Abstract:

In early March 2020, the first case of Covid-19 emerged in the country. The spread of the virus had to be constrained. For reasons of protection of the members of the educational community, it was decided by the state to suspend the operation of the educational institutions, a measure which created concerns in the Universities regarding their courses. Considering the rapid development of technology, universities implemented their courses remotely -synchronously or asynchronously- using a variety of Virtual Classroom-Teleconferencing Systems and Course Management Systems. Both Virtual Classroom-Teleconferencing Systems and Course Management Systems include many tools, plugins, and modules to enhance their functionality and facilitate the implementation of a variety of collaborative learning techniques.

In this study we investigated the collaborative learning techniques that university teachers applied during Emergency Remote Teaching due to the Covid-19 pandemic, using tools, plugins, and modules provided by various electronic platforms. We examined which collaborative learning techniques the university teachers used most frequently, the phases of teaching in which they used them, and the reasons for which they used them in their teaching. The research is quantitative, and a questionnaire with closed-type questions (dichotomous and multiple choice) was employed for its implementation. The sample consisted of 300 university teachers from 17 Greek Universities. The results showed that the university teachers widely applied collaborative learning techniques with brainstorming and group projects being the most popular, mainly during the application phase of their teaching, in order to promote problem solving competences to their students and cultivate a positive pedagogical climate. The need for university teachers to apply active learning methods, like collaborative learning, especially in remote teaching conditions, is also highlighted in this study.

Keywords:

Emergency Remote Teaching, university teachers, electronic platforms, collaborative learning techniques.