Is There Constructivism in Online Interaction in Biology Teaching and Learning?

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic ends, online learning has grown in popularity among students and educators. It offers flexibility and affordability, opening new dimensions to teaching and learning. However, in some tough subjects, such as biology, which focuses on understanding the concept of life through practical effort, online learning appears to be rather difficult. This study overviewed constructivism in online learning of biology subject specifically in genetic study. The goal of this study is to determine the relationship between numerous elements, including learner-to-learner interactions, instructor-to-learner interactions, and learner-tocontent interactions, and the efficacy of online learning. This quantitative study enrolled approximately 124 pre-university students from public institutions in Selangor. The instrument used is a 5 Likert-scale survey with four sections including Section A of demographic profile; Section B of learning in groups; section C of teachers as facilitators and section D on shared knowledge and authority. Overall, the highest mean value, (x̅ =4.2) reported as learners consider that peer interaction in biology online learning activities is crucial for task completion and motivation support. The learner also believes that the simplicity of the online content is significant in online learning with x̅ =4.1. There is also a significant association between learning in groups and teachers as facilitator (r=.475**) and (p=.000). In addition, there is also a significant association between teachers as facilitator and shared knowledge & authority (r=.687**) and (p=.000). Thus, to attract more students to