generally satisfied with the support received from teachers & schools.

“I think they’re doing the best that they could as it’s not easy for them either but I would really like it if they could do a weekly or monthly check up on every student’s progress…” — 17 year-old female student from Selangor

“…I did understand that it is quite hard for teachers to mark and return assignments online as it is a process that tiring teacher’s eyes, but I hope that there will be others alternatives to overcome this problem so that I can figure out my mistakes immediately.” — 16 year-old female student from Kedah

“Saya bersyukur dengan apa yang guru guru daripada sekolah saya sudah lakukan sehingga sekarang, dan selebihnya akan saya usahakan sendiri kerana saya tahu apa yang cikgu saya bagi sudah mencukupi…” — 17 year-old female student from Sabah

Key Findings:

• Most students are satisfied with the support that they have received from schools and teachers during the school closures. This extends to students who are sitting for major examinations (who rate their learning experience more unfavourably than their peers but rate their satisfaction similarly to non-exam students). This is testament to the effort that teachers have put into ensuring learning continues through the pandemic.
• Students are empathetic towards the difficult positions that teachers have been placed into in the past year with many expressing a sense of gratitude and admiration for teachers who have gone above and beyond to overcome pandemic teaching challenges.

6. Despite the challenges, students continue to appreciate the accessibility of information, flexibility and novelty of online learning.

“Having more time to self study and can easily ask any questions in online classes even though you’re not brave at all to ask!” — 17 year-old female student from Pulau Pinang

“…it’s way more convenient and flexible time-wise and information-wise. If you don’t understand anything, you could just search it up immediately or even text your teacher…” — 14 year-old female student from Selangor

Key Findings:

• Despite the challenges, students continue to enjoy certain elements of online learning. The top 4 responses from 2021’s survey are the same as 2020.
• Many students still think of online learning as a new & fun experience, considering that it has been a year since its introduction.
• Online classes also give students new avenues to express themselves and participate in their lessons. They recognise that online learning has the potential to be beneficial, but requires more structure.

Summary

As students tell us how to better support them, educators around the world are exploring various forms of blended learning to improve the student learning experience. For Malaysia, we have observed the progress teachers & institutions are making towards adopting digital platforms i.e. the launch DELIMa by the Ministry of Education or educators continuously innovating and sharing in teaching resources and techniques.

As educators, how can we consider students’ well-being & their learning environment at home in designing online classrooms that are more student-centric?

In Part 2, we explore the effects of the pandemic on students’ well-being. We take a deeper dive into how students are feeling about recurring school closures, how they are coping with learn-from-home, and when they feel the most productive.