The study of the dilemma on the control of COVID-19 spread and face-to-face learning and its trade-off solutions

ABSTRACT

To control the COVID-19 spread, face-to-face learning has been prohibited. Instead, some of the classes have been canceled and some are being conducted in an e-learning mode. Both teachers and students have encountered difficulties in the unusual and less-effective online learning environment. Particularly, the situation is getting worse from the senior group (university) to junior groups (secondary school, primary school, and kindergarten) as students’ maturity levels are closely related to learning. Various research studies and surveys have summarized that the educational standard and learning outcomes are generally lowered during the pandemic. To address the dilemma between health and face-to-face learning, cutting-edge techniques should be introduced to provide trade-off solutions for school management and government. Case studies are discussed to examine the dilemma and trade-off solutions. The pros and cons of the solutions have been summarized. We have highlighted some emergent research directions as future works. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.