Abstract:

The emergency transition from conventional, classroom-based learning to online learning challenged both students and educators who had to adjust to the unparalleled social circumstances foisted by the persistent Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to explore undergraduate students’ responses towards the shift to online education specifically with regards to learning mathematics; to investigate the factors that affected students’ engagement or disengagement with mathematics education during this transition; and ultimately to capture students’ perspectives on improving online and blended mathematics education in the post-Covid-19 era. Empirical data was gathered through focus groups with undergraduate students taking courses in Statistics and Quantitative Methods. The case study was conducted over two distinct data gathering phases spanning two consecutive academic years (2019-20 and 2020-21).

The findings from the qualitative analysis of the gathered data indicate that the transition to online learning inevitably impacted students’ approaches to studying and negatively affected their academic performance in their mathematics classes. A combination of factors emerged as enablers and barriers to students’ engagement with mathematics education. The most prevalent experiences students shared involved the difficulty to concentrate and follow the flow of mathematical problem-solving during online lectures due to the ‘absence’ of the whiteboard, as well as the increased distractions they encountered. When talking about what the ‘missed’ from their classroom-based teaching, students’ responses highlighted the social dimension of learner engagement. Trivial aspects such as having a break or asking questions during the lecture without having to worry about the session being recorded were identified. At the same time, students underlined the role of empathy and support from the lecturer’s side. Students’ suggestions for improving their learning experiences emphasised the mentoring role of lecturers, the role of continuous, active, and individualised feedback, the need of personal contact with their peers and lecturers, and the importance of having a visual of both the lecturer and the whiteboard during online teaching, so as to simulate as closely as possible the classroom scene. The empirical findings contribute to a better understanding of undergraduate students’ perceptions on their learning experiences during this unprecedented period, and can help towards improving the design of innovative pedagogical approaches employed in both online and blended educational contexts.

Keywords:

Mathematics education, emergency transition to online education, higher education, technological intervention, learner engagement.