Part 1: Learning Through a Pandemic
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.
Scroll down for Part 2: Student Well-Being When Learning Online!
Part 2: Student Well-Being When Learning Online
1. Students have mixed feelings towards their overall learning experience.
“Online learning makes learning faster such that we can cover our syllabus quick but then there are things which are complicated and hard to ask while offline and the teachers also cannot see our confused faces that she always move onto the next part…” - 17 year-old female student from Kuala Lumpur
“Suasana di dalam rumah yang huru - hara. Terasa seperti tidak ada aktiviti yang hendak dilakukan selepas bangun walaupun ada kelas talian” - 17 year-old female student from Sarawak
“Things that make my experience online learning 3/10 is the feeling of hopelessness doing it. It also felt like it never improved my learning moment instead just made it harder for me to focus and study. This by far no means, saying that teachers are in the wrong as it is my own self that felt this way. But I would love for a better way to make this online learning benefit me more as a student.” - 16 year-old male student from Sarawak
Key Findings:
The overall sentiment from students towards their learning is generally mixed, with ~39% of students indicating mixed feelings about their overall learning experience compared to ~31% & ~23% who indicate positive and negative responses only.
Majority of students report a sense of trust, with ~44% of students indicating that they feel calm & safe towards their overall learning experience.
A similar number of students (between 35-38%) selected that they feel joyful & positive, nervous & scared, excited & ready, and frustrated & bored about their learning.
For students who indicate that they feel lonely & helpless, 60% of them also note a decline in their mental health since switching to online learning.
2. 1 in 3 students are spending more than 8 hours on electronic devices daily. Those who spend more time on devices tend to rate their learning experience lower.
“...I find it easier to discuss certain topics offline, and online learning is very energy draining, sitting in front of a screen all day.” - 17 year-old female student from Selangor
“...Mata (saya) lebih penat kerana screen time yang kerap dan lama setiap hari.” - 17 year-old male student from Selangor
“First of all, it is hard for us students to focus on the screen which is really tiring for our eyes…. Frankly speaking, sometimes we can do whatever we want behind the screen whenever we are muted and the camera is turned off.” - 16 year-old female student from Penang
Key Findings:
1 in 3 students (~34%) indicate that they spend more than 8 hours on their devices daily compared to only <5% who spend between 0-2 hours on devices. 84% of students who spend more than 8 hours also indicate that they enjoy watching TV/ streams/ videos and playing video games in their free time.
There is also a correlation between the average learning experiences of students and the number of hours spent on devices. Students who spend more time on devices tend to rate their online learning experiences lower.
Many students note that learning online through the pandemic has increased their screen time significantly, with some mentioning increased strain on their eyes.
3. 2 in 5 students indicate a decline in either their physical, mental or emotional health since the switch to online learning.
“Be more understanding towards students. Some of us face mental health issues, don't come from a stable household, face technical and financial issues, lack personal space, etc. Many students don't have the luxury of being able to devote all their time to studying and online school.” - 17 year-old female student from Selangor
“Saya memilih kaedah belajar tersebut (a combination of online & offline) kerana ia perlu mempertimbangkan kesihatan mental dan fizikal murid. Apabila murid dalam keadaan yang tidak stabil… mereka akan mengalami masalah mental akibat jangkaan guru atau ibu bapa yang berlebihan.” - 14 year-old female student from Sarawak
“Harapan saya ialah memberikan kami pelajar banyak sokongan dari segi mental agar terus dapat menguatkan diri kami untuk menghadapi ujian dari segi akademik…” - 17 year-old female student from Sabah
Key Findings:
When asked about how schools & teachers can support them through their learning, many students express call-to-actions for more consideration towards better mental health support.
Some students attribute their decline in mental health to the increased homework and stress when learning online. This is reflected in a higher proportion of students reporting worsening mental & emotional health as they spend more time on their devices as the increased workload translates to increased screen times. As one respondent notes,
“Regardless of online or offline learning, everyone's well being and mental health should always come first. With (so much homework), it messes up students' management skills and the freedom to relax, even on weekends. The teachers are also stressed out by the fact they have to keep up with the syllabus, so they have to give students a lot of homework, even if homework is supposedly for us to ‘learn by ourselves at home’, it doesn't work anymore due to schooling draining motivation…”
4. Students are most concerned about their exams & schoolwork as a result of unpredictable school closures.
“I still have to get myself motivated and always bear in mind that SPM is around the corner. I have no more time to waste. I must learn to manage my time well. On the other hand , I have also seen and heard that SPM 2020 was tough even for those who are well prepared… I am worried that I might face the same situation too.” - 17 year-old female student from Penang
“I hope teachers can give us more exercise to improve ourselves. I also hope teacher's will discuss more about the future (about classes in form 4, universities and jobs) because I'm a little worried…” - 15 year-old female student from Penang
“(rated learning experience 4/10)... kerana saya sibuk nak siapkan tugasan sekolah dan juga tugasan rumah seperti sidai kain, vakum rumah, basuh pinggan dan seumpamanya” - 15 year-old male student from Kedah
Key Findings:
~84% of students indicate upcoming exams to be among their main concerns arising from school closures, followed by 65% who are worried about keeping up with schoolwork. This may be due to the uncertainty in teaching schedules and timetables that students experienced when learning online last year.
1 in 5 students also indicate that caring for their families / working with their parents are among their main concerns, showing that some students have additional responsibilities at home on top of their studies.
Students indicating ‘Others’ note mental health, worries about their future & self-motivation to learn to be among their concerns.
5. Students are most productive in the late morning.
“(Schools can help by) Adjusting the class schedules better for students to have suitable breaks between classes and not get overwhelmed by non-stop classes from early in the morning to late afternoons....” - 17 year-old female student from Kuala Lumpur
“For daytime, offline classes should be done. Online classes can be done during night time, so both students and teachers don't necessarily have to prepare themselves to go to class at night. They could just open their laptop or their phone to study at their convenience… “ - 17 year-old female student from Johor
Key Findings:
~30% of students indicate that they feel most productive between 9:00AM and 12:00PM in the morning and ~18% of students prefer to work later at night, between 9:00PM and 12:00AM.
More students prefer to learn in the morning rather than the afternoon, and about 1 in 5 students prefer to work later in the night, shown by the decrease in the number of students who feel productive between 12:00PM and 9:00PM.
This is consistent in examination students (Form 5 / Year 11), who indicate similar preferences for when they are productive.
Summary
Many students have told us that learning through the pandemic has been challenging. Organisations such as UNICEF Malaysia & MMHA continue to offer resources and support for students struggling with their mental & emotional health.
For Project ID, we continue to conduct online workshops to help students manage their emotions and cope with uncertainties through PID Online. Our OpenLearning course on Building Resilience for the Mind and regularly updated Resource Page provide tools for students to navigate their social and emotional learning online.
As we plan for online classes in the face of extended school closures, how can educators & institutions consider and swiftly incorporate support in mental & emotional health for our students such that we can help them maximise their learning going forwards?
In the third and final part of Student Voice Matters 2021, we explore how students say they want to learn in the future. Stay tuned!
Part 3: How Students Say They Want to Learn
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%).
A recap of SVM 2021
Student Voice Matters 2021 set out to understand 3 things: the online learning experience for students, student well-being through the pandemic, and how students want to learn going forward. These are our findings:
1. What has the online learning experience been like for Malaysian students?
Students are satisfied with the support from school and teachers - empathising with the challenges that their teachers face.
Majority of students indicate that they are lacking motivation to learn, and many continue to struggle with inconsistent learning structures & poor internet connection.
Many students appreciate the flexibility and accessibility of online learning. 3 in 5 students say they want to learn via a combination of online and offline classes (blended learning) in the future.
“...I think that online learning has given me new experience and I could learn through apps and I was exposed to other online classes in various organisations that can help me strengthen my knowledge other than joining online classes with school. At the same time, I do feel stressed about my internet connection and the cost that I have to pay in order to get access to the internet. Since I have four siblings, the cost is quite expensive.” - 17 year-old female student from Kelantan
2. How has learn-from-home affected student well-being?
Students are most concerned about their exams & schoolwork, given the inconsistency in teaching schedules and their timetables since the start of the pandemic.
The sentiment around their learning is one of mixed feelings. Students are generally positive (trust being most prominent). However, many also report various combinations of joy, fear, anticipation, anger, or sadness in their responses.
2 in 5 students report to be in a worse condition physically, mentally or emotionally. Students note that increased workloads and challenges of learning online has adversely affected them, calling for better mental health support.
“Saya berharap pihak sekolah dan guru sentiasa memberikan sokongan kepada pelajar dan mengambil berat tentang kesihatan mental dan emosi pelajar” - 15 year-old female student from Sabah
3. How do students want to learn going forwards?
Google Meet is students’ most preferred online learning platform, followed by WhatsApp, Telegram and Zoom. Students who are more comfortable with virtual platforms tend to have a better online learning experience (article #1).
Students want more engagement and structure in their online lessons. They ask for more ways to interact and engage with their teachers, peers, and school material online through fun modalities such as quizzes or games.
Majority of students say they need medium to high levels of support from their teachers when learning a new topic, citing preference for guided individual revisions.
“...more practical based learning and interesting activities related to the topic I'm learning. I hope that my teachers will give me enough guidance when I don't know a certain topic. I also hope that teachers will be more open to their students' ideas or relate to their students so that the students will not feel scared to ask the teacher questions…” - 17 year-old female student from Penang
About Student Voice Matters
The Student Voice Matter Survey was designed to give Project ID and our partners insight into the state of our student network. While the study may not comprehensively reflect the opinions of all Malaysian students, its results have been instrumental in informing the design of our programmes. For questions and collaboration opportunities, you can email us at hello@project-id.org.
Project ID is an education startup that runs high-impact programmes that empower students to lead self & others with 21st century skills. Since the start of the pandemic, we have run over 300 virtual workshops and continuously innovate in online learning for students and teachers in Malaysia.
Since Student Voice Matters, we have launched Edflow, a digital learning platform that enables high-school students to succeed by providing a space for them to share and access learning resources. Visit edflow.app to find out more.