Comparing Student Performance in Emergency Remote and Face-to-Face Collaborative Learning Courses.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience education
• Higher education pedagogy
• Online learning

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid transition from face-to-face (F2F) to emergency remote teaching (ERT) globally.
• Research is emerging on ERT's impact on K-12 and higher education, with implications for future remote course design.
• Identifying effective ERT practices for student engagement and learning is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if undergraduate collaborative learning courses maintained student content knowledge outcomes in ERT comparable to F2F environments.
• To assess the impact of ERT on student engagement and learning in team-based neuroscience courses.

Main Methods:

• Student performance was tracked in three undergraduate neuroscience courses taught by the same instructor.
• Data were collected during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years, comparing ERT and F2F conditions.
• Individual and team assessment scores, along with course satisfaction, were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Student scores on individual and team assessments were similar between ERT and F2F learning environments.
• Measures of student course satisfaction did not differ significantly between ERT and F2F conditions.
• The virtual collaborative learning environment did not negatively impact student or team performance.

Conclusions:

• Undergraduate collaborative learning can be effectively implemented in emergency remote teaching settings.
• Virtual collaborative learning environments demonstrated comparable student performance and satisfaction to traditional face-to-face instruction.
• These findings suggest that remote teaching modalities can support robust learning outcomes in higher education.