Action Research on College Students' Perception in the Context of a Massive Migration to Online Learning Due to the Pandemic

Abstract

Action research designed was used to investigate the impact of a sudden full-scale shift to online learning of college students due to the pandemic. Significant differences on the following were noted: on students (1) personal commitment, the students’ course (program enrolled) and year level influence their decision making towards online learning- - their compliance on the given project-based activities; and their choice to pursue online learning despite the limited hardware and software resources. Concerning (2) study habits, the self- paced environment enabled students to strive and devote autonomously to pursuing higher education goals. The (3) Learning environment and (4) online learning readiness, showed the self-directed approach to online learning are affected by the students’ gender, course enrolled and year level. The perception on the characteristics and benefits of synchronous and asynchronous activities showed significant difference on the course enrolled and year level status. The research highlights the benefits of performing an assessment survey to determine students’ perceptions of a full-scale online learning environment as it enables teachers to contextualize and further plan their lessons and methodology. Addressing the possibility of students dropping out because they believe they cannot keep up with the demand for online education.