THE ROLE OF LEARNING AGILITY TO ENHANCE UNIVERSITY STUDENT’S LEARNING IN THE NEW NORMAL OF COVID 19 ERA

• Main Author: Hanifah Hermawan, Sofi
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/74894
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

The shift in the educational system due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted over 91% of the student population worldwide. Schools and universities changed the regular program to online learning. The shift from face-to-face to online delivery mode caused students significant interruptions. The problem arose because online learning compulsion required the student to be agile and engage in the learning process. The competencies and skills needed to apply this agility in learning developed through the accumulation of experience learning quickly in fast- changing situations. Using the newly acquired capability in a new case results in better learning and development. Thus, agility in learning, or what scholars often call learning agility, is needed in this online learning setting. Therefore, this study examines the key potential factors characterizing students’ learning agility in COVID-19. Accordingly, this study implemented interpretivism philosophy by using an inductive approach. To obtain robust findings, this research adopted the case study method. In this regard, the author identified MBA ITB and Industrial Engineering Telkom University students as unique cases since they match the description of unusual, which displays an uncommon occurrence. Apart from learning, some MBA students have started businesses with their fellow partners, while many Industrial Engineering Tel U students also join students organization. Thus, the case is considered unique since only a few students are still active in the COVID-19 era. The data for this study was obtained through interviews. The method by which the interview was conducted is the in-depth semi-structured interview. A semi-structured interview allows the author to ask follow-up questions to get deeper insight while following the interview guide. The questions contain a mix of open-ended questions. The mode of questions varies from ‘how,’ ‘what,’ and ‘why.’ Because of the pandemic, the interview was conducted via teleconference application (Zoom or Google Meet) or by phone. The duration of the interview lasted 45 to 120 minutes. All process of interviews was transcribed and analyzed using qualitative data analysis and research software, namely NVivo. In that regard, this study followed thematic analysis as a method for data analysis. Thematic analysis is utilized to identify emerging themes and patterns from otherwise unstructured qualitative data. The thematic analysis makes it a proper analysis method for exploratory research compared to other methods. The foundation of thematic analysis is data codification. Data codification is helpful to label a unit of data potentially having a valuable meaning concerning the research purpose. Ultimately, five primary codes were derived from the data. As mentioned, five direct codes related to learning agility are found in the data: change agility, mental agility, people agility, results agility, and self-awareness. Besides that, psychological safety, as the condition to show the ability without hesitation of negative consequences of the self-image, is also employed in this thematic analysis. Psychological safety contains several initial codes, such as compatibility, understanding, and a supportive environment.