Silence over the wire: student verbal participation and the virtual classroom in the digital era

This paper addresses the pervasive absence of verbal student participation in the online class, a phenomenon observed by many lecturers and instructors expressing the frustrating and uncomfortable experiences of encountering silence from their students, particularly when it came to responding to their questions. Added to the frustration is the observed preference of students to not turn on their videos. Whilst studies on student silence in classroom discourse have been well documented in the research literature, this phenomenon has taken on new significance in the virtual classroom, the new norm in the learning context during, and most likely after, the COVID-19 situation. This study attempts to capture the perceptions of the students themselves on student silence in terms of frequency, reasons and its impact on classroom communication and meaningful learning. A questionnaire was distributed to students at a local university, followed by student focus group interviews. Data collected were then subjected to a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis. The results show that student silence is a common feature in the online classroom and that students do perceive their silence to negatively affect the flow of communication both between themselves and with their lecturers. However, the question of whether meaningful learning still occurs despite the silence is more complex and less clear, raising questions not only about what is meant by meaningful learning but also the claim by classroom discourse studies and writings that student verbal participation is key to successful learning. © 2023, Education Research Institute, Seoul National University.

Religious Care and Moral Economy amidst COVID-19 Mimetic Consumption, Divine Vaccine and Disciplinary Trust in Brunei Darussalam

After Independence in 1984, the Sultanate of Brunei declared Melayu Islam Beraja (MIB) as the official state ideology. Translated as "Malay Islamic Monarchy, " this ideology is primarily interpreted through the Islamic lens and encompasses all sectors of the society. Facing the COvID-19 crisis, the government took quick and Shari'a-driven measures to contain the further import and propagation of the virus. How did faith intertwine with healthcare policy amidst COVID-19 Our ethnographic survey traces the origin of the virus in the country and the major reactions of the Islamic government in time of emergency. This archaeology of COVID-19 in the Sultanate should not ignore both the disciplinary trust in place in Brunei as well as individual reactions and ways to rely on religious materials (such as self-care healing practices, expressions of piety or calamity-releasing prayers) to eradicate the virus or protect people from it.

Religious Actors, Care, and Mood in the Time of COVID-19

The introduction to this special issue considers the interdisciplinary study of religious sentiments, religious care and social actions during the COvID-19 outbreak in South-, East-and Southeast Asia. Our approach in terms of nodes and polarisation allows one to visualise a bundle of religious and secular actors and interests, as well as original strategies and actions, in time of pandemic, which sometimes challenge local regimes of truth and authority. In many cases, faith-based NGO s have been complementing the State, activating their powerful channels of mission in urban and rural areas, under the guise of combating COVID-19 crisis. The studies presented here examine several Asian religious actors during this period of COvID-19 crisis;and the ways in which their creative digitalised measures of worship, protection and healing, and their participation in urgent public health and care provisions, have given them the opportunity to renegotiate their relationships with States and societies.