Student-material Interaction in Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Student-material interaction is crucial for the learning process. It is even more critical when online teaching is conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic because students are supposed to be more independent and autonomous in online learning. However, few studies have been conducted to examine how students interact with their materials outside the classroom. The current study explored student-material interactions through a survey and semi-structured interviews at a university in Vietnam. Materials were classified into three types: compulsory, recommended but not mandatory by teachers, and self-selected materials. Participants were 62 tertiary students who studied English as a compulsory subject at the selected institution in the North of Vietnam. Findings showed that students mainly read/listened/viewed materials, did some exercises, and discussed with their peers, while they did not engage in deeper analysis, such as analysing and creating similar materials. Students perceived that they understood the lessons with a low level of cognition. In addition, students reported that obtaining reasonable scores was the highest motivation for interacting with materials. The study suggested that teachers should have more instructions for students to interact with materials, and the process of interacting with materials should be a part of the assessment.