Indonesian Freshmen’s Challenges in Collaborative Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic:A Reflection of a Procedural Writing Class

Abstract

One of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world of education is the implementation of online learning. Almost all teaching/learning activities must be changed and adjusted with the virtual classes. One among other activities commonly done in an English language education program is group work or collaborative work between or among students. Due to the pandemic situation, this particular activity should also be done online. This study aims to describe freshmen’s perspectives on collaborative work done in a Procedural Writing class. The teacher of the writing class randomly paired the students to work collaboratively. There is only one research question in this study: What challenges do Procedural Writing students experience in doing collaborative learning during the pandemic COVID 19? Data were derived from reflections that fourteen (14) Procedural Writing students at an English Language Education Program (ELEP), UKSW, Indonesia, wrote in the sixth week of Semester II/ 2020-2021 academic year, and from interviews with two participants who said that they were not happy with collaborative learning. Findings showed that in general, the freshmen felt that collaborative work helped them write better, they got more ideas, helped in their grammar, and exchanged knowledge. Only two students felt unhappy due to misunderstanding and ideas which were not delivered successfully. This study will hopefully be useful for writing teachers, practitioners in education, as well as students so that they will have a wider horizon of what writing students feel and experience in collaborative learning during this pandemic era.