DEVELOPMENT OF HYBRID LEARNING MODELS IN THE NEW NORMAL COVID-19 SITUATION TO PROMOTE COMPUTATIONAL THINKING SKILLS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Abstract

This study aimed to: 1) investigate the problems related to instructional management that promoted computational thinking skills among undergraduate students, 2) to develop a hybrid learning model in the New Normal context resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic to enhance students’ computational thinking skills, and 3) to examine the effects of implementing the developed hybrid learning model on the computational thinking skills of undergraduate students. The sample included two intact classes of undergraduate students in the Computer Studies Program, Faculty of Education, Ubon Ratchathani Rajabhat University, enrolled in the course 1171516 Technology for Science during the second semester of the 2024 academic year. The participants were divided into a control group (n= 21) and an experimental group (n=21), selected through Cluster Random Sampling. The research instruments included: 1) digital lessons designed according to the developed hybrid Learning model, and 2) a computational thinking skill assessment. The statistics used in the research were mean, percentage, standard deviation, t-test for Dependent Samples, and t-test for Independent Samples.

The research findings revealed that: 1) students experienced moderate-level problems in instructional management, particularly in terms of facilities, learning activities, instructor roles, and assessment, while learner roles and content were rated at a high level; 2) the developed hybrid learning model consisted of five core components and six instructional steps that promoted computational thinking; and 3) After the implementation of the model, students' computational thinking scores differed significantly from their pretest scores, and the experimental group also differed significantly from the control group at the .05 level.