Unravelling the use of Resource Management Strategies in Remote Digital Learning during Covid-19 Crisis: Cognitive Ability as Mediator

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is twofold.  Firstly, to analyse IT students’ use of resource management strategies and their impact on their cognitive ability and subsequently perceived learning outcome in remote digital learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. Secondly, this paper proposes a new mediator, namely cognitive ability to enhance students’ perceived learning outcomes. Resource management strategies comprise environmental and behavioural strategies that are derived from self-regulated learning. Grounded in social cognitive theory, students who utilize various resource management strategies are fully capable of managing and controlling the internal and external resources of their learning process to achieve success in a digital learning environment. However, much remains to be understood about the use of resource management strategies and their impact on IT students’ cognitive ability and perceived learning outcome in the context of remote digital learning during the Covid-19 crisis. To achieve this research aim, six hypotheses were formulated. Quantitative measurement tools were used on a sample of 695 university students obtained through cluster sampling. The initial findings of this study constitute essential results where three out of four research management strategies were positively linked with cognitive ability. Results have evidenced that students who utilises resource management strategies can exercise higher levels of cognition. Cognitive ability also mediated the use of three resource management strategies on students’ perceived learning outcomes. Based on the research findings, new recommendations on how educators can assist students to improve their cognitive ability and learning outcomes in remote digital learning are discussed.