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Students’ experience of online learning during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A province‐wide survey study

Lixiang yan.

1 Centre for Learning Analytics at Monash, Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Clayton VIC, Australia

Alexander Whitelock‐Wainwright

2 Portfolio of the Deputy Vice‐Chancellor (Education), Monash University, Melbourne VIC, Australia

Quanlong Guan

3 Department of Computer Science, Jinan University, Guangzhou China

Gangxin Wen

4 College of Cyber Security, Jinan University, Guangzhou China

Dragan Gašević

Guanliang chen, associated data.

The data is not openly available as it is restricted by the Chinese government.

Online learning is currently adopted by educational institutions worldwide to provide students with ongoing education during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Even though online learning research has been advancing in uncovering student experiences in various settings (i.e., tertiary, adult, and professional education), very little progress has been achieved in understanding the experience of the K‐12 student population, especially when narrowed down to different school‐year segments (i.e., primary and secondary school students). This study explores how students at different stages of their K‐12 education reacted to the mandatory full‐time online learning during the COVID‐19 pandemic. For this purpose, we conducted a province‐wide survey study in which the online learning experience of 1,170,769 Chinese students was collected from the Guangdong Province of China. We performed cross‐tabulation and Chi‐square analysis to compare students’ online learning conditions, experiences, and expectations. Results from this survey study provide evidence that students’ online learning experiences are significantly different across school years. Foremost, policy implications were made to advise government authorises and schools on improving the delivery of online learning, and potential directions were identified for future research into K‐12 online learning.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Online learning has been widely adopted during the COVID‐19 pandemic to ensure the continuation of K‐12 education.
• Student success in K‐12 online education is substantially lower than in conventional schools.
• Students experienced various difficulties related to the delivery of online learning.

What this paper adds

• Provide empirical evidence for the online learning experience of students in different school years.
• Identify the different needs of students in primary, middle, and high school.
• Identify the challenges of delivering online learning to students of different age.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• Authority and schools need to provide sufficient technical support to students in online learning.
• The delivery of online learning needs to be customised for students in different school years.

INTRODUCTION

The ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic poses significant challenges to the global education system. By July 2020, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2020) reported nationwide school closure in 111 countries, affecting over 1.07 billion students, which is around 61% of the global student population. Traditional brick‐and‐mortar schools are forced to transform into full‐time virtual schools to provide students with ongoing education (Van Lancker & Parolin,  2020 ). Consequently, students must adapt to the transition from face‐to‐face learning to fully remote online learning, where synchronous video conferences, social media, and asynchronous discussion forums become their primary venues for knowledge construction and peer communication.

For K‐12 students, this sudden transition is problematic as they often lack prior online learning experience (Barbour & Reeves,  2009 ). Barbour and LaBonte ( 2017 ) estimated that even in countries where online learning is growing rapidly, such as USA and Canada, less than 10% of the K‐12 student population had prior experience with this format. Maladaptation to online learning could expose inexperienced students to various vulnerabilities, including decrements in academic performance (Molnar et al.,  2019 ), feeling of isolation (Song et al.,  2004 ), and lack of learning motivation (Muilenburg & Berge,  2005 ). Unfortunately, with confirmed cases continuing to rise each day, and new outbreaks occur on a global scale, full‐time online learning for most students could last longer than anticipated (World Health Organization,  2020 ). Even after the pandemic, the current mass adoption of online learning could have lasting impacts on the global education system, and potentially accelerate and expand the rapid growth of virtual schools on a global scale (Molnar et al.,  2019 ). Thus, understanding students' learning conditions and their experiences of online learning during the COVID pandemic becomes imperative.

Emerging evidence on students’ online learning experience during the COVID‐19 pandemic has identified several major concerns, including issues with internet connection (Agung et al.,  2020 ; Basuony et al.,  2020 ), problems with IT equipment (Bączek et al.,  2021 ; Niemi & Kousa,  2020 ), limited collaborative learning opportunities (Bączek et al.,  2021 ; Yates et al.,  2020 ), reduced learning motivation (Basuony et al.,  2020 ; Niemi & Kousa,  2020 ; Yates et al.,  2020 ), and increased learning burdens (Niemi & Kousa,  2020 ). Although these findings provided valuable insights about the issues students experienced during online learning, information about their learning conditions and future expectations were less mentioned. Such information could assist educational authorises and institutions to better comprehend students’ difficulties and potentially improve their online learning experience. Additionally, most of these recent studies were limited to higher education, except for Yates et al. ( 2020 ) and Niemi and Kousa’s ( 2020 ) studies on senior high school students. Empirical research targeting the full spectrum of K‐12students remain scarce. Therefore, to address these gaps, the current paper reports the findings of a large‐scale study that sought to explore K‐12 students’ online learning experience during the COVID‐19 pandemic in a provincial sample of over one million Chinese students. The findings of this study provide policy recommendations to educational institutions and authorities regarding the delivery of K‐12 online education.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Learning conditions and technologies.

Having stable access to the internet is critical to students’ learning experience during online learning. Berge ( 2005 ) expressed the concern of the divide in digital‐readiness, and the pedagogical approach between different countries could influence students’ online learning experience. Digital‐readiness is the availability and adoption of information technologies and infrastructures in a country. Western countries like America (3rd) scored significantly higher in digital‐readiness compared to Asian countries like China (54th; Cisco,  2019 ). Students from low digital‐readiness countries could experience additional technology‐related problems. Supporting evidence is emerging in recent studies conducted during the COVID‐19 pandemic. In Egypt's capital city, Basuony et al. ( 2020 ) found that only around 13.9%of the students experienced issues with their internet connection. Whereas more than two‐thirds of the students in rural Indonesia reported issues of unstable internet, insufficient internet data, and incompatible learning device (Agung et al.,  2020 ).

Another influential factor for K‐12 students to adequately adapt to online learning is the accessibility of appropriate technological devices, especially having access to a desktop or a laptop (Barbour et al., 2018 ). However, it is unlikely for most of the students to satisfy this requirement. Even in higher education, around 76% of students reported having incompatible devices for online learning and only 15% of students used laptop for online learning, whereas around 85% of them used smartphone (Agung et al.,  2020 ). It is very likely that K‐12 students also suffer from this availability issue as they depend on their parents to provide access to relevant learning devices.

Technical issues surrounding technological devices could also influence students’ experience in online learning. (Barbour & Reeves,  2009 ) argues that students need to have a high level of digital literacy to find and use relevant information and communicate with others through technological devices. Students lacking this ability could experience difficulties in online learning. Bączek et al. ( 2021 ) found that around 54% of the medical students experienced technical problems with IT equipment and this issue was more prevalent in students with lower years of tertiary education. Likewise, Niemi and Kousa ( 2020 ) also find that students in a Finish high school experienced increased amounts of technical problems during the examination period, which involved additional technical applications. These findings are concerning as young children and adolescent in primary and lower secondary school could be more vulnerable to these technical problems as they are less experienced with the technologies in online learning (Barbour & LaBonte,  2017 ). Therefore, it is essential to investigate the learning conditions and the related difficulties experienced by students in K‐12 education as the extend of effects on them remain underexplored.

Learning experience and interactions

Apart from the aforementioned issues, the extent of interaction and collaborative learning opportunities available in online learning could also influence students’ experience. The literature on online learning has long emphasised the role of effective interaction for the success of student learning. According to Muirhead and Juwah ( 2004 ), interaction is an event that can take the shape of any type of communication between two or subjects and objects. Specifically, the literature acknowledges the three typical forms of interactions (Moore,  1989 ): (i) student‐content, (ii) student‐student, and (iii) student‐teacher. Anderson ( 2003 ) posits, in the well‐known interaction equivalency theorem, learning experiences will not deteriorate if only one of the three interaction is of high quality, and the other two can be reduced or even eliminated. Quality interaction can be accomplished by across two dimensions: (i) structure—pedagogical means that guide student interaction with contents or other students and (ii) dialogue—communication that happens between students and teachers and among students. To be able to scale online learning and prevent the growth of teaching costs, the emphasise is typically on structure (i.e., pedagogy) that can promote effective student‐content and student‐student interaction. The role of technology and media is typically recognised as a way to amplify the effect of pedagogy (Lou et al.,  2006 ). Novel technological innovations—for example learning analytics‐based personalised feedback at scale (Pardo et al.,  2019 ) —can also empower teachers to promote their interaction with students.

Online education can lead to a sense of isolation, which can be detrimental to student success (McInnerney & Roberts,  2004 ). Therefore, integration of social interaction into pedagogy for online learning is essential, especially at the times when students do not actually know each other or have communication and collaboration skills underdeveloped (Garrison et al.,  2010 ; Gašević et al.,  2015 ). Unfortunately, existing evidence suggested that online learning delivery during the COVID‐19 pandemic often lacks interactivity and collaborative experiences (Bączek et al.,  2021 ; Yates et al.,  2020 ). Bączek et al., ( 2021 ) found that around half of the medical students reported reduced interaction with teachers, and only 4% of students think online learning classes are interactive. Likewise, Yates et al. ( 2020 )’s study in high school students also revealed that over half of the students preferred in‐class collaboration over online collaboration as they value the immediate support and the proximity to teachers and peers from in‐class interaction.

Learning expectations and age differentiation

Although these studies have provided valuable insights and stressed the need for more interactivity in online learning, K‐12 students in different school years could exhibit different expectations for the desired activities in online learning. Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Theory illustrated children's difficulties in understanding abstract and hypothetical concepts (Thomas,  2000 ). Primary school students will encounter many abstract concepts in their STEM education (Uttal & Cohen,  2012 ). In face‐to‐face learning, teachers provide constant guidance on students’ learning progress and can help them to understand difficult concepts. Unfortunately, the level of guidance significantly drops in online learning, and, in most cases, children have to face learning obstacles by themselves (Barbour,  2013 ). Additionally, lower primary school students may lack the metacognitive skills to use various online learning functions, maintain engagement in synchronous online learning, develop and execute self‐regulated learning plans, and engage in meaningful peer interactions during online learning (Barbour,  2013 ; Broadbent & Poon,  2015 ; Huffaker & Calvert, 2003; Wang et al.,  2013 ). Thus, understanding these younger students’ expectations is imperative as delivering online learning to them in the same way as a virtual high school could hinder their learning experiences. For students with more matured metacognition, their expectations of online learning could be substantially different from younger students. Niemi et al.’s study ( 2020 ) with students in a Finish high school have found that students often reported heavy workload and fatigue during online learning. These issues could cause anxiety and reduce students’ learning motivation, which would have negative consequences on their emotional well‐being and academic performance (Niemi & Kousa,  2020 ; Yates et al.,  2020 ), especially for senior students who are under the pressure of examinations. Consequently, their expectations of online learning could be orientated toward having additional learning support functions and materials. Likewise, they could also prefer having more opportunities for peer interactions as these interactions are beneficial to their emotional well‐being and learning performance (Gašević et al., 2013 ; Montague & Rinaldi, 2001 ). Therefore, it is imperative to investigate the differences between online learning expectations in students of different school years to suit their needs better.

Research questions

By building upon the aforementioned relevant works, this study aimed to contribute to the online learning literature with a comprehensive understanding of the online learning experience that K‐12 students had during the COVID‐19 pandemic period in China. Additionally, this study also aimed to provide a thorough discussion of what potential actions can be undertaken to improve online learning delivery. Formally, this study was guided by three research questions (RQs):

RQ1 . What learning conditions were experienced by students across 12 years of education during their online learning process in the pandemic period? RQ2 . What benefits and obstacles were perceived by students across 12 years of education when performing online learning? RQ3 . What expectations do students, across 12 years of education, have for future online learning practices ?

Participants

The total number of K‐12 students in the Guangdong Province of China is around 15 million. In China, students of Year 1–6, Year 7–9, and Year 10–12 are referred to as students of primary school, middle school, and high school, respectively. Typically, students in China start their study in primary school at the age of around six. At the end of their high‐school study, students have to take the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE; also known as Gaokao) to apply for tertiary education. The survey was administrated across the whole Guangdong Province, that is the survey was exposed to all of the 15 million K‐12 students, though it was not mandatory for those students to accomplish the survey. A total of 1,170,769 students completed the survey, which accounts for a response rate of 7.80%. After removing responses with missing values and responses submitted from the same IP address (duplicates), we had 1,048,575 valid responses, which accounts to about 7% of the total K‐12 students in the Guangdong Province. The number of students in different school years is shown in Figure  1 . Overall, students were evenly distributed across different school years, except for a smaller sample in students of Year 10–12.

The number of students in each school year

Survey design

The survey was designed collaboratively by multiple relevant parties. Firstly, three educational researchers working in colleges and universities and three educational practitioners working in the Department of Education in Guangdong Province were recruited to co‐design the survey. Then, the initial draft of the survey was sent to 30 teachers from different primary and secondary schools, whose feedback and suggestions were considered to improve the survey. The final survey consisted of a total of 20 questions, which, broadly, can be classified into four categories: demographic, behaviours, experiences, and expectations. Details are available in Appendix.

All K‐12 students in the Guangdong Province were made to have full‐time online learning from March 1, 2020 after the outbreak of COVID‐19 in January in China. A province‐level online learning platform was provided to all schools by the government. In addition to the learning platform, these schools can also use additional third‐party platforms to facilitate the teaching activities, for example WeChat and Dingding, which provide services similar to WhatsApp and Zoom. The main change for most teachers was that they had to shift the classroom‐based lectures to online lectures with the aid of web‐conferencing tools. Similarly, these teachers also needed to perform homework marking and have consultation sessions in an online manner.

The Department of Education in the Guangdong Province of China distributed the survey to all K‐12 schools in the province on March 21, 2020 and collected responses on March 26, 2020. Students could access and answer the survey anonymously by either scan the Quick Response code along with the survey or click the survey address link on their mobile device. The survey was administrated in a completely voluntary manner and no incentives were given to the participants. Ethical approval was granted by the Department of Education in the Guangdong Province. Parental approval was not required since the survey was entirely anonymous and facilitated by the regulating authority, which satisfies China's ethical process.

The original survey was in Chinese, which was later translated by two bilingual researchers and verified by an external translator who is certified by the Australian National Accreditation Authority of Translators and Interpreters. The original and translated survey questionnaires are available in Supporting Information. Given the limited space we have here and the fact that not every survey item is relevant to the RQs, the following items were chosen to answer the RQs: item Q3 (learning media) and Q11 (learning approaches) for RQ1, item Q13 (perceived obstacle) and Q19 (perceived benefits) for RQ2, and item Q19 (expected learning activities) for RQ3. Cross‐tabulation based approaches were used to analyse the collected data. To scrutinise whether the differences displayed by students of different school years were statistically significant, we performed Chi‐square tests and calculated the Cramer's V to assess the strengths of the association after chi‐square had determined significance.

For the analyses, students were segmented into four categories based on their school years, that is Year 1–3, Year 4–6, Year 7–9, and Year 10–12, to provide a clear understanding of the different experiences and needs that different students had for online learning. This segmentation was based on the educational structure of Chinese schools: elementary school (Year 1–6), middle school (Year 7–9), and high school (Year 10–12). Children in elementary school can further be segmented into junior (Year 1–3) or senior (Year 4–6) students because senior elementary students in China are facing more workloads compared to junior students due to the provincial Middle School Entry Examination at the end of Year 6.

Learning conditions—RQ1

Learning media.

The Chi‐square test showed significant association between school years and students’ reported usage of learning media, χ 2 (55, N  = 1,853,952) = 46,675.38, p  < 0.001. The Cramer's V is 0.07 ( df ∗ = 5), which indicates a small‐to‐medium effect according to Cohen’s ( 1988 ) guidelines. Based on Figure  2 , we observed that an average of up to 87.39% students used smartphones to perform online learning, while only 25.43% students used computer, which suggests that smartphones, with widespread availability in China (2020), have been adopted by students for online learning. As for the prevalence of the two media, we noticed that both smartphones ( χ 2 (3, N  = 1,048,575) = 9,395.05, p < 0.001, Cramer's V  = 0.10 ( df ∗ = 1)) and computers ( χ 2 (3, N  = 1,048,575) = 11,025.58, p <.001, Cramer's V  = 0.10 ( df ∗ = 1)) were more adopted by high‐school‐year (Year 7–12) than early‐school‐year students (Year 1–6), both with a small effect size. Besides, apparent discrepancies can be observed between the usages of TV and paper‐based materials across different school years, that is early‐school‐year students reported more TV usage ( χ 2 (3, N  = 1,048,575) = 19,505.08, p <.001), with a small‐to‐medium effect size, Cramer's V  = 0.14( df ∗ = 1). High‐school‐year students (especially Year 10–12) reported more usage of paper‐based materials ( χ 2 (3, N  = 1,048,575) = 23,401.64, p < 0.001), with a small‐to‐medium effect size, Cramer's V  = 0.15( df ∗ = 1).

Learning media used by students in online learning

Learning approaches

School years is also significantly associated with the different learning approaches students used to tackle difficult concepts during online learning, χ 2 (55, N  = 2,383,751) = 58,030.74, p < 0.001. The strength of this association is weak to moderate as shown by the Cramer's V (0.07, df ∗ = 5; Cohen,  1988 ). When encountering problems related to difficult concepts, students typically chose to “solve independently by searching online” or “rewatch recorded lectures” instead of consulting to their teachers or peers (Figure  3 ). This is probably because, compared to classroom‐based education, it is relatively less convenient and more challenging for students to seek help from others when performing online learning. Besides, compared to high‐school‐year students, early‐school‐year students (Year 1–6), reported much less use of “solve independently by searching online” ( χ 2 (3, N  = 1,048,575) = 48,100.15, p <.001), with a small‐to‐medium effect size, Cramer's V  = 0.21 ( df ∗ = 1). Also, among those approaches of seeking help from others, significantly more high‐school‐year students preferred “communicating with other students” than early‐school‐year students ( χ 2 (3, N  = 1,048,575) = 81,723.37, p < 0.001), with a medium effect size, Cramer's V  = 0.28 ( df ∗ = 1).

Learning approaches used by students in online learning

Perceived benefits and obstacles—RQ2

Perceived benefits.

The association between school years and perceived benefits in online learning is statistically significant, χ 2 (66, N  = 2,716,127) = 29,534.23, p  < 0.001, and the Cramer's V (0.04, df ∗ = 6) indicates a small effect (Cohen,  1988 ). Unsurprisingly, benefits brought by the convenience of online learning are widely recognised by students across all school years (Figure  4 ), that is up to 75% of students reported that it is “more convenient to review course content” and 54% said that they “can learn anytime and anywhere” . Besides, we noticed that about 50% of early‐school‐year students appreciated the “access to courses delivered by famous teachers” and 40%–47% of high‐school‐year students indicated that online learning is “helpful to develop self‐regulation and autonomy” .

Perceived benefits of online learning reported by students

Perceived obstacles

The Chi‐square test shows a significant association between school years and students’ perceived obstacles in online learning, χ 2 (77, N  = 2,699,003) = 31,987.56, p < 0.001. This association is relatively weak as shown by the Cramer's V (0.04, df ∗ = 7; Cohen,  1988 ). As shown in Figure  5 , the biggest obstacles encountered by up to 73% of students were the “eyestrain caused by long staring at screens” . Disengagement caused by nearby disturbance was reported by around 40% of students, especially those of Year 1–3 and 10–12. Technological‐wise, about 50% of students experienced poor Internet connection during their learning process, and around 20% of students reported the “confusion in setting up the platforms” across of school years.

Perceived obstacles of online learning reported by students

Expectations for future practices of online learning – RQ3

Online learning activities.

The association between school years and students’ expected online learning activities is significant, χ 2 (66, N  = 2,416,093) = 38,784.81, p < 0.001. The Cramer's V is 0.05 ( df ∗ = 6) which suggests a small effect (Cohen,  1988 ). As shown in Figure  6 , the most expected activity for future online learning is “real‐time interaction with teachers” (55%), followed by “online group discussion and collaboration” (38%). We also observed that more early‐school‐year students expect reflective activities, such as “regular online practice examinations” ( χ 2 (3, N  = 1,048,575) = 11,644.98, p < 0.001), with a small effect size, Cramer's V  = 0.11 ( df ∗ = 1). In contrast, more high‐school‐year students expect “intelligent recommendation system …” ( χ 2 (3, N  = 1,048,575) = 15,327.00, p < 0.001), with a small effect size, Cramer's V  = 0.12 ( df ∗ = 1).

Students’ expected online learning activities

Regarding students’ learning conditions, substantial differences were observed in learning media, family dependency, and learning approaches adopted in online learning between students in different school years. The finding of more computer and smartphone usage in high‐school‐year than early‐school‐year students can probably be explained by that, with the growing abilities in utilising these media as well as the educational systems and tools which run on these media, high‐school‐year students tend to make better use of these media for online learning practices. Whereas, the differences in paper‐based materials may imply that high‐school‐year students in China have to accomplish a substantial amount of exercise, assignments, and exam papers to prepare for the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE), whose delivery was not entirely digitised due to the sudden transition to online learning. Meanwhile, high‐school‐year students may also have preferred using paper‐based materials for exam practice, as eventually, they would take their NCEE in the paper format. Therefore, these substantial differences in students’ usage of learning media should be addressed by customising the delivery method of online learning for different school years.

Other than these between‐age differences in learning media, the prevalence of smartphone in online learning resonates with Agung et al.’s ( 2020 ) finding on the issues surrounding the availability of compatible learning device. The prevalence of smartphone in K‐12 students is potentially problematic as the majority of the online learning platform and content is designed for computer‐based learning (Berge,  2005 ; Molnar et al.,  2019 ). Whereas learning with smartphones has its own unique challenges. For example, Gikas and Grant ( 2013 ) discovered that students who learn with smartphone experienced frustration with the small screen‐size, especially when trying to type with the tiny keypad. Another challenge relates to the distraction of various social media applications. Although similar distractions exist in computer and web‐based social media, the level of popularity, especially in the young generation, are much higher in mobile‐based social media (Montag et al.,  2018 ). In particular, the message notification function in smartphones could disengage students from learning activities and allure them to social media applications (Gikas & Grant,  2013 ). Given these challenges of learning with smartphones, more research efforts should be devoted to analysing students’ online learning behaviour in the setting of mobile learning to accommodate their needs better.

The differences in learning approaches, once again, illustrated that early‐school‐year students have different needs compared to high‐school‐year students. In particular, the low usage of the independent learning methods in early‐school‐year students may reflect their inability to engage in independent learning. Besides, the differences in help seeking behaviours demonstrated the distinctive needs for communication and interaction between different students, that is early‐school‐year students have a strong reliance on teachers and high‐school‐year students, who are equipped with stronger communication ability, are more inclined to interact with their peers. This finding implies that the design of online learning platforms should take students’ different needs into account. Thus, customisation is urgently needed for the delivery of online learning to different school years.

In terms of the perceived benefits and challenges of online learning, our results resonate with several previous findings. In particular, the benefits of convenience are in line with the flexibility advantages of online learning, which were mentioned in prior works (Appana,  2008 ; Bączek et al.,  2021 ; Barbour,  2013 ; Basuony et al.,  2020 ; Harvey et al.,  2014 ). Early‐school‐year students’ higher appreciation in having “access to courses delivered by famous teachers” and lower appreciation in the independent learning skills developed through online learning are also in line with previous literature (Barbour,  2013 ; Harvey et al.,  2014 ; Oliver et al.,  2009 ). Again, these similar findings may indicate the strong reliance that early‐school‐year students place on teachers, while high‐school‐year students are more capable of adapting to online learning by developing independent learning skills.

Technology‐wise, students’ experience of poor internet connection and confusion in setting up online learning platforms are particularly concerning. The problem of poor internet connection corroborated the findings reported in prior studies (Agung et al.,  2020 ; Barbour,  2013 ; Basuony et al.,  2020 ; Berge,  2005 ; Rice,  2006 ), that is the access issue surrounded the digital divide as one of the main challenges of online learning. In the era of 4G and 5G networks, educational authorities and institutions that deliver online education could fall into the misconception of most students have a stable internet connection at home. The internet issue we observed is particularly vital to students’ online learning experience as most students prefer real‐time communications (Figure  6 ), which rely heavily on stable internet connection. Likewise, the finding of students’ confusion in technology is also consistent with prior studies (Bączek et al.,  2021 ; Muilenburg & Berge,  2005 ; Niemi & Kousa,  2020 ; Song et al.,  2004 ). Students who were unsuccessfully in setting up the online learning platforms could potentially experience declines in confidence and enthusiasm for online learning, which would cause a subsequent unpleasant learning experience. Therefore, both the readiness of internet infrastructure and student technical skills remain as the significant challenges for the mass‐adoption of online learning.

On the other hand, students’ experience of eyestrain from extended screen time provided empirical evidence to support Spitzer’s ( 2001 ) speculation about the potential ergonomic impact of online learning. This negative effect is potentially related to the prevalence of smartphone device and the limited screen size of these devices. This finding not only demonstrates the potential ergonomic issues that would be caused by smartphone‐based online learning but also resonates with the aforementioned necessity of different platforms and content designs for different students.

A less‐mentioned problem in previous studies on online learning experiences is the disengagement caused by nearby disturbance, especially in Year 1–3 and 10–12. It is likely that early‐school‐year students suffered from this problem because of their underdeveloped metacognitive skills to concentrate on online learning without teachers’ guidance. As for high‐school‐year students, the reasons behind their disengagement require further investigation in the future. Especially it would be worthwhile to scrutinise whether this type of disengagement is caused by the substantial amount of coursework they have to undertake and the subsequent a higher level of pressure and a lower level of concentration while learning.

Across age‐level differences are also apparent in terms of students’ expectations of online learning. Although, our results demonstrated students’ needs of gaining social interaction with others during online learning, findings (Bączek et al.,  2021 ; Harvey et al.,  2014 ; Kuo et al.,  2014 ; Liu & Cavanaugh,  2012 ; Yates et al.,  2020 ). This need manifested differently across school years, with early‐school‐year students preferring more teacher interactions and learning regulation support. Once again, this finding may imply that early‐school‐year students are inadequate in engaging with online learning without proper guidance from their teachers. Whereas, high‐school‐year students prefer more peer interactions and recommendation to learning resources. This expectation can probably be explained by the large amount of coursework exposed to them. Thus, high‐school‐year students need further guidance to help them better direct their learning efforts. These differences in students’ expectations for future practices could guide the customisation of online learning delivery.

Implications

As shown in our results, improving the delivery of online learning not only requires the efforts of policymakers but also depend on the actions of teachers and parents. The following sub‐sections will provide recommendations for relevant stakeholders and discuss their essential roles in supporting online education.

Technical support

The majority of the students has experienced technical problems during online learning, including the internet lagging and confusion in setting up the learning platforms. These problems with technology could impair students’ learning experience (Kauffman,  2015 ; Muilenburg & Berge,  2005 ). Educational authorities and schools should always provide a thorough guide and assistance for students who are experiencing technical problems with online learning platforms or other related tools. Early screening and detection could also assist schools and teachers to direct their efforts more effectively in helping students with low technology skills (Wilkinson et al.,  2010 ). A potential identification method involves distributing age‐specific surveys that assess students’ Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills at the beginning of online learning. For example, there are empirical validated ICT surveys available for both primary (Aesaert et al.,  2014 ) and high school (Claro et al.,  2012 ) students.

For students who had problems with internet lagging, the delivery of online learning should provide options that require fewer data and bandwidth. Lecture recording is the existing option but fails to address students’ need for real‐time interaction (Clark et al.,  2015 ; Malik & Fatima,  2017 ). A potential alternative involves providing students with the option to learn with digital or physical textbooks and audio‐conferencing, instead of screen sharing and video‐conferencing. This approach significantly reduces the amount of data usage and lowers the requirement of bandwidth for students to engage in smooth online interactions (Cisco,  2018 ). It also requires little additional efforts from teachers as official textbooks are often available for each school year, and thus, they only need to guide students through the materials during audio‐conferencing. Educational authority can further support this approach by making digital textbooks available for teachers and students, especially those in financial hardship. However, the lack of visual and instructor presence could potentially reduce students’ attention, recall of information, and satisfaction in online learning (Wang & Antonenko,  2017 ). Therefore, further research is required to understand whether the combination of digital or physical textbooks and audio‐conferencing is appropriate for students with internet problems. Alternatively, suppose the local technological infrastructure is well developed. In that case, governments and schools can also collaborate with internet providers to issue data and bandwidth vouchers for students who are experiencing internet problems due to financial hardship.

For future adoption of online learning, policymakers should consider the readiness of the local internet infrastructure. This recommendation is particularly important for developing countries, like Bangladesh, where the majority of the students reported the lack of internet infrastructure (Ramij & Sultana,  2020 ). In such environments, online education may become infeasible, and alternative delivery method could be more appropriate, for example, the Telesecundaria program provides TV education for rural areas of Mexico (Calderoni,  1998 ).

Other than technical problems, choosing a suitable online learning platform is also vital for providing students with a better learning experience. Governments and schools should choose an online learning platform that is customised for smartphone‐based learning, as the majority of students could be using smartphones for online learning. This recommendation is highly relevant for situations where students are forced or involuntarily engaged in online learning, like during the COVID‐19 pandemic, as they might not have access to a personal computer (Molnar et al.,  2019 ).

Customisation of delivery methods

Customising the delivery of online learning for students in different school years is the theme that appeared consistently across our findings. This customisation process is vital for making online learning an opportunity for students to develop independent learning skills, which could help prepare them for tertiary education and lifelong learning. However, the pedagogical design of K‐12 online learning programs should be differentiated from adult‐orientated programs as these programs are designed for independent learners, which is rarely the case for students in K‐12 education (Barbour & Reeves,  2009 ).

For early‐school‐year students, especially Year 1–3 students, providing them with sufficient guidance from both teachers and parents should be the priority as these students often lack the ability to monitor and reflect on learning progress. In particular, these students would prefer more real‐time interaction with teachers, tutoring from parents, and regular online practice examinations. These forms of guidance could help early‐school‐year students to cope with involuntary online learning, and potentially enhance their experience in future online learning. It should be noted that, early‐school‐year students demonstrated interest in intelligent monitoring and feedback systems for learning. Additional research is required to understand whether these young children are capable of understanding and using learning analytics that relay information on their learning progress. Similarly, future research should also investigate whether young children can communicate effectively through digital tools as potential inability could hinder student learning in online group activities. Therefore, the design of online learning for early‐school‐year students should focus less on independent learning but ensuring that students are learning effective under the guidance of teachers and parents.

In contrast, group learning and peer interaction are essential for older children and adolescents. The delivery of online learning for these students should focus on providing them with more opportunities to communicate with each other and engage in collaborative learning. Potential methods to achieve this goal involve assigning or encouraging students to form study groups (Lee et al.,  2011 ), directing students to use social media for peer communication (Dabbagh & Kitsantas,  2012 ), and providing students with online group assignments (Bickle & Rucker,  2018 ).

Special attention should be paid to students enrolled in high schools. For high‐school‐year students, in particular, students in Year 10–12, we also recommend to provide them with sufficient access to paper‐based learning materials, such as revision booklet and practice exam papers, so they remain familiar with paper‐based examinations. This recommendation applies to any students who engage in online learning but has to take their final examination in paper format. It is also imperative to assist high‐school‐year students who are facing examinations to direct their learning efforts better. Teachers can fulfil this need by sharing useful learning resources on the learning management system, if it is available, or through social media groups. Alternatively, students are interested in intelligent recommendation systems for learning resources, which are emerging in the literature (Corbi & Solans,  2014 ; Shishehchi et al.,  2010 ). These systems could provide personalised recommendations based on a series of evaluation on learners’ knowledge. Although it is infeasible for situations where the transformation to online learning happened rapidly (i.e., during the COVID‐19 pandemic), policymakers can consider embedding such systems in future online education.

Limitations

The current findings are limited to primary and secondary Chinese students who were involuntarily engaged in online learning during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Despite the large sample size, the population may not be representative as participants are all from a single province. Also, information about the quality of online learning platforms, teaching contents, and pedagogy approaches were missing because of the large scale of our study. It is likely that the infrastructures of online learning in China, such as learning platforms, instructional designs, and teachers’ knowledge about online pedagogy, were underprepared for the sudden transition. Thus, our findings may not represent the experience of students who voluntarily participated in well‐prepared online learning programs, in particular, the virtual school programs in America and Canada (Barbour & LaBonte,  2017 ; Molnar et al.,  2019 ). Lastly, the survey was only evaluated and validated by teachers but not students. Therefore, students with the lowest reading comprehension levels might have a different understanding of the items’ meaning, especially terminologies that involve abstract contracts like self‐regulation and autonomy in item Q17.

In conclusion, we identified across‐year differences between primary and secondary school students’ online learning experience during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Several recommendations were made for the future practice and research of online learning in the K‐12 student population. First, educational authorities and schools should provide sufficient technical support to help students to overcome potential internet and technical problems, as well as choosing online learning platforms that have been customised for smartphones. Second, customising the online pedagogy design for students in different school years, in particular, focusing on providing sufficient guidance for young children, more online collaborative opportunity for older children and adolescent, and additional learning resource for senior students who are facing final examinations.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

There is no potential conflict of interest in this study.

ETHICS STATEMENT

The data are collected by the Department of Education of the Guangdong Province who also has the authority to approve research studies in K12 education in the province.

Supporting information

Supplementary Material

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (62077028, 61877029), the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong (2020B0909030005, 2020B1212030003, 2020ZDZX3013, 2019B1515120010, 2018KTSCX016, 2019A050510024), the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangzhou (201902010041), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (21617408, 21619404).

SURVEY ITEMS

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• Open access
• Published: 16 December 2021

Do our children learn enough in Sky Class? A case study: online learning in Chinese primary schools in the COVID era March to May 2020

• Lina Zhao   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5962-1475 1 ,
• Peter Thomas 1 &
• Lingling Zhang 2  

Smart Learning Environments volume  8 , Article number:  35 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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All human being’s ways of living, working and studying were significantly impacted by the Covid-19 in 2020. In China, the Ministry of Education reacted fast in ensuring that primary school students could learn online at home by promoting the Sky Class program from February 2020. Educators, parents, and students all faced the challenges of adapting to new online teaching and learning environments. In this small-scale case study, Sky Class’s content and the participants’ experiences, will be presented. Four primary school teachers and five primary school students and their parents participated in three-rounds of interviews sharing their perspectives and experiences of online learning. The study showed that the students gained more parental support and that they benefited from using multimedia functions, like replay, in their Sky Classes. However, the majority of participants reported that the students learnt less. By mapping the learning activities and themes from Sky Class against Cope and Kalantzis’ e-learning ecologies, our study found that only ubiquitous learning and multimodal meaning were achieved. We suggest the reason may be that high cognitive learning was not achieved due to less teachers’ supervision, lack of interaction, delayed feedback, shorter learning times and communication. In conclusion, innovative pedagogies, which can foster different types of learning from the e-learning ecologies may overcome the negative aspects reported about Sky Class. Further research is required for implementing online technology as a catalyst for educational change.

Introduction

The Chinese government reacted fast both in terms of controlling the pandemic and in continuing fundamental education nationally by promoting Sky Class programs. At 2 am on 23 January 2020, the central government of China issued a notice to start the “Wuhan Lockdown” to stop the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (Lockdowns rise, 2020 ). From 10 am, schools, companies, and all public transport, including buses, railways, flights, and ferry services were suspended. Four days after the Wuhan lockdown, the Ministry of Education directed authorities to shut down all schools nationally to prevent the spread of Covid-19 (Ministry of Education of People’s Republic of China, 2020b ). The Sky class program of K-12 was developed eighteen days after the Wuhan lockdown. Primary schools which were thought of as the last field in education to be intruded on by online or distance learning, now had to accept this new teaching and learning form to cope with home quarantine and social distance policies.

This small-scale designed descriptive case study illustrates what Sky Class looked like, and the participants reactions to the use of online technology for meaningful learning in primary school sectors. The themes that were developed from interview data will address the following questions:

Main research question: Did Chinese primary school students gain adequate learning through Sky Class program?

Sub-question 1: What does a sky class look like?

Sub-question 2: What were teachers, students, and their parents’ perceptions towards participating in online learning at the primary school level? Challenges and opportunities?

Children and online learning

Online learning is defined as the implementation of teaching and learning practices in an online environment. It is a form of distance education, as learning occurs through the internet synchronously or asynchronously where students can learn collaboratively with their teachers and peers or independently by themselves regardless of time and space (Singh & Thurman, 2019 ; Yilmaz, 2019 ). Online learning allows both learners and teachers, who cannot attend a school, to learn due to Covid-19 social restrictions, to access education and educational information from different locations.

Online learning has grown fast during the past decade in many countries due to its advantages, resulting in educational change that shifts learners from physical face-to-face classrooms to virtual classrooms in universities (Aldhafeeri & Khan, 2016 ). First of all, online learning provides a flexible learning environment for students regardless of their physical location and availability which increased participation rates (Kim, 2020 ; Yilmaz, 2019 ). Secondly, online education offered a lower cost option for both education organization and students compared to in-person classes (Khurana, 2016 ; Kim, 2020 ; Yilmaz, 2019 ). In addition, many young children have been initiated into using digital technologies in their home lives so that the transition to engage in online learning activities is enhanced (Yelland, 2006 ).

However, online learning has limitations as many programs failed to provide the environment that engages students via active communication and social interaction (O'Doherty et al., 2018 ). Moreover, negative issues such as social isolation, lack of interaction and participation, and delayed feedback were raised in evaluation of online learning programs (Khurana, 2016 ). There are also limitations in implementing online technologies with young children for learning purposes. The increasing time that children spend in front of the screen might negatively impact their cognitive and physical development (Cordes & Miller, 2004 ; House, 2012 ). It is argued that children need to physically interact with their environments, for instance, it is important for them to engage in hands-on activities and physical play (House, 2012 ), as thinking develops from experience with concrete materials (a developmental perspective). This is because concrete materials in natural settings allows young children to be actively interactive (Cordes & Miller, 2000 ; Elkind, 2007 ). Online learning may not provide sufficient opportunities for young children to interact with physical objects through hands-on activities and physical play.

Another limitation to be considered is that young children’s readiness for participation in online learning is limited by their lack of abilities to access and use online learning systems effectively (Wedenoja, 2020 ). Moreover, adult supervision is required when young children participate in online learning and other types of online activities, therefore, adult availability and involvement also impacts young children’s online learning experiences (Kim, 2020 ; Youn et al., 2012 ). Nevertheless, with the unexpected crisis of Covid-19, the primary school teachers and students had to adopt online learning where “school and home’s spaces and times are mixed up” (Malta Campos & Vieira, 2021 , p. 137).

Although, online learning or distance learning have been seen as viable alternative practices in the Covid-19 period, there is a lack of research exploring the implementation of online technologies in the primary school settings (Ching-Ting et al., 2014 ; Dong et al., 2020 ; Kerckaert et al., 2015 ). This study will help fill this gap by illustrating a full picture of online learning practices with young learners in China and examining Chinese primary students’ online learning experiences and their teachers, and parents’ perspectives towards online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

This program utilised the case study method to collect and analyse the data of implementing online technology to support young students’ home learning during the Covid-19 quarantine in China. A case study suited the need to explore and examine “a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life, especially when the boundaries between a phenomenon and context are not clear and the researcher has little control over the phenomenon and context” (Yin, 2013 , p. 13), by providing deep understanding, rich details and insights into participants’ experiences and perspectives (Billington, 2016 ).

Participants

In this study, we invited participants who were currently employed as primary school teachers (teaching any subjects), and currently enrolled as primary school students (aged 6–13) and their parents who participated in Sky Class program for three-round interviews. A recruitment advertisement was posted on the WeChat social media circle, 46 adults participants showed their interests in participating the study. After a pilot interview of 46 teachers and parents, four teachers (see Table 1 ) who participated in recording sky class videos and live streaming class; and five families (see Table 2 ) whose children participated in the whole sky class program from the primary school sector were selected for interviews. The selected participants were considered to be the representative of the Sky Class program. One family from Shanghai only agreed to provide the Sky Class timetable from their children’s school. The rest of the participants were from Wuhan, Hohhot, Qingdao, Xi’an, and Zhejiang (see Tables 1 , 2 ).

Data collection

Adults were initially interviewed for 30–50 min., and primary school students for 10–20 min. using sets of semi-open questions. Then, in the second and third round interviews (10–30 min.), they answered researcher’s follow up questions. All the interviews were conducted in Mandarin through video chat using the WeChat application and were recorded using the iPhone’s Voice Memos with password protection. Other digitalised data included online learning schedules, screenshots of applications and digital copies of online learning materials collected from the participants as well.

Parents’ consents were needed in this case study as the participant children were aged under 16. Moreover, one guardian was required to accompany their child in the interview to ensure that young children’s identities and rights were protected. All the participants’ identities were protected using anonymities. Any personal identifying information was not recorded, and accidental mentions were delated. Any data or information that participants wanted deleted were removed.

Data analysis

The interviewed teachers, students and parents shared their perspectives, experience and stories of participating in Sky Class. Their interview data was put through an open coding method in the first-round analysis to capture the descriptive segments to address the sub-research question of what a sky class looked like. Then, during the second-round coding, the useful segments were further categorised into sub-themes as “lacking self-discipline”, “lacking interactions”, “lacking immediately feedback”, “short learning time”, “parents support” and “replay function” to address the sub-question of what the participants’ experience of and perceptions toward primary school students’ participation in online learning. These analyses indicated that in general, the participants had feelings of dissatisfaction towards the Sky Class; and concern that the primary school students might not engage in learning online effectively. They further concluded that the Sky Class could not replace physical classes at the primary school level. However, Sky Class has opportunities to be utilised as supplementary activities for physical classes enhancing young learner’s learning experiences after the pandemic.

e-Learning ecologies and 7-affordences

The e-learning ecologies model and its e-affordances were utilised to assess the effectiveness of implementing online technology in Sky Class to see if new learning was promoted (Cope & Kalantzis, 2017 ). E-learning ecologies illustrates the possible innovative pedagogy patterns that can be designed for promoting new learning with digital technologies. Seven affordances were developed to demonstrate what new learning looks like with innovative and effective implementation pedagogies.

The annotated chart (see Fig.  1 ) was developed after examining the described learning activities and the resultant themes in the Sky Class to illustrate which affordances were addressed in the e-learning ecologies. We could only identify two affordances—ubiquitous learning and multimodal meaning—as the students were provided a wide range of digital technologies for accessing various multimedia resources such as teaching videos and live streaming classes (yellow-coloured circles in the Fig.  1 ). The rest of the affordances were hardly evidenced in our data. This showed that the innovative pedagogies that promoted independent, collaborative, critical, creative learning were missing in Sky Class online learning practices.

Mapping Sky Class learning activities and themes in e-learning ecologies (Cope & Kalantzis, 2017 , p 14)

On 12th February 2020, the Ministry of Education officially issued a notice promoting a policy of “suspending classes without stopping learning” which encouraged all schools to provide the online learning programs called Sky Class to their students to learn from home (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2020a ;  Zhang et al., 2020 , XinHua News, 2020 ).

Based on our interview data, the Sky Class programs from the six regions are similar and mainly include asynchronous pre-recorded video teaching and synchronous live student Q&A torturing. The regional education departments gathered groups of teachers to develop sets teaching videos in literacy, numeracy and English for asynchronous online learning practices for their regional primary schools. The students can watch these pre-recorded teaching videos via TV and school websites daily based on their own schedules. Their classroom teachers also posted these videos files in their virtual classes that were established on WeChat or QQ program (see Fig.  2 ). Synchronous online leaning practices were promoted by each school from the six regions using student Q&A sessions which were live streaming teaching practices using Reng Reng Tong or the Teng Xun Class applications as a part of their regional Sky Class a few months after the Wuhan lockdown. All these practises ensured that students were able to access to sky classes by different devices based on their availabilities which indicated that ubiquitous learning from e-learning ecologies was successfully addressed in the Sky Class program.

A screen shot of a participant teacher posting a Sky Class video and homework in her class QQ group chat

However, in Hohhot region, the students from Year 3 and upper were required to attend the Sky Class. The students from Year 1–2 were still on holiday, and their major learning activities were finishing their holiday homework which was assigned by their classroom teachers in the last term of 2019.

The main form of the teaching videos for Sky Class are similar from the six regions according to our interview data, as they were PowerPoint slide shows (PPT) with teachers’ voices. More engaging teaching videos were produced a month later (from April 2020) by including teachers’ live images, cartons and 3D features, as the teachers received technique support and advice on recording and editing the videos. The camera function from the students’ side was not enabled in these sky classes at all. The students could participate in live streaming sky classes in some degree via microphone or chat box, to ask or answer questions synchronously. However, most of time they were passively involved in sky classes, as they just watched the screen silently. The teachers were still focused on orally explaining the teaching content in either recorded videos or live streaming classes which showed that the Chinese pedagogy of “teacher-centred lecturing” heavily impacted teachers’ practices on the Sky Class, indicating that the elements of active knowledge making and differentiated learning were not strongly reflected.

The classroom teachers assigned the homework based on the learning intentions of each day’s Sky Class teaching videos on their virtual class (see Fig.  3 ). The students still used pen and paper to work on their tasks first. After they finished their work, they needed to photocopy their work and send them back to their teachers though virtual class portals with their parents’ assistance. The teacher marked these digital copies and provided the feedback on their virtual classes on smartphones or computers.

A screen shot of a participant teacher marking students’ homework digitally in Ding Ding application

By examining the timetables of the Sky Classes from the six regions, literacy, numeracy and English were the main focus and delivered in the morning session which was similar to the physical school’s timetables (see Figs.  4 , 5 ). However, the total learning hours was decreased in Sky Class timetables compared to the physical school class timetable.

The sky class timetable in Wuhan region in April

The sky class timetable in Hohhot region in March

Each teaching video was only 20–30 min. long (45 min. each physical class) based on guidelines from the Ministry of Education that the teaching videos should not be too long for primary school students in terms of protecting their eye development and reducing the risk of short sightedness (Ministry of Education of People’s Republic of China, 2020a ). Longer breaks (30–60 min.) between each sky class and one two-hour lunch break for a day were required by the Ministry of Education (Ministry of Education of People’s Republic of China, 2020a , 2020c ). These requirements on the schedule of sky classes reduced actual learning time from 4–4.7 hr. per weekday in physical schools to 0.67–2.75 hr. online.

The participants also reported that the learning hours were shorter than the traditional school classes, and that they were concerned about shorter learning hours which might negatively impact young students learning. Student Yao said: “ Each class is short, so we might not learn that much .” Teacher Xue reported that the poor quality of her students’ homework indicated that the students did not spend enough time on studying English. The participant parents were also concerned that their children could not absorb knowledge and information taught in the Sky Class due to such short learning times which might cause children to be left behind. Parent Zhu reported:

The learning time is obviously short. At school, they have 4 classes in the morning, and 3 classes in the afternoon. At home, 40 minutes in total for a sky class in a day. I do not think they can understand all the taught knowledge thoroughly in such a short time.

The evidence showed that teachers, students and their parents were concerned that less learning time was offered by the Sky Class, and that some students would be left behind as they learn less compared to what they had usually learnt in the physical class. Although there were many factors impacted the relationships between time and learning; Anderson ( 2018 ) reported that the students would perform lower degree of learning when they were not provided adequate learning time.

Participants’ responses to the main research question

The participants considered that young students failed to learn effectively due to poor self-discipline skills in the sky classes.

Self-discipline was frequently emphasized by all the participants when they shared their experiences of participating in the Sky Class. Both teachers and parents believed that self-discipline was the key parameter to guarantee effective learning practise online which echoed Wang ( 2011 ) and Dörrenbächer and Perels ( 2016 )’s statements that self-disciplined learning is a significant predictor for academic performance as learners can learn more effectively in an online learning environment when they developed sound skills in self-discipline and independence. The self-discipline in learning is defined as the process of moderating one’s thoughts, emotions and actions in a positive way to support learners to achieve their personal academic goals (Dörrenbächer & Perels, 2016 ). The participating Chinese primary school teachers provided their expectations of being “self-disciplined” for Sky Class with behavioural perspectives: being punctual, sitting still, concentrating, and finishing the homework. Less attentions were paid on pedagogies of improving students’ engagement.

However, primary school students reported that their abilities to regulate their learning online were limited which led to a situation of failing to develop a deep understanding of the Sky Class learning content. Teacher Wang reported that younger students found difficulty in concentrating on watching the videos independently due to a lower level of teachers’ supervision and control in the Sky Class, as good Sky Class learning always “ depends on their ability of self-discipline”. However , most primary school students could not “sit still for 20 min watching a teaching video.” Teacher Xuan shared a same point of view that the major disadvantage of the Sky Class was that the students’ learning was not supervised online; therefore, “ a high level of self-discipline” was required all the time to ensure students were learning using the online system. She also suggested that “ online learning might not the best learning mode for young students, especially primary school children” .

The interviewed parents strongly agreed that their children were less pushed and disciplined for academical achievements in the Sky Class by their teachers than in physical schools. The parents complained that their children did not learn well in the Sky Class due to lacking self-discipline skills and believed that their children learn much better in physical classes as teachers could discipline their children to learn. Parent Wan said,

They need to be supervised and controlled all the time while learning. If you let them watch the sky class by themselves, they are just playing and not watching. My kids do not learn much if I do not supervise them. They have no self-discipline at home.

She further explained that her son who was in the Year One class attempted to play with iPads like “ fast forwarding ” the video rather than watching it for learning when he was not supervised.

Even the primary school students themselves reported that they found difficult in concentrating in the sky class. The Chinese primary school students reported that the teaching videos were not attractive, and they felt the lack of discipline from their teachers. “ Learning from home needs high level of self-discipline as it ensures you watch the whole video . Because teachers do not watch you during Sky Class.” Student Ming said. Similarly, student Yao reported that she easily “ lost interests in watching Sky Class”. Their reflections on the Sky Class showed that they had difficulty in disciplining themselves for learning online, and preferred to learn in physical classrooms. All these complains on lacking adult supervision were similar to what Kim’s study ( 2020 ) found which reported that young children’s online learning was heavily impacted by the adults who could provide supervision and support. Parents support in young children’s online learning during Covid period is essential (unicef.org, 2020 ). Young students need adults’ supervision and support to ensure high cognitive online learning practices.

The participants considered that young students failed to learn effectively online due to limited interaction in the sky classes

As the Sky Class mainly included recorded teaching videos, many participants complained that there was almost no communication and interaction between students and teachers during the class. The interactions and communications among the classmates were even neglected, as the teachers claimed it would be very difficult to facilitate group tasks online with such age groups. Swan’s research shows it is important to create opportunities for interaction in online learning environments (Swan, 2010 ). This is because students learn more effectively when they can share their works and learning experiences with others which allow them to get feedback and more support from these people (Price, 2015 ).

The students reported that they felt bored and “ had no fun ” when they just watched recorded videos with zero communication and interaction with their teachers or other classmates. Although, in the physical classrooms, Chinese primary school students had limited communication and interaction with others, as they were required to be quiet and attentive during their teachers’ lecturing; they still had chances to put up the hands to answer questions, work with groups and model tasks for other students. The Sky Class reduced such limited communication and interaction to nearly none.

Student Di explained that the major aspect she did not like about Sky Class was zero communication and interaction with her Sky Class teachers. “ I always try to respond to my teacher’s questions in the video, but they cannot even hear me. ” She spoke. Meng’s mother complained that her children “ lost interests in watching teaching videos quickly due to zero interaction .” It is suggested that interaction and communication in distance education were the critical predictors of student satisfaction which will lead to deep learning (Arbaugh, 2000 ).

Some of the participating teachers developed live streaming classes with more verbal immediacy behaviours to support interaction and communication among students and teachers. “ Using live streaming to teach is much better than using reordered teaching videos, as students can actually talk to their teachers and classmates ,” said Teacher Wang. However, teacher Liao further explained that “ although live streaming class is much better than recorded teaching videos , the level of communication in the live streaming class is still low compared to the communication level in the physical class. ”

The Chinese teachers were aware that interaction was reduced in sky classes, and they attempted to increase the level of communication and interaction by adopting live streaming technology. However, like Tao’s mother explained, the teacher could not have all the students on the microphone during their lecturing. Therefore, most of time, the students were watching the live streaming class silently.

We were also curious about how classmates communicated between each other in the Sky Class, and asked teachers about their opinions on student–student interactions in terms of supporting collaborative learning online. De-Verneil and Berge ( 2000 ) argued that encouraging discussion among students increased the student interaction and would lead to effective online learning, as “the learning process takes place within a social framework” (p. 236). However, all the interviewed teachers did not provide explanations on this question and continued to emphasise that student–teacher interaction and communication were important and needed to be addressed all the time. Break up groups or small group discussions were not promoted during the live streaming sky class which might enhance student–student communication and interaction. Peer support learning and facilitating peer support learning were neglected which showed that the full collaboration was not achieved in the Sky Class.

Other types of interaction such as the communication between teachers and teacher-parent were reported as significantly low in the Sky Class compared to physical schools. As “ it is not easy to hold video conference with our colleague teachers, but in school, we just pop into each other’s office to share our ideas and suggestions, ” teacher Xuan said. The parents also reported that they have less chance to communicate with their children’s teachers on the sky class as they only “ contact the teachers when it is a very important issue ”.

It is important to establish a collaborative learning environment which encourages communication, participation and interpretation between individuals and their communities (Rogoff, 2003 ). However, our study showed that the overall interaction and communication level in the Sky Class was very low which caused negative impacts on young students’ online learning experiences.

The participants considered that young students failed to learn effectively online due to delayed feedback in the sky classes

The participant teachers reported that they were unable to give their usual on time feedback in Sky class to scaffold their students. They could only provide feedback on students’ homework which was obviously late compared with being in physical classrooms.

It is suggested that immediate feedback is one of the more effective assessment techniques that ensure students develop better understanding of online content (Gaytan & McEwen, 2007 ). Online assessment strategies include providing meaningful and timely feedback to students to guarantee powerful learning (Gaytan & McEwen, 2007 ). However, the participating teachers said that they did not teach their own classes online, as their students watched videos that were produced by others. The only way to know what and how well their students learnt was through marking their homework after the Sky Class. The teachers needed more days to identify their students’ learning needs, and the students got teachers’ feedback at least two days later. Teacher Xuan concluded that the Sky Class did not lead to effective learning compared to physical classroom, as teaching and learning did not happen “ on time ”.

Teacher Liao complained,

The assessment is always late, and you identify the problem two or three days’ later. Then you have to contact their parents. In school, you can immediately ask students to refresh the meaning of a word or grammar knowledge, but on the Sky Class or the live streaming class, you cannot.

Teacher Liao’s teaching experience showed that she considered providing on-time and on-site feedback was a significantly important strategy in engaging young learners in meaningful learning. Chinese teachers found difficulty in providing immediate feedback in sky classes which also occurred in adults’ online learning as a negative factor (Khurana, 2016 ). Obviously, effective feedback is not addressed well due to the low level of communication and interaction in the online classes which negatively impacts young learners learning experiences.

Discussions

The themes, which were developed from analysing the interview data as well as relevant materials that were provided by the participants, indicated that both primary school teachers and students faced challenges in teaching and learning effectively in the online learning environment. Using the e-learning ecologies as a guide, only multimodal meaning and ubiquitous learning were realised in the sky class and more effort should be put on promoting other e-affordances for more effective online learning practices.

The Chinese teachers are facing the challenges for developing alternative courses to accommodate their students in online environments

One possible reason was the novelty of the Sky Class or online environment to Chinese teachers. They were challenged to develop effective and appropriate teaching approaches, scaffolding strategies, teaching and learning resources, and tools to actively engage young students in the online learning environment in such short time. The teaching videos were developed simply and reinforced physical classroom’s teaching strategies such as “teacher lecturing” in sky classes which were less engaging when teachers were not physically present in front of their students. The classroom teachers only take the roles of passing on learning materials and marking the homework rather than effectively engage students in online learning practices using various digital tools and multimedia functions. However, according to Kim ( 2020 ), teachers and educators should develop appropriate and efficient strategies to ensure that their students are engaged in meaningful learning either online or offline. Even under the unexpected circumstances like quarantine restriction in Covid period, teachers are still required to react quickly enough to evaluate their lesson plans and modify these plans to develop the most appropriate and effective alternative courses for supporting their students learning (Kim, 2020 ).

Although the content of Sky Class is considered as important, the participant teachers reported that the adults’ support and scaffolding for learning were essential especially in the online learning environment. This is because learning occurs when students were scaffolded by more capable others when they attempt to accomplish more challenging tasks (Plowman & Stephen, 2013 ). However, these Chinese teachers over-emphasised on disciplining students’ behaviour in the Sky Class, including sitting still and concentrating on listening to the teaching videos, and finishing homework or tasks on time which were the same teaching strategies as in physical classrooms. The evidence echoes Tobin et al. ( 1989 )’s results as they found that compared to other cultures, Chinese pedagogy emphasised more control and discipline. It seems that these teachers simply tried to replicate their physical classes online. None of the participant teachers expressed strategies or pedagogies to utilise advantages of the multimedia functions of digital technology to scaffold or train their students to learn effectively online. These teachers failed to address the affordances of metacognition and active meaning making as the learning activities in the Sky Class did not foster students’ skills for self-regulated learning, and limited their agency in learning.

The Chinese teachers are facing the challenges to prepare their students ready for online learning

Another possible reason would be the Chinese pedagogy. The Chinese primary school students had already become used to learning via didactic and instructional approaches under teachers’ strict supervision in their physical classes. Few of them were taught the skills and strategies to or developed experiences of actively participating in self-directed online learning practices in their physical schools (Hsieh & Tsai, 2017 ). It is important for teachers to prepare their students with skills and knowledge in terms of accommodating challenges when they face unexpected circumstances such as suddenly changing learning environment in Covid period (Kim, 2017 , 2020 ).

The form of Sky Class did not promote activity learning

Also, the form of Sky Class limited its effective impact on learning as all the teaching videos were pre-recorded by other teachers reinforcing the teacher-lecturing pedagogy. Such form of online learning cuts off the effective communication between students and teachers and reduces synchronous online learning experiences which impacted young children’s learning negatively. Arnott and Yelland ( 2020 ) commented that the pedagogical approaches for implementing digital technologies are important for maximising the potential of digital technologies to empower young children's learning. However, our data showed that Sky Class failed to promote active knowledge making, and collaborative learning. Since digital technologies were mainly used for displaying learning content like voice embedded PPT videos and teacher lecturing live streaming presentations. Yelland ( 2015 ) further critiques that replicating existing pedagogical approaches to implement newest technology in the classroom does not release their potential and promote deep learning. In conclusion, the replication of Chinese pedagogy for physical classrooms in the Sky Class caused the insufficient implementation of digital technology which also led to ineffective learning.

Possible improvements for Sky Class

Although there are many challenges Chinese primary school teachers have faced in the Sky Class program, the majority of participants reported that the program is necessary and essential for supporting primary school students to study at home during the Covid period. The students addressed that they liked the replay foundation of recorded teaching videos, as they could always go back to watch for better understanding of the learning concepts if needed.

There are few possible suggestions to improve the Sky Class program based on the themes that were developed from the interview data. As the students found difficult to maintain their attention while watching pre-recorded teaching videos, the strategy of increasing live streaming sessions each day may help students to sustain their attention for Sky class as they may gain more opportunities to communicate with their teachers through live-chatting. Enabling students’ cameras and microphones and developing small live chat groups will also allow them to communicate with their teachers and peers in a more effective way. In addition, the teachers can check their students’ learning processes and then offer the timely feedback in live streaming classes. Reducing the size of live streaming class will allow teachers to have more time and efforts on providing richer technology enriched learning environment for young students to interact with, as less effort and time will be spent on managing students’ online behaviours.

The Sky Class was developed and promoted by the Ministry of Education associated with the quarantine policies for ensuring all students can participate in online learning at home safely in China.

Our study explored what online learning looked like by illustrating the Sky Class, and examined Chinese primary school teachers’, primary school students' and their parents’ perceptions, experiences and stories of participating in the Sky Class during the lockdown 2020. The results revealed that primary school students and teachers faced many challenges in organising online learning activities. The students appeared to lack the self-discipline skills necessary in this environment, and needed adults scaffolding in the Sky Class for meaningful learning. Rather than considering utilising digital technologies to scaffold and support young students’ learning, the Chinese primary school teachers put great emphasises on disciplining students’ behaviour in the online learning environment; and tried to replicate physical classrooms by implementing didactic teaching approach in the Sky Class. Didactic teaching approach and no face-to-face supervision contributed to an intensive focus on self-discipline. These reflected the Chinese pedagogy of control and regimentation and teacher-centred lecturing which is deeply rooted in early childhood and primary school education. It influenced teaching and learning behaviours even when the learning environment was switched to online. The possibilities of digital technologies in facilitating communication and interaction between student and teacher were not met, as pre-recorded teaching videos were the main teaching practices. There was little communication and interaction which led to delayed feedback and contributed to the participants’ dissatisfaction towards sky classes.

Although, young students were interested in the Sky Class and the live streaming classes, as such learning modes attracted their attention when digital technologies were used all the time; effective learning were not always guaranteed. It is necessary to design innovation online learning practices in early childhood and primary school settings, such as acknowledging the students' characteristics and learning needs for online learning, offering engaging learning materials, and particularly, providing effective scaffolding and feedback to optimize the online interaction (Kim & Neumann, 2020 ). A concentration on the innovative pedagogies promoted student-centred learning, collaboration, communication, and rich online learning environment to build e-learning ecologies would lead to more meaningful learning practices in the Sky Class.

Availability of data and materials

This study collected interviews as main data along with some phone screenshots and photos that were provided by the participants. All the data are highly confidential and will not release to any third parties unless the permissions are granted. Other materials including invitation letters, consent forms, and interview questions in Chinese are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

Not applicable .

Abbreviations

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

A Chinese online chat program that is operated by Teng Xun company, also called as Teng Xun Chat in this paper

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank all the participants in this study, especially, those whom from Wuhan. They experienced the longest and strictest home quarantine in China to help slowdown the spread of coronavirus. It is proud to share their voices to the world. Without their participation and cooperation in sharing their learning and teaching experiences, this study would not have been possible.

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LZ: conducted the research, collected and analysed the data, and wrote the manuscript. PT: reviewed the research proposal and edited the manuscript. LZ: assisted in conducting the research and collecting the data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Zhao, L., Thomas, P. & Zhang, L. Do our children learn enough in Sky Class? A case study: online learning in Chinese primary schools in the COVID era March to May 2020. Smart Learn. Environ. 8 , 35 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-021-00180-9

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Received : 08 June 2021

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-021-00180-9

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Making Learning Relevant With Case Studies

The open-ended problems presented in case studies give students work that feels connected to their lives.

To prepare students for jobs that haven’t been created yet, we need to teach them how to be great problem solvers so that they’ll be ready for anything. One way to do this is by teaching content and skills using real-world case studies, a learning model that’s focused on reflection during the problem-solving process. It’s similar to project-based learning, but PBL is more focused on students creating a product.

Case studies have been used for years by businesses, law and medical schools, physicians on rounds, and artists critiquing work. Like other forms of problem-based learning, case studies can be accessible for every age group, both in one subject and in interdisciplinary work.

You can get started with case studies by tackling relatable questions like these with your students:

• How can we limit food waste in the cafeteria?
• How can we get our school to recycle and compost waste? (Or, if you want to be more complex, how can our school reduce its carbon footprint?)
• How can we improve school attendance?
• How can we reduce the number of people who get sick at school during cold and flu season?

Addressing questions like these leads students to identify topics they need to learn more about. In researching the first question, for example, students may see that they need to research food chains and nutrition. Students often ask, reasonably, why they need to learn something, or when they’ll use their knowledge in the future. Learning is most successful for students when the content and skills they’re studying are relevant, and case studies offer one way to create that sense of relevance.

Teaching With Case Studies

Ultimately, a case study is simply an interesting problem with many correct answers. What does case study work look like in classrooms? Teachers generally start by having students read the case or watch a video that summarizes the case. Students then work in small groups or individually to solve the case study. Teachers set milestones defining what students should accomplish to help them manage their time.

During the case study learning process, student assessment of learning should be focused on reflection. Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick’s Learning and Leading With Habits of Mind gives several examples of what this reflection can look like in a classroom: 

Journaling: At the end of each work period, have students write an entry summarizing what they worked on, what worked well, what didn’t, and why. Sentence starters and clear rubrics or guidelines will help students be successful. At the end of a case study project, as Costa and Kallick write, it’s helpful to have students “select significant learnings, envision how they could apply these learnings to future situations, and commit to an action plan to consciously modify their behaviors.”

Interviews: While working on a case study, students can interview each other about their progress and learning. Teachers can interview students individually or in small groups to assess their learning process and their progress.

Student discussion: Discussions can be unstructured—students can talk about what they worked on that day in a think-pair-share or as a full class—or structured, using Socratic seminars or fishbowl discussions. If your class is tackling a case study in small groups, create a second set of small groups with a representative from each of the case study groups so that the groups can share their learning.

4 Tips for Setting Up a Case Study

1. Identify a problem to investigate: This should be something accessible and relevant to students’ lives. The problem should also be challenging and complex enough to yield multiple solutions with many layers.

2. Give context: Think of this step as a movie preview or book summary. Hook the learners to help them understand just enough about the problem to want to learn more.

3. Have a clear rubric: Giving structure to your definition of quality group work and products will lead to stronger end products. You may be able to have your learners help build these definitions.

4. Provide structures for presenting solutions: The amount of scaffolding you build in depends on your students’ skill level and development. A case study product can be something like several pieces of evidence of students collaborating to solve the case study, and ultimately presenting their solution with a detailed slide deck or an essay—you can scaffold this by providing specified headings for the sections of the essay.

Problem-Based Teaching Resources

There are many high-quality, peer-reviewed resources that are open source and easily accessible online.

• The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science at the University at Buffalo built an online collection of more than 800 cases that cover topics ranging from biochemistry to economics. There are resources for middle and high school students.
• Models of Excellence , a project maintained by EL Education and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has examples of great problem- and project-based tasks—and corresponding exemplary student work—for grades pre-K to 12.
• The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning at Purdue University is an open-source journal that publishes examples of problem-based learning in K–12 and post-secondary classrooms.
• The Tech Edvocate has a list of websites and tools related to problem-based learning.

In their book Problems as Possibilities , Linda Torp and Sara Sage write that at the elementary school level, students particularly appreciate how they feel that they are taken seriously when solving case studies. At the middle school level, “researchers stress the importance of relating middle school curriculum to issues of student concern and interest.” And high schoolers, they write, find the case study method “beneficial in preparing them for their future.”

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Case Study-Based Learning

Enhancing learning through immediate application.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

If you've ever tried to learn a new concept, you probably appreciate that "knowing" is different from "doing." When you have an opportunity to apply your knowledge, the lesson typically becomes much more real.

Adults often learn differently from children, and we have different motivations for learning. Typically, we learn new skills because we want to. We recognize the need to learn and grow, and we usually need – or want – to apply our newfound knowledge soon after we've learned it.

A popular theory of adult learning is andragogy (the art and science of leading man, or adults), as opposed to the better-known pedagogy (the art and science of leading children). Malcolm Knowles , a professor of adult education, was considered the father of andragogy, which is based on four key observations of adult learners:

• Adults learn best if they know why they're learning something.
• Adults often learn best through experience.
• Adults tend to view learning as an opportunity to solve problems.
• Adults learn best when the topic is relevant to them and immediately applicable.

This means that you'll get the best results with adults when they're fully involved in the learning experience. Give an adult an opportunity to practice and work with a new skill, and you have a solid foundation for high-quality learning that the person will likely retain over time.

So, how can you best use these adult learning principles in your training and development efforts? Case studies provide an excellent way of practicing and applying new concepts. As such, they're very useful tools in adult learning, and it's important to understand how to get the maximum value from them.

What Is a Case Study?

Case studies are a form of problem-based learning, where you present a situation that needs a resolution. A typical business case study is a detailed account, or story, of what happened in a particular company, industry, or project over a set period of time.

The learner is given details about the situation, often in a historical context. The key players are introduced. Objectives and challenges are outlined. This is followed by specific examples and data, which the learner then uses to analyze the situation, determine what happened, and make recommendations.

The depth of a case depends on the lesson being taught. A case study can be two pages, 20 pages, or more. A good case study makes the reader think critically about the information presented, and then develop a thorough assessment of the situation, leading to a well-thought-out solution or recommendation.

Why Use a Case Study?

Case studies are a great way to improve a learning experience, because they get the learner involved, and encourage immediate use of newly acquired skills.

They differ from lectures or assigned readings because they require participation and deliberate application of a broad range of skills. For example, if you study financial analysis through straightforward learning methods, you may have to calculate and understand a long list of financial ratios (don't worry if you don't know what these are). Likewise, you may be given a set of financial statements to complete a ratio analysis. But until you put the exercise into context, you may not really know why you're doing the analysis.

With a case study, however, you might explore whether a bank should provide financing to a borrower, or whether a company is about to make a good acquisition. Suddenly, the act of calculating ratios becomes secondary – it's more important to understand what the ratios tell you. This is how case studies can make the difference between knowing what to do, and knowing how, when, and why to do it.

Then, what really separates case studies from other practical forms of learning – like scenarios and simulations – is the ability to compare the learner's recommendations with what actually happened. When you know what really happened, it's much easier to evaluate the "correctness" of the answers given.

When to Use a Case Study

As you can see, case studies are powerful and effective training tools. They also work best with practical, applied training, so make sure you use them appropriately.

Remember these tips:

• Case studies tend to focus on why and how to apply a skill or concept, not on remembering facts and details. Use case studies when understanding the concept is more important than memorizing correct responses.
• Case studies are great team-building opportunities. When a team gets together to solve a case, they'll have to work through different opinions, methods, and perspectives.
• Use case studies to build problem-solving skills, particularly those that are valuable when applied, but are likely to be used infrequently. This helps people get practice with these skills that they might not otherwise get.
• Case studies can be used to evaluate past problem solving. People can be asked what they'd do in that situation, and think about what could have been done differently.

Ensuring Maximum Value From Case Studies

The first thing to remember is that you already need to have enough theoretical knowledge to handle the questions and challenges in the case study. Otherwise, it can be like trying to solve a puzzle with some of the pieces missing.

Here are some additional tips for how to approach a case study. Depending on the exact nature of the case, some tips will be more relevant than others.

• Read the case at least three times before you start any analysis. Case studies usually have lots of details, and it's easy to miss something in your first, or even second, reading.
• Once you're thoroughly familiar with the case, note the facts. Identify which are relevant to the tasks you've been assigned. In a good case study, there are often many more facts than you need for your analysis.
• If the case contains large amounts of data, analyze this data for relevant trends. For example, have sales dropped steadily, or was there an unexpected high or low point?
• If the case involves a description of a company's history, find the key events, and consider how they may have impacted the current situation.
• Consider using techniques like SWOT analysis and Porter's Five Forces Analysis to understand the organization's strategic position.
• Stay with the facts when you draw conclusions. These include facts given in the case as well as established facts about the environmental context. Don't rely on personal opinions when you put together your answers.

Writing a Case Study

You may have to write a case study yourself. These are complex documents that take a while to research and compile. The quality of the case study influences the quality of the analysis. Here are some tips if you want to write your own:

• Write your case study as a structured story. The goal is to capture an interesting situation or challenge and then bring it to life with words and information. You want the reader to feel a part of what's happening.
• Present information so that a "right" answer isn't obvious. The goal is to develop the learner's ability to analyze and assess, not necessarily to make the same decision as the people in the actual case.
• Do background research to fully understand what happened and why. You may need to talk to key stakeholders to get their perspectives as well.
• Determine the key challenge. What needs to be resolved? The case study should focus on one main question or issue.
• Define the context. Talk about significant events leading up to the situation. What organizational factors are important for understanding the problem and assessing what should be done? Include cultural factors where possible.
• Identify key decision makers and stakeholders. Describe their roles and perspectives, as well as their motivations and interests.
• Make sure that you provide the right data to allow people to reach appropriate conclusions.
• Make sure that you have permission to use any information you include.

A typical case study structure includes these elements:

• Executive summary. Define the objective, and state the key challenge.
• Opening paragraph. Capture the reader's interest.
• Scope. Describe the background, context, approach, and issues involved.
• Presentation of facts. Develop an objective picture of what's happening.
• Description of key issues. Present viewpoints, decisions, and interests of key parties.

Because case studies have proved to be such effective teaching tools, many are already written. Some excellent sources of free cases are The Times 100 , CasePlace.org , and Schroeder & Schroeder Inc . You can often search for cases by topic or industry. These cases are expertly prepared, based mostly on real situations, and used extensively in business schools to teach management concepts.

Case studies are a great way to improve learning and training. They provide learners with an opportunity to solve a problem by applying what they know.

There are no unpleasant consequences for getting it "wrong," and cases give learners a much better understanding of what they really know and what they need to practice.

Case studies can be used in many ways, as team-building tools, and for skill development. You can write your own case study, but a large number are already prepared. Given the enormous benefits of practical learning applications like this, case studies are definitely something to consider adding to your next training session.

Knowles, M. (1973). 'The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species [online].' Available here .

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Case-based learning.

Case-based learning (CBL) is an established approach used across disciplines where students apply their knowledge to real-world scenarios, promoting higher levels of cognition (see Bloom’s Taxonomy ). In CBL classrooms, students typically work in groups on case studies, stories involving one or more characters and/or scenarios.  The cases present a disciplinary problem or problems for which students devise solutions under the guidance of the instructor. CBL has a strong history of successful implementation in medical, law, and business schools, and is increasingly used within undergraduate education, particularly within pre-professional majors and the sciences (Herreid, 1994). This method involves guided inquiry and is grounded in constructivism whereby students form new meanings by interacting with their knowledge and the environment (Lee, 2012).

There are a number of benefits to using CBL in the classroom. In a review of the literature, Williams (2005) describes how CBL: utilizes collaborative learning, facilitates the integration of learning, develops students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to learn, encourages learner self-reflection and critical reflection, allows for scientific inquiry, integrates knowledge and practice, and supports the development of a variety of learning skills.

CBL has several defining characteristics, including versatility, storytelling power, and efficient self-guided learning.  In a systematic analysis of 104 articles in health professions education, CBL was found to be utilized in courses with less than 50 to over 1000 students (Thistlethwaite et al., 2012). In these classrooms, group sizes ranged from 1 to 30, with most consisting of 2 to 15 students.  Instructors varied in the proportion of time they implemented CBL in the classroom, ranging from one case spanning two hours of classroom time, to year-long case-based courses. These findings demonstrate that instructors use CBL in a variety of ways in their classrooms.

The stories that comprise the framework of case studies are also a key component to CBL’s effectiveness. Jonassen and Hernandez-Serrano (2002, p.66) describe how storytelling:

Is a method of negotiating and renegotiating meanings that allows us to enter into other’s realms of meaning through messages they utter in their stories,

Helps us find our place in a culture,

Allows us to explicate and to interpret, and

Facilitates the attainment of vicarious experience by helping us to distinguish the positive models to emulate from the negative model.

Neurochemically, listening to stories can activate oxytocin, a hormone that increases one’s sensitivity to social cues, resulting in more empathy, generosity, compassion and trustworthiness (Zak, 2013; Kosfeld et al., 2005). The stories within case studies serve as a means by which learners form new understandings through characters and/or scenarios.

CBL is often described in conjunction or in comparison with problem-based learning (PBL). While the lines are often confusingly blurred within the literature, in the most conservative of definitions, the features distinguishing the two approaches include that PBL involves open rather than guided inquiry, is less structured, and the instructor plays a more passive role. In PBL multiple solutions to the problem may exit, but the problem is often initially not well-defined. PBL also has a stronger emphasis on developing self-directed learning. The choice between implementing CBL versus PBL is highly dependent on the goals and context of the instruction.  For example, in a comparison of PBL and CBL approaches during a curricular shift at two medical schools, students and faculty preferred CBL to PBL (Srinivasan et al., 2007). Students perceived CBL to be a more efficient process and more clinically applicable. However, in another context, PBL might be the favored approach.

In a review of the effectiveness of CBL in health profession education, Thistlethwaite et al. (2012), found several benefits:

Students enjoyed the method and thought it enhanced their learning,

Instructors liked how CBL engaged students in learning,

CBL seemed to facilitate small group learning, but the authors could not distinguish between whether it was the case itself or the small group learning that occurred as facilitated by the case.

Other studies have also reported on the effectiveness of CBL in achieving learning outcomes (Bonney, 2015; Breslin, 2008; Herreid, 2013; Krain, 2016). These findings suggest that CBL is a vehicle of engagement for instruction, and facilitates an environment whereby students can construct knowledge.

Science – Students are given a scenario to which they apply their basic science knowledge and problem-solving skills to help them solve the case. One example within the biological sciences is two brothers who have a family history of a genetic illness. They each have mutations within a particular sequence in their DNA. Students work through the case and draw conclusions about the biological impacts of these mutations using basic science. Sample cases: You are Not the Mother of Your Children ; Organic Chemisty and Your Cellphone: Organic Light-Emitting Diodes ;   A Light on Physics: F-Number and Exposure Time

Medicine – Medical or pre-health students read about a patient presenting with specific symptoms. Students decide which questions are important to ask the patient in their medical history, how long they have experienced such symptoms, etc. The case unfolds and students use clinical reasoning, propose relevant tests, develop a differential diagnoses and a plan of treatment. Sample cases: The Case of the Crying Baby: Surgical vs. Medical Management ; The Plan: Ethics and Physician Assisted Suicide ; The Haemophilus Vaccine: A Victory for Immunologic Engineering

Public Health – A case study describes a pandemic of a deadly infectious disease. Students work through the case to identify Patient Zero, the person who was the first to spread the disease, and how that individual became infected.  Sample cases: The Protective Parent ; The Elusive Tuberculosis Case: The CDC and Andrew Speaker ; Credible Voice: WHO-Beijing and the SARS Crisis

Law – A case study presents a legal dilemma for which students use problem solving to decide the best way to advise and defend a client. Students are presented information that changes during the case.  Sample cases: Mortgage Crisis Call (abstract) ; The Case of the Unpaid Interns (abstract) ; Police-Community Dialogue (abstract)

Business – Students work on a case study that presents the history of a business success or failure. They apply business principles learned in the classroom and assess why the venture was successful or not. Sample cases: SELCO-Determining a path forward ; Project Masiluleke: Texting and Testing to Fight HIV/AIDS in South Africa ; Mayo Clinic: Design Thinking in Healthcare

Humanities - Students consider a case that presents a theater facing financial and management difficulties. They apply business and theater principles learned in the classroom to the case, working together to create solutions for the theater. Sample cases: David Geffen School of Drama

Recommendations

Finding and Writing Cases

Consider utilizing or adapting open access cases - The availability of open resources and databases containing cases that instructors can download makes this approach even more accessible in the classroom. Two examples of open databases are the Case Center on Public Leadership and Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Case Program , which focus on government, leadership and public policy case studies.

• Consider writing original cases - In the event that an instructor is unable to find open access cases relevant to their course learning objectives, they may choose to write their own. See the following resources on case writing: Cooking with Betty Crocker: A Recipe for Case Writing ; The Way of Flesch: The Art of Writing Readable Cases ;   Twixt Fact and Fiction: A Case Writer’s Dilemma ; And All That Jazz: An Essay Extolling the Virtues of Writing Case Teaching Notes .

Implementing Cases

Take baby steps if new to CBL - While entire courses and curricula may involve case-based learning, instructors who desire to implement on a smaller-scale can integrate a single case into their class, and increase the number of cases utilized over time as desired.

Use cases in classes that are small, medium or large - Cases can be scaled to any course size. In large classes with stadium seating, students can work with peers nearby, while in small classes with more flexible seating arrangements, teams can move their chairs closer together. CBL can introduce more noise (and energy) in the classroom to which an instructor often quickly becomes accustomed. Further, students can be asked to work on cases outside of class, and wrap up discussion during the next class meeting.

Encourage collaborative work - Cases present an opportunity for students to work together to solve cases which the historical literature supports as beneficial to student learning (Bruffee, 1993). Allow students to work in groups to answer case questions.

Form diverse teams as feasible - When students work within diverse teams they can be exposed to a variety of perspectives that can help them solve the case. Depending on the context of the course, priorities, and the background information gathered about the students enrolled in the class, instructors may choose to organize student groups to allow for diversity in factors such as current course grades, gender, race/ethnicity, personality, among other items.  

Use stable teams as appropriate - If CBL is a large component of the course, a research-supported practice is to keep teams together long enough to go through the stages of group development: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning (Tuckman, 1965).

Walk around to guide groups - In CBL instructors serve as facilitators of student learning. Walking around allows the instructor to monitor student progress as well as identify and support any groups that may be struggling. Teaching assistants can also play a valuable role in supporting groups.

Interrupt strategically - Only every so often, for conversation in large group discussion of the case, especially when students appear confused on key concepts. An effective practice to help students meet case learning goals is to guide them as a whole group when the class is ready. This may include selecting a few student groups to present answers to discussion questions to the entire class, asking the class a question relevant to the case using polling software, and/or performing a mini-lesson on an area that appears to be confusing among students.  

Assess student learning in multiple ways - Students can be assessed informally by asking groups to report back answers to various case questions. This practice also helps students stay on task, and keeps them accountable. Cases can also be included on exams using related scenarios where students are asked to apply their knowledge.

Barrows HS. (1996). Problem-based learning in medicine and beyond: a brief overview. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 68, 3-12.  

Bonney KM. (2015). Case Study Teaching Method Improves Student Performance and Perceptions of Learning Gains. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education, 16(1): 21-28.

Breslin M, Buchanan, R. (2008) On the Case Study Method of Research and Teaching in Design.  Design Issues, 24(1), 36-40.

Bruffee KS. (1993). Collaborative learning: Higher education, interdependence, and authority of knowledge. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.

Herreid CF. (2013). Start with a Story: The Case Study Method of Teaching College Science, edited by Clyde Freeman Herreid. Originally published in 2006 by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA); reprinted by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS) in 2013.

Herreid CH. (1994). Case studies in science: A novel method of science education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 23(4), 221–229.

Jonassen DH and Hernandez-Serrano J. (2002). Case-based reasoning and instructional design: Using stories to support problem solving. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 50(2), 65-77.  

Kosfeld M, Heinrichs M, Zak PJ, Fischbacher U, Fehr E. (2005). Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature, 435, 673-676.

Krain M. (2016) Putting the learning in case learning? The effects of case-based approaches on student knowledge, attitudes, and engagement. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 27(2), 131-153.

Lee V. (2012). What is Inquiry-Guided Learning?  New Directions for Learning, 129:5-14.

Nkhoma M, Sriratanaviriyakul N. (2017). Using case method to enrich students’ learning outcomes. Active Learning in Higher Education, 18(1):37-50.

Srinivasan et al. (2007). Comparing problem-based learning with case-based learning: Effects of a major curricular shift at two institutions. Academic Medicine, 82(1): 74-82.

Thistlethwaite JE et al. (2012). The effectiveness of case-based learning in health professional education. A BEME systematic review: BEME Guide No. 23.  Medical Teacher, 34, e421-e444.

Tuckman B. (1965). Development sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), 384-99.

Williams B. (2005). Case-based learning - a review of the literature: is there scope for this educational paradigm in prehospital education? Emerg Med, 22, 577-581.

Zak, PJ (2013). How Stories Change the Brain. Retrieved from: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_stories_change_brain

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• Published: 09 August 2023

Online case-based learning in medical education: a scoping review

• Rebecca Donkin 1 , 2 ,
• Heather Yule 3 &
• Trina Fyfe 4  

BMC Medical Education volume  23 , Article number:  564 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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Case-Based Learning (CBL) in medical education is a teaching approach that engages students as learners through active learning in small, collaborative groups to solve cases from clinical patients. Due to the challenges afforded by the COVID-19 pandemic, small group learning such as CBL, transitioned quickly to include technology-enhanced learning to enable distance delivery, with little information on how to apply pedagogical frameworks and use learning theories to design and deliver online content.

To extend understanding of online CBL a scoping review protocol following the PRISMA-ScR framework explored the literature that describes the use of online CBL application in medical education and the outcomes, perceptions, and learning theories. A literature search was conducted in January 2022 followed by a subsequent review in October 2022. After peer review using the PRESS guidelines, the CASP appraisal tool was used to assess the rigor of each study design.

The scoping review identified literature published between 2010 and 2022 ( n  = 13 articles), on online CBL in the field of medical education with 11 observational studies describing student and facilitator perceptions and two randomized controlled studies. Positive perceptions of online learning included a flexible work-life balance, connection with learners, and improved accessibility. Negative experiences of online CBL included poor internet access, a distracting learning environment, and loss of communication. In the studies that collected student performance data, results showed equivalent or improved outcomes compared to the control. The CASP appraisal tool highlighted the deficiencies in most study designs, lack of framework or learning theory, and poor reproducibility of the methods to answer the research questions.

This scoping review identified literature to describe the academic outcomes, and student and facilitator perceptions of online CBL in medical education. However, the CASP tool uncovered deficiencies in study descriptions and design leading to poor quality evidence in this area. The authors provide recommendations for frameworks and learning theories for the future implementation of online CBL.

Peer Review reports

Small group learning such as Case-Based Learning (CBL) is a teaching approach that engages students as learners through active learning in small, collaborative groups to solve problems that resemble real-world examples. [ 1 ] In medical education, the specific scenarios and problems would be based on contextualized cases from clinical patients [ 2 ]. Participants build their knowledge and work together as a group (from six to ten students) with a facilitator over one or more sessions. The format is versatile and can focus on one simple case scenario or a more complex case that requires multiple sessions with additional learning resources. The facilitator is ideally a content expert and corrects misconceptions or redirects students to the focused learning objectives [ 3 ]. This method is learner-centered and moves away from a didactic approach, with the interaction between students being the primary focus for inquiry [ 4 ]. In CBL, students are encouraged to develop skills in communication and critical thinking while receiving feedback on participation and preparation from their peers and facilitator to improve learning through a case-based approach.

Although there is a disparity in the definition of CBL with similar yet distinctly different teaching methods such as problem-based learning (PBL), [ 5 ] small group learning has been used in medical fields since 1912 [ 6 ] and is situated between structured and guided learning. [ 2 ] There is a wealth of research on small group learning for PBL and CBL, that has helped understand many aspects and elements of collaborative learning. Cen et al. [ 7 ] completed a meta-analysis in 2021 that described randomized control trials comparing CBL with other teaching methods in medical student education. Results from this study described how CBL teaching can improve medical students’ academic performance. However, the meta-analysis only reported eight articles, and none of these were compared to online CBL [ 7 ].

While CBL and PBL, small group learning pedagogies are not new, the trend of medical programs moving away from in-person delivery of learning has manifested over time to include a hybrid of technology-enabled learning (TEL) with in-class design [ 8 , 9 ]. Online or TEL small group learning was introduced to harness the potential of asynchronous and synchronous collaborative learning that would give the student a platform for continuous interactions and engagement [ 10 ] and reduce the need for face-to-face interactions at the same place and time that limits the availability of expert staff, timetabling physical learning spaces and flexibility for the student [ 11 ].

Particularly, the delivery of small-group learning utilizing TEL has progressed in recent years mainly from the challenges afforded by the COVID-19 pandemic with a reduction in face-to-face classes and an inability to teach in a clinical setting which has rapidly driven online or remote delivery. Early evidence from undergraduate science courses has reported CBL delivered online as a comparable learning experience to in-class CBL delivery. [ 12 ] However, developing small group learning through a TEL lens and examining the student perception of learning has not been well researched in medical education but has been evaluated in other health (non-medical) programs. [ 9 , 13 , 14 ].

Whilst many institutions, including the author’s institutions, quickly adapted to online delivery throughout the pandemic using TEL to support online CBL such as WeChat, [ 15 ] eLearning, [ 16 ] and online platforms such as Zoom [ 17 ] there was little published information available on the rate of uptake in medical education and how to best deliver online small group learning that was previously conducted in-person. Furthermore, there is a paucity of literature that details the learning theories and outcomes of online CBL use in medical education.

To extend understanding in this area a scoping review was chosen as the purpose of the review was to identify knowledge gaps and scope a body of literature, to examine how research is conducted on a certain topic or field. [ 18 ] Scoping reviews are also useful for examining emerging evidence when it is still unclear what other, more specific questions can be posed and valuably addressed by a more precise systematic review [ 19 ]. The scoping review in this study explores the evidence-based literature that describes the use of online CBL application in medical education and how this literature describes CBL group work, outcomes, perceptions, and learning theories. Findings from this review will identify areas for improvement in online CBL and highlight a framework for the future direction that fits with curriculum design principles in a university setting and furthermore, if a full systematic review is warranted.

Preliminary search and protocol registration

A scoping review provides researchers the opportunity to look broadly at the literature with a focused question, identify gaps, and map existing literature [ 20 ]. Scoping reviews are beneficial for reviewing the literature on the breadth of the topic that is unclear or evolving and appropriate for questions that are meant to inform practice that has not been extensively and comprehensively examined [ 21 , 22 ] , such as identified in this review. Both the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) and the Joanna Briggs Institute 2020 guide [ 23 , 24 ] were used to map and report results of the search and review process.

On the 28th of May 2021, a preliminary search was conducted to identify any existing reviews on the specified topic. The search was conducted by an experienced librarian (TF) using the PubMed and Ovid MEDLINE databases using keywords AND/OR Boolean operators determined from the literature and consultation with experts in the field. Examples of keywords included, “case-based learning OR CBL” AND “online OR virtual* OR web based* OR electronic* OR remote OR distance” AND “medical education OR pre-clinical OR undergraduate OR first-year* or second-year*” in titles, abstracts, and keywords of articles. PubMed identified 84 articles that were published on this topic, and Ovid MEDLINE identified 60 articles. There were no scoping reviews identified in this search. From this preliminary study, a full scoping review protocol was registered and published ( https://doi.org/10.25907/00071 ) outlining the methodology of the scoping review protocol including the search strategy and eligibility criteria [ 25 ]

Identifying the research question

The objective of the scoping review was to identify and describe the student and facilitator perceptions of online CBL in medical education. This prompted three specific research questions.

What are the frameworks and learning theories of online CBL?

How has online CBL been applied in medical education?

What are the student and facilitator perceptions and student performance outcomes of online CBL in medical education?

Identifying relevant studies

A full literature search was conducted by TF on January 31, 2022, followed by a subsequent review on October 14, 2022, to capture any new articles. To maintain rigor the search was peer-reviewed by an independent librarian following the guidelines from the Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies (PRESS) for systematic reviews [ 26 ]. The Search results were imported into Covidence systematic review software (Veritas Health Innovation, Melbourne, Australia) which enabled all authors to review, extract data against eligibility criteria (Table  1 ), collaborate online from anywhere, and capture articles as per the PRISMA-ScR flow chart.

Selecting the studies to be included

To reduce potential selection bias, RD and HY independently reviewed the titles and abstracts of all articles. The resulting list of full-text articles were reviewed independently for inclusion in the final review. To facilitate calibration, frequent iterative online Zoom meetings were held during the process with the first meeting focused on creating a shared understanding of the criteria and then subsequent meetings comparing selected articles and discussing any discrepancies. Any unresolved discrepancies were resolved through a third reviewer (TF) with extensive experience in performing reviews who had final input in decision making, through discussion as an iterative process.

The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) qualitative, cohort study, and randomized controlled study checklists were used to appraise quality depending on the study design [ 27 ]. Study quality is not a criterion for scoping reviews, however, all authors deemed it important to provide quality assessments of the included studies for the purpose of this review.

Charting the data

A data extraction tool [ 25 ] was created that included and expanded upon the PRISMA-ScR checklist [ 24 ] and was subsequently piloted by independently reviewing 10 articles and then comparing results. The extraction tool was modified based on the pilot that all articles must contain an explicit definition or description of the method that described small group learning (two or more students) delivered as an online clinical case or scenario, not as an independent activity. This excluded independent eLearning modules or platforms that contained cases that were completed independently and did not require communication in small group learning.

Collating, summarizing, and reporting results

Key findings of results, implications, and recommendations were tabled to examine the extent, range, and nature of the teaching intervention. Thematic analysis of positive and negative student and facilitator perception and student performance data of learning through online CBL was captured from the scoping review to summarise and disseminate research findings. The reporting of results was also conducted to determine the feasibility of undertaking a full systematic review.

Undertaking consultation

The preliminary findings were shared with stakeholders from the Centre for Health Education Scholarship who were faculty members in medical education to understand if and in what ways the findings resonated with their experiences of conducting small group learning delivered online in medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The six stakeholders agreed with the findings from the literature and added additional comments regarding, the lack of learning frameworks, communication issues due to technology, and social issues in small group learning. This is further incorporated in the discussion along with key recommendations to improve online CBL.

There were 1456 publications imported for screening, and after 567 duplicates were removed, 889 studies were screened. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 70 full-text studies were included to be assessed for eligibility. Of these, 58 studies were excluded which resulted in 13 articles [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ] in the scoping review. The main reasons why articles were excluded were for the following reasons: conference proceedings; wrong cohort (for example not medical education); wrong study design (not online small group learning) or a hybrid design of mixed online computer simulated patient or e-Learning case in a face-to-face learning environment (not online small group design). Details of the study search strategy are outlined in Fig. 1 .

Study search strategy flowchart

Publication characteristics

All 13 articles included in the review were published between 2010 and 2022. Articles were published both pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic, although the majority ( n  = 9) of the articles reported outcomes and perceptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The date and duration of each study varied between three months to two years, with publications originating from India, Canada, the USA, Austria, Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Somaliland.

The majority of the studies ( n  = 12) evaluated the students’ perceptions of online CBL and were descriptive in nature. Approximately half ( n  = 7) of the studies had a mixed-method approach, assessing both summative grade outcomes and student perception. One study assessed student perception and formative outcomes. Approximately a third ( n  = 4) included a control or comparison group. Only three studies identified a learning theory or framework to guide their study design which was, the effectiveness of learning using different materials aligned with Bloom’s taxonomy ( n  = 1), and Kirkpatrick’s learning theory ( n  = 2).

The 13 studies reviewed included 3,540 student participants and two studies included a further 148 facilitators, with a total of 3,688 participants. All participants were medical students or facilitators teaching medical education. Supplementary file 1 details the publications as a final composite of tabulated data including the charted items as described in the protocol.

Application of online case-based learning

The application of online CBL was diverse and included a variety of platforms to achieve online communication and resources. Communication ranged from online supported video-based group discussions (e.g., Zoom), or through platforms such as Google Classroom stream, blogs, or instant messaging. When described, online learning resources were shared through the university learning management system, publicly available online resources, websites, and platforms that enabled share sites supported by group learning. Online small group learning ranged from groups of 2–16 students or was simply described as “ small groups ”.

Student and facilitator perceptions and outcomes of online case-based learning

The most common positive perceptions of online CBL included accessibility to advanced multimedia content with interactive activities along with developing analytical and critical thinking to benefit clinical knowledge. Other positive perceptions included a better learning environment, improved facilitation, promotion of technology-enhanced collaboration, and peer discussion through connection to groups at different locations. The predominant negative aspects were technology issues, which included network accessibility which reduced the ability to contribute to the discussion. Mukhopadhyay et al. [ 37 ] reported “ a sizable number of students (42.8%) experienced technology issues ” which was mostly attributed to poor internet connectivity and limited internet data. Communication issues occurred for both students and facilitators with the lack of visual guides and the inability to read body language online. A distracting learning environment (learning from home, social media, Zoom fatigue) was also perceived as a negative outcome of online CBL. When asked to compare the experience of online CBL with face-to-face CBL in the study by Dawson et al. [ 35 ] “ 49% of students and 60% of facilitators rated the online CBL learning experience as much worse compared to in-person CBL ”. Comprehensive details of positive and negative perceptions of online CBL extracted from the scoping review are shown in Table  2 .

For those studies that collected student performance and outcome data ( n  = 8 studies), there was a mostly positive response. Vedi et al. [ 34 ] reported a statistically significant learning result for online CBL demonstrated by pre and post MCQ after every case (37.2 vs. 41.78, p  < 0.0416). Turk et al. [ 29 ] reported a learning benefit from online CBL that occurred in three steps (written resources provide base knowledge, practice application with online CBL, and then contact with real cases) with students achieving significantly higher objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) scores when comparing pre and post online CBL intervention (1.02 adjusted p  = 0.002). Worm and Jensen [ 40 ] reported that online resources and the effect of online peer learning in groups increased learning satisfaction and improved knowledge demonstrated by improved pre-test and post-test scores (66% vs. 70%). Mukhopadhyay et al. [ 37 ] reported an increase in formative assessment when evaluating pre-test and post-test scores that were statistically significant (73.3% vs. 77.03%, p  = 0.03). Other studies had mixed results when assessing competency based and diagnostic skills that had been taught online through small groups.

Chadha et al. [ 36 ] reported statistically significant improvement in overall pre and post-tests scores with knowledge gains from 57 to 70%. However, when subanalysis was conducted by individual topics, only three of the five topics had significant improvement in responses to knowledge questions post-test.

Rüllmann et al. [ 38 ] reported students had significantly improved descriptions of heart murmurs by virtual auscultation but there was no significant difference between the groups in diagnostic accuracy. The limitations discussed in this study included no assessment of transfer to in-person patient skills, or long-term retention so it was difficult to interpret if these results were favorable or not. The CASP appraisal tool assisted in further dissecting these findings along with assessing the rigor of all studies and the implications of their results.

CASP appraisal tool for a cohort and randomized control studies

While there were reported positive student perceptions and improved student outcome data there were many limitations to the studies which included a small sample size, a single institution study, lack of study design reproducibility, or absence of a control group. Study quality is not a criterion for scoping reviews however, after reviewing the limitations of the articles it was deemed important to provide quality assessments using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) qualitative, cohort study, and randomized controlled study checklists. [ 27 ] The CASP appraisal tool was a useful item to capture answers to specific appraisal questions enabling objective insight through a traffic light system (Yes = green; Can’t tell = orange; No = red) into the rigor of the study design and the reliability and precision of the results in the study. Table  3 highlights the appraisal for the 11 cohort studies and the two randomized controlled studies. All studies focused on an issue relating to online CBL however, due to limited information or poor study design it was difficult to identify the precision of the results and whether there are implications of the study for practice or if the intervention (online) provided greater value than an existing intervention (face-to-face). Studies that provided clear answers to the appraisal questions are further deliberated in the framework for online CBL outlined in the Discussion.

This scoping review has identified that there is a gap in the literature describing outcomes with online CBL use in medical education. This is mainly due to poor study designs without frameworks or learning theories to support evidence, limiting the feasibility of a full systematic review at this time. There is a lack of consistency in the description of key study components (population, intervention, and outcome measures), most likely due to studies describing a pilot or pivot response to online education due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of the 13 included studies, three were small, pilot studies conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, and ten were medical program pivots due to COVID-19 restrictions with different populations and program years. The online intervention varied with diverse definitions of what constitutes online group work, whether it was CBL or another framework, and the length of the sessions. Multiple online platforms were used to support online small group learning including text messaging in earlier studies, and Zoom video conferencing, google groups, and WeChat in recent studies. There was also a variety of study designs from observational studies to randomized controlled trials. Outcome measures of student performance were determined by several different assessments including multiple choice tests, knowledge scores before and after the intervention, and OSCE skill tests. Whereas, student and facilitator perception measures were determined by surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Critical appraisal highlighted the lack of high-quality, reproducible evidence in this field and the limited learning theories and frameworks. The CASP appraisal tool enabled objective insight into studies both pre- and during COVID-19 pandemic (Table  3 ). The CASP appraisal tool easily identifies areas of strengths and weakness in all aspects of a study and there were no consistent advantages or disadvantages when comparing studies before or during the pandemic i.e., there were poor study designs without frameworks or learning theories both pre- and during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as would be expected study designs that included a randomized controlled trial provided greater objective insight, and these study designs were included both pre- and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Small group learning frameworks and applications

The nuances between CBL and PBL, have been explored through their definitions and applications across medical education and other disciplines and have been used interchangeably for small group learning. Both originate from constructivist conceptions of learning by assuming that knowledge is constructed by the learners in their interactions with the environment [ 9 , 41 , 42 ]. A learner-centered design is the focus with an expert as a facilitator of learning, rather than the content expert [ 43 ] with students searching, evaluating, constructing and sharing information, to apply it in the context of the problem-solving process at hand [ 44 ]. Furthermore, these small group collaborative learning sessions have been influenced by sociocultural theory, which emphasizes the pursuit of common goals through interpersonal interactions [ 45 , 46 ]. Albanese and Mitchell [ 47 ] describe it as a method of instruction as a basis for developing problem-solving skills using clinical patient problems as a catalyst to develop knowledge in the clinical sciences. In this setting the group learning process provides both structure and a social setting to problem solve through reflection in a systematic way [ 48 ].

The few studies included in this scoping review that investigated explicit learning outcomes (e.g., grades/scores) concluded that online CBL is either equivalent to or superior to traditional face-to-face delivery. However, the perceptions and implicit experience (e.g., social aspects, communication) of online CBL for participants were inferior in many studies. The social constructs that develop in small group collaborative learning can enhance perceived learning [ 4 , 12 ] which can be linked to improved motivation and engagement inciting the practice of social constructivism and self-determination theory [ 49 ]. Both encapsulate the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation into autonomous (self-determined) and controlled motivation. [ 50 ] It follows that how students engage with online learning and their motivating factors need to be carefully considered because the socio-cultural learning environment can influence student satisfaction and the affective experience of learning online. [ 51 ].

The application of CBL in an online environment is similar however, the delivery is different. Subsequently, the learning theories and frameworks pertained to face-to-face learning may not be solely applicable to an online environment. However, it was difficult to establish if and how a learning theory or framework could be determined as successful in online small group learning as only three (21%) of the studies in this review applied a framework. One study applied Bloom’s taxonomy [ 52 ] to define and distinguish different levels of human cognition [ 40 ] and two studies [ 30 , 39 ] used Kirkpatrick’s model [ 53 ] for training evaluation, neither is exclusive to online learning.

A recommendation when developing a study design of a new online course or a pivot curriculum is to include a framework that can scaffold the learning design and also assess the outcome. Frameworks used in business include the Indicators of Engaged Learning Online (IELO) framework first developed by Means [ 54 ] and subsequently updated by Bigatel and Edel-Malizia [ 55 ]. More recently a framework proposal by de Nooijer, [ 56 ] provides recommendations for optimizing collaborative learning in PBL using a constructive approach with an online lens that could be extended to include online CBL.

Learning outcomes of online CBL

Previous literature that describes the results of online small group learning in health programs includes a variety of equivalent, positive and negative findings when compared to face-to-face cohorts. Examples include the following by Nicklen et al. [ 9 ] and Ng et al. [ 11 ] who reported a comparable learning experience to traditional CBL in physiotherapy students and PBL in speech/language pathology students. However, student dissatisfaction and decreased perceived depth of learning were reported in the remote CBL learning group [ 9 ] whereas students reported enjoying online PBL and decreased travel time to and from school. [ 11 ] Erickson et al. [ 14 ] also found similar results with students preferring more flexibility and accessibility as an alternative to face-to-face PBL when using focus group and survey data to evaluate PBL health science online. However, negative findings from this study included poor internet connectivity and reported difficulties with rapport building, and limited depth of discussion online. Facilitators in this study reported additional effort and preparation were required for online PBL compared to face-to-face PBL. Conversely, Leavy et al. [ 13 ] reported final marks were significantly higher for fully online health science students compared with face-to-face students and describe action research [ 57 ] as the learning theory for their study design. However, student perception of online learning and the quality of teaching were lower than the face-to-face group.

These findings in other health programs are not too dissimilar to those found in this online CBL scoping review for medical education. Information obtained from all of these studies can inform best practices in online small group learning education.

Informing best practice

To overcome student or facilitator perceived shortcomings of online CBL (increased time spent on online learning, digital competency, and emotional demand), which leads to increased extraneous load through superfluous processes [ 58 , 59 ] metacognitive support is required for both facilitators and students. Examples include the purposeful design of cases with clear learning and outcome objectives, recordings with accessibility captions, interactivity of online resources to promote engagement, timely and constructive feedback, facilitator flexibility, adaptability in an online environment, emotional support for digital literacy, and above all facilitators and students who are resilient, motivated and have a positive attitude to learn online [ 60 ]. Although most studies report learning outcomes are equivalent between face-to-face and online delivery, facilitator and student perceptions of online learning will change depending on the circumstances. This was evident throughout the COVID-19 pandemic whereby an immediate pivot to fully online courses occurred to enable learning to continue and for educators to remain teaching. However, the sustainability and perceptions to continue in this format have waned with the return to face-to-face education, fewer restrictions, and the ability for flexibility allowing a hybrid approach of both online and face-to-face learning. To further inform best practices and lessons learned from this review, five key recommendations for future planning and implementation of online CBL are summarized in Table 4 .

Limitations and future directions

As there was limited literature detailing online CBL in medical education the results should be interpreted with caution as this may not be consistent with all findings, this is particularly relevant to low income countries that may not have the necessary technology and high speed internet to meet the needs of online learning [ 61 ]. There are limitations to the application of learning theories that pertain to online small group learning as this has not been fully evaluated in medical education and would likely differ between programs, institutions, and training provided for both staff and students. This scoping review could not evaluate long-term outcomes beyond three months and whether transferrable skills are impacted by online delivery. It would be of interest to conduct further studies evaluating long-term outcomes in residency training and whether online CBL, particularly held during the COVID-19 pandemic, influenced future learning. Perceptions and outcomes of online CBL should not be limited to student and facilitator’s experience but also at the organizational or management level with perceived or actual financial and curriculum detriments or benefits but, this was beyond the scope of the study.

There is limited literature on online CBL for medical education. We expect that post COVID-19 pandemic there will be an explosion of research in this area as institutions navigate a new curriculum that encompasses a hybrid approach of necessary in person clinical skills education that is supplemented with online learning. There are many benefits of including online education in a curriculum (including medical education) however, learning theories and frameworks should be considered in the design such as a constructivist, learner-centered, social learning approach. From this scoping review and literature grounded in evidence from other disciplines, key recommendations have been suggested to assist in designing an online CBL curriculum. Despite its limitations, this scoping review followed an appropriate method using a five-stage framework that was independently verified. The inclusion of the CASP appraisal tool afforded an opportunity to easily assess the rigor of each study and demonstrated the need for recommendations to design a quality curriculum.

In conclusion, it is anticipated this article will stimulate discussion and proactive design to support online learning, particularly in medical education. A review of the lessons learned pre and post the COVID-19 pandemic will improve online medical education and establish practices that enhance small group learning.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Vanessa Kitchin, Southern Medical Program Librarian, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus for peer reviewing the literature search.

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Donkin, R., Yule, H. & Fyfe, T. Online case-based learning in medical education: a scoping review. BMC Med Educ 23 , 564 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04520-w

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Making study more human: how online education is creating powerful spaces for learning

Tertiary education can challenge our mental health and wellbeing, but online university study programs are transforming the way students are supported

Everyone learns differently. But whether we’re a bookish student or more hands-on and interactive, one thing is always true: we do better with support.

A core theme of the research conducted at Monash University’s Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health is what it calls “developing well”. Recognising the complexity of learning experiences, the institute applies advanced genetics, developmental neuroscience and psychological methods to better understand our brains.

Monash’s School of Psychological Sciences applies this knowledge to develop tech innovations that promote education, resilience and mental wellbeing for their students.

Dr Lilani Arulkadacham, is the acting Director of Online Education with the School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University, and is an expert in online learning. She knows the potential such an approach has to encourage students from every background to thrive.

We all learn in complex, dynamic ways

Human learning is complex. “It’s a dynamic process involving interactions between perception, attention, memory, reinforcement and adaptation,” Arulkadacham says.

“Essentially, humans learn by taking in information from their surroundings and we remember it by repeating it or thinking about it. When we need to, we can remember what we’ve learned in the past and use it in different contexts and situations. So, learning is a cycle where we keep building on what we know to get better at things.”

In a university setting, she says, students are able to learn in different ways, through reading, group and solo projects, and feedback from teachers. But an online learning environment goes even further, offering the potential for teaching staff to respond to individual needs and break down access barriers by creating flexible spaces for students juggling time and geographical constraints, and other commitments.

The right support has the power to transform learning

Tertiary students are in the midst of a serious mental health challenge. As a cohort, they experience greater levels of mental distress than the general population and their peers who are not in tertiary education. Arulkadacham says a supportive environment that prioritises health and wellbeing has a positive impact on everything from a student’s academic confidence to the bonds they form.

“We know that students who experience high levels of university support experience lower levels of psychological distress,” she says. “[Support] can transform a student’s learning experience by reducing stress, anxiety. Students can focus better on their studies and engage more actively in class discussions.”

At Monash, Arulkadacham says, support includes easy access to resources such as counselling services and wellness programs, which can provide tools to manage stress and stop students feeling overwhelmed. “As a result, [students are] more resilient, they’re more productive, they’re motivated, which leads to improved academic performance and overall satisfaction with their learning journey.”

Online study is flexible enough to support every student

Monash University offers fully online study programs across a range of disciplines, including business, computer science, health and psychology.

Arulkadacham says that as a result, online learning environments can open new doors for those who might not previously have had access to higher education. “Students can really learn at their own pace from anywhere,” she says. “It presents an alternative to face-to-face learning by offering flexibility and accessibility, so it allows students to access course materials at their convenience, enabling students to balance their education with other commitments – work, family responsibilities.”

Having that level of flexibility has other benefits. “It cultivates self-discipline, and autonomy, preparing students for success both academically and professionally,” she says. “The autonomy and continuous access to resources can really empower students to take ownership of their education and pursue their learning goals.”

Online courses can improve access to tertiary education for students from diverse backgrounds and locations.

“That inclusivity promotes diversity in our programs. It allows individuals who may not have access to traditional educational institutions to pursue their studies – and their dreams.”

Despite the distance, online students can be equally supported

“There may be perceptions that online study can be a lonely experience,” Arulkadacham says. “We really challenge that.”

But it’s not without its difficulties, and she stresses the importance of recognising that online study is different to being on campus. “On campus, you do have access to physical mental health support. You can easily turn to a peer in class if there’s something on your mind. For our online tertiary students, there may be the added stress of juggling other roles.”

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Arulkadacham’s own research has shown – “time and again” – that one of the greatest predictors of student success is the opportunity to practise self-care. “So, with the help of our students and some of our practising therapists, is an online self-care toolbox for our students. Something that students can turn to whenever they feel like they need some mental help or assistance.”

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Title: do llm agents have regret a case study in online learning and games.

Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) have been increasingly employed for (interactive) decision-making, via the development of LLM-based autonomous agents. Despite their emerging successes, the performance of LLM agents in decision-making has not been fully investigated through quantitative metrics, especially in the multi-agent setting when they interact with each other, a typical scenario in real-world LLM-agent applications. To better understand the limits of LLM agents in these interactive environments, we propose to study their interactions in benchmark decision-making settings in online learning and game theory, through the performance metric of \emph{regret}. We first empirically study the {no-regret} behaviors of LLMs in canonical (non-stationary) online learning problems, as well as the emergence of equilibria when LLM agents interact through playing repeated games. We then provide some theoretical insights into the no-regret behaviors of LLM agents, under certain assumptions on the supervised pre-training and the rationality model of human decision-makers who generate the data. Notably, we also identify (simple) cases where advanced LLMs such as GPT-4 fail to be no-regret. To promote the no-regret behaviors, we propose a novel \emph{unsupervised} training loss of \emph{regret-loss}, which, in contrast to the supervised pre-training loss, does not require the labels of (optimal) actions. We then establish the statistical guarantee of generalization bound for regret-loss minimization, followed by the optimization guarantee that minimizing such a loss may automatically lead to known no-regret learning algorithms. Our further experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our regret-loss, especially in addressing the above ``regrettable'' cases.

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Do llm agents have regret a case study in online learning and games.

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Large language models (LLMs) have been increasingly employed for (interactive) decision-making, via the development of LLM-based autonomous agents. Despite their emerging successes, the performance of LLM agents in decision-making has not been fully investigated through quantitative metrics, especially in the multi-agent setting when they interact with each other, a typical scenario in real-world LLM-agent applications. To better understand the limits of LLM agents in these interactive environments, we propose to study their interactions in benchmark decision-making settings in online learning and game theory, through the performance metric of \emph{regret}. We first empirically study the {no-regret} behaviors of LLMs in canonical (non-stationary) online learning problems, as well as the emergence of equilibria when LLM agents interact through playing repeated games. We then provide some theoretical insights into the no-regret behaviors of LLM agents, under certain assumptions on the supervised pre-training and the rationality model of human decision-makers who generate the data. Notably, we also identify (simple) cases where advanced LLMs such as GPT-4 fail to be no-regret. To promote the no-regret behaviors, we propose a novel \emph{unsupervised} training loss of \emph{regret-loss}, which, in contrast to the supervised pre-training loss, does not require the labels of (optimal) actions. We then establish the statistical guarantee of generalization bound for regret-loss minimization, followed by the optimization guarantee that minimizing such a loss may automatically lead to known no-regret learning algorithms. Our further experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our regret-loss, especially in addressing the above ``regrettable'' cases.

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Harvard Law School Digitization Project Publishes Nearly 7 Million Court Cases Online

The Caselaw Access Project published nearly seven million cases from the Harvard Law School’s collections online on March 8, concluding a nine-year process to digitize the HLS Library’s archive of court cases.

The Caselaw Access Project, also known as CAP, aimed “to make all published U.S. court decisions freely available to the public online in a consistent format, digitized from the collection of the Harvard Law School Library,” according to the project’s website.

The recent release of cases has culminated in “360 years of United States caselaw” accessible to the public, according to the project’s website. This includes all “official, book-published state and federal United States caselaw through 2020,” with the first case dating back to 1658.

Jack Cushman, the project’s director, said that the impetus behind the effort was a desire to make caselaw more accessible to the public. In the past, few people beyond lawyers had access to expensive caselaw databases and could view important legal decisions.

This project, according to Cushman, sought to level the playing field.

Cushman said he believed it was important “for everyone to have access to the law of the land.”

CAP launched in 2015 through a partnership with Ravel Law, a legal research and analytics startup company. Per the terms of the partnership, CAP received financial support in exchange for Ravel obtaining eight years of exclusivity with the caselaw documents, according to Harvard Law Today, a school-run publication.

This project falls under the initiatives of the Law School’s Library Innovation Lab, “a forward-looking group of thinkers and doers working at the intersection of libraries, technology, and law,” according to the organization's website. The LIL facilitated the delicate process of digitizing case files for the project.

As part of the process, 40,000 books containing case files were retrieved from Harvard Law School’s collection in the HLS Library and a repository in Southborough, Mass. The CAP team then used a variety of tools to de-bind the books, effectively scan case files at a rate of 500,000 pages per week, and wrap the books in plastic to be sent to a limestone mine in Kentucky for preservation.

The scanned files were then translated into machine-readable documents and uploaded to the Ravel website. Ravel’s website made sifting through documents easier with their “data science, machine learning, and visualization” systems, according to Harvard Law Today.

Cushman said it was essential to not rush the process, as CAP was dealing with delicate documents that were both culturally and historically important.

“I think one lesson is just, it’s okay if it takes a long time,” he said. “For cultural preservation and cultural heritage — we’re in this for the long run.”

Now that the case files have been digitized, CAP aims to further improve search functionality to make the platform “practically usable,” furthering their mission to increase caselaw accessibility for all. With this forward-looking approach to law accessibility, CAP’s next goal is to strengthen its institutional collaborations with AI model makers interested in high quality datasets.

Cushman said that the digital archive could be useful for “Harvard students who are looking for projects or ways to make their mark with civic technology and big datasets.”

“We’ve only scratched the surface of what you can do with it,” Cushman added.

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