CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS EXPERIENCED BY STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Several aspects of life in society have changed with the environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most relevant was the transfer of face-to-face teaching to classes in the remote format, an action that was not accompanied by a consistent reflection on how this reflects on student learning. Thus, the aim of the study was to analyze how experienced learning environments relate to perceived learning during social distancing resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The research adopted a quantitative approach of a descriptive nature, having been carried out through a survey with 734 stricto sensu graduate students from different courses nationwide, during February 2021. The variables that characterize the learning environments experienced by students are explored from the analysis model proposed in this study and were grouped into: physical, psychosocial, technological and pedagogical environment. Through descriptive statistics, it was identified that, despite some students pointing out difficulties, in general, graduate students responded relatively well to the restrictions imposed by social distancing, in all dimensions of the learning environments studied.