Reflections on Abandoning Cooperative Learning: Impacts on Academic Performance, Communication Skills, and Motivation among University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the repercussions of discontinuing the use of cooperative learning strategies among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research focused on its effects on three key areas: academic performance, communication skills, and student motivation. A descriptive-analytical methodology was employed. To this end, a questionnaire with three main sections was designed and distributed to a sample of 95 psychology students at the University of Skikda, Algeria. The results revealed a significant decline in students' academic performance, primarily due to inadequate knowledge acquisition. Additionally, there was a notable deficit in communication skills, hindering effective information exchange among students, and a near-total absence of motivation was observed. Despite the implementation of online learning as an alternative to cooperative learning, student performance was found to be weak, as indicated by the current study's findings.