Group Work Using Active Learning: A Comparison of Students' Evaluations of Face-to-Face and Online Lessons

Abstract

An active learning group work course at “A” university in Japan is characterized by two-way interactions between students as well as between teachers and students. The spread of COVID-19 prompted a shift from in-person lessons to online synchronous lessons in 2020 and 2021. This mixed methods study analyzes data from a combined structured and open-ended questionnaire completed by 5,268 students. The results showed that online lessons were significantly more highly evaluated than face-to-face lessons in terms of enhancing students' understanding of student life, sense of belonging, expressing one's opinions and listening to those of others, and self-regulation of attendance and gaining an in-depth understanding of the course material. However, face-to-face lessons were preferred for small class sizes, interactions with students who have different ideas, and group learning activities. Open-ended responses indicated that conducting online classes via Zoom improved students' perceptions of group learning and interaction in this setting.