The Normal Lights

Volume 16, No. 2 (2022)

A Phenomenological Inquiry of
Graduate School Students’ Silence
in Online Learning during the
COVID-19 Pandemic
Kurt S. Candilas
College of Arts and Sciences, Lourdes College
ORCID: 0000-0002-2299-8575

Melody R. Agcito
College of Arts and Sciences, Lourdes College
ORCID: 0000-0003-0923-5458

Salome L. Escalona
College of Arts and Sciences, Bukidnon State University
ORCID: 0000-0001-8915-6826

Abstract COVID-19 pandemic transformed the way

how Higher Education Institutions deliver the teaching
and learning process in an online modality. This
phenomenological study inquired the lived experiences
and the contexts of graduate school students’ silence in
online learning during the pandemic. Transcendental
research design following Moustakas’s Stevick-Colaizzi-
Keen process was utilized to generate the emerging themes
and essence of the study’s findings. Eight graduate school
students from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in
Northern Mindanao were selected as participants through
purposive sampling. Analysis of data revealed that silence
for graduate school students means emotional exhaustion
and lack of academic preparedness due to physical,
cognitive, and affective factors in online classes. It reflects
their struggles in online learning which is the essence of
silence. Silence in online learning without these struggles

Candilas, K.S., Agcito, M.R., & Escalona, S.L. (2022). A phenomenological inquiry of graduate school
students’ silence in online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Normal Lights, 16(2), pp. 1–
Corresponding Author:
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cannot become an experience of silence. Furthermore,

their experiences of silence are diverse depending on how
they are shaped or re-shaped by their current contexts.
As the study speaks a volume of unfavorable insights on
the meaning of silence, an intervention on students’ well-
being may be proposed to foster a positive disposition in
an online learning environment.

Keywords: graduate education, online learning,

phenomenological inquiry, silence, struggles

Introduction

The rise of online learning in this time of the pandemic is

undertaken remotely on digital platforms to bolster the
landscape of teaching-learning process in a safe and secure
manner. That is, learners and teachers are reading, interacting,
or engaging online with the prepared learning packets. In
particular, the prevalence of using both synchronous and
asynchronous modes of online learning emphasized the
flexibility in accessing and engaging with the subject (Cheta
and Augustein, 2015; Harasim, 2012; Kyofuna, 2013).

Although engagement in the virtual classroom is

well entrenched and enforced by teachers, online learning
may reduce and slow the fluency of interaction among
learners (Rapanta et al., 2020). This phenomenon is likely
to be attributed to silence, a condition in which a person is
unable to make any sounds (Zhouyuan, 2016).

In the context of online teaching and learning,

silence, though typical to students, is a phenomenon
recognized by learners’ positive and negative attitudes when
interacting virtually with teachers. When this happens,
teachers may find it distressing and difficult to gauge as an
avalanche of factors may prompt them to question if the

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silence is an indication of students’ agreement, disinterest,

absence, ambiguity, or alienation (Duran, 2020; Mārginean,
2021; Shakir, 2021). This phenomenon shows that students’
silence should be understood to prevent misinterpretations.

This students’ silence is noticeable in graduate

education where modular modality is not practiced and classes
are conducted through synchronous learning. Conduct of
classes in this modality is very much the same with the face-
to-face class except that it is done virtually. This means that
there is an expected thread of conversation between teachers
and students.

Few studies that investigated the silence of students

have already been conducted using different methods,
respondents, and aims (Choi, 2015; Coancā, 2020; Juniati et
al., 2018; Min, 2016; Nurrohmah & Waloyo, 2021; Wang,
2016; Zhouyuan, 2016). For instance, Gradinaru (2016)
observed that silence in online communities happens when
members are disinclined to express a viewpoint that does
not align with the majority. Hanh’s (2020) study described
silence as an obstacle in the teaching and learning process,
which troubles both teachers and learners. Meanwhile, Al-
Halawachy’s (2014) study used questionnaires to describe
some psychological and pedagogical factors that emerged
as the reasons for students’ silence. Lastly, Duran’s (2020)
phenomenological study on the silence of students underscores
that learners’ silence was a strategy done purposefully.
Her study was focused on the silence of students engaged
in cohort-based distance learning. Although these studies
were about silence, these were not conducted in light of the
COVID-19 online class and not with the graduate students
as participants of the study. This present study then proves
that very little or no empirical research on silence in online
classes during the COVID-19 pandemic has been conducted
and become the heart of research analyses.

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These perspectives espoused by researchers on the

occurrence of silence in synchronous online learning are as
well observed by the researchers in their graduate classes.
Some students do not participate despite being prompted to
unmute their audio to convey their ideas. Most of the time,
they do not contribute to the discussions not even open their
cameras for the entire class period. Some tend to participate
but are saddled by other tasks. These observations were
used as bases to inquire about the necessity of exploring the
experiences and contexts of the participants who exhibit the
phenomenon under examination.

Theoretical Framework

This phenomenological inquiry argues that graduate school

students’ experiences of silence in online learning during the
time of pandemic are exhibitions of their challenges.

This argument is supported by the connectivism

learning theory of Siemens (2005) and Downes (2005) and
Mezirow’s transformational learning theory (1991).

The theory of connectivism as a learning philosophy

espouses that technology plays a significant role in the
learning process where students have ease-of-use access
to information. Connectivism primarily builds the notion
that technology is changing, what, how, and where students
learn. Heavily grounded in technology, Siemens and Downes
surmised that connectivism brings students together in
creating learning opportunities and experiences. However,
epistemological positions of connectivism draws challenges
such as lack of solutions to the inconsistency of learning,
under-conceptualization of interaction, and inability
to explain concept development (Barbera, 2013). This
postulation holds true considering that online learning may
posit varied experiences to students given that COVID-19

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pandemic also affects their mental health and behavior

(Shaikh et al., 2021).

The Mezirow’s transformational learning theory

theorizes that people use their sense experience as a reference
for making meaning and learning. More specifically, Mezirow
argued that the process of transformational learning begins
with the learners’ experiences where they can adjust their
knowledge based on new information.

In relation to this study, the transition of school to

online learning brought by the pandemic paved the way
for students to use technology. Within the paradigm of
connectivism, the theory seeks to be the solution to the
problem of learning as it promotes continual learning through
digital channels. In Mezirow’s theory, this shift creates and
re-creates students’ experiences and challenges in learning
since knowledge is ontologically known in the context of
what they experience. As context shapes one’s perception,
Duran (2020) exclaimed that the absence of communication
in online learning comes across as silence. It is the objective
of this inquiry to understand the realities of these ongoing
phenomenon in online learning.

Purpose of the Research

This study explored and inquired the lived experiences of

graduate school students’ silence in online learning during
COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it aimed to understand the
meaning of their experiences of silence and to ascertain the
contexts that are central to their experience of the phenomena.

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Methodology

Research Design

This study utilized transcendental phenomenology, a

systematic approach in analyzing data that seeks a deeper
understanding and description of meaning of lived
experiences (Moustakas, 1994 in Creswell, 2013). This
design attempts to describe the experiences of participants on
the phenomenon rather than the researcher’s interpretation.
This method is deemed appropriate for this study as it tries
to describe the experiences and the contexts of participants’
silence in online learning.

Participants of Study
Following Moustakas’ principle of selecting fewer
participants in a transcendental phenomenological study, this
study purposefully sampled eight graduate school students
from the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Northern
Mindanao. Purposive sampling in qualitative research
involves researchers’ sound judgment for the inclusion of
a restricted number of people in the study. The participants
were selected based on the following criteria: they have
experienced the phenomenon being studied (Creswell &
Plano Clark, 2011), they were recommended by a fellow
professor in the graduate school as students who were likely
to be silent most of the time during their classes, they haven’t
had an experience or encounter with the researchers as their
professors in any of their subjects taken in the graduate
school of the Arts and Sciences, and lastly, they adhered and
signed to the agreement, permission, and ethical concern
as stipulated in the informed consent given to them by the
researchers. These criteria ensured that participants are
suitable in the phenomenon under investigation.

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Instrument
This transcendental phenomenology utilized an in-depth
semi-structured interview. In this approach, researchers
use, open-ended questions to obtain the participants’
reconstruction of their experience within the topic under
study and to build upon their spontaneity of verbal responses
to the questions asked. The range of questions adaptable
to this interviewing approach is partitioned to participants’
lived experiences and contexts of their silence in online
learning. These questions include: (1) While attending
your synchronous classes in graduate school, do you have
experiences of being silent? (2) If you do, what are your
experiences of being silent? How does it feel? Is it fulfilling?
Do you feel uncomfortable? (3) What does your silence
mean? (4) If you are not at ease with being silent, what is
your way of coping? (5) How does this coping mechanism
affect your experience of silence? These questions were
also framed according to an objective thought from the
researchers disclosing their foreknowledge that defines the
limits of the phenomenon being investigated, as in epoché
(see personal bracketing in this study). The questions for the
interview were validated by fellow researchers, experts in
the field of qualitative research, and the school’s Research
Ethics Committee. Trustworthiness was also observed by
the researchers to ensure the validity of the questions for the
conduct of the interview.

Ethical Considerations
Before the conduct of the study, the researchers sought
approval from the school’s Research Ethics Committee
(REC) to verify if the study merits the fundamental ethical
principles of research. Ethical considerations verified were
on the safety of the participants, protection of their privacy,
and confidentiality of data, transparency and informed
consent of voluntary participation, researchers’ qualifications

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and skills, and social value. After the approval of REC, an in-
depth semi-structured interview was purposively scheduled
from November to December 2021 to collect responses from
the participants.

Data Collection and Analysis

The in-depth semi-structured phenomenological interview
conducted in this study followed the protocol or guide
used by (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009 in Creswell 2013).
The interview was conducted via Google Meet. Before the
interview, participants were assured that their participation is
voluntary and can waive their participation at anytime. The
participants consented to the recording of the interview for
documentation, transcription, and analysis purposes. Each
interview lasted forty-five minutes to one hour. To protect the
data of the participants, all electronic data files were deleted
after researchers obtained the necessary findings.

Analysis of the responses was done using Creswell’s

(2007) simplified version of Moustakas’s (1994) Stevick-
Colaizzi-Keen process which involves: description of
experiences with the phenomenon, bracketing, listing of
significant statements, coding and clustering of significant
statements to form themes, producing textural descriptions
of experience, building of structural descriptions, and
combining description of essences.

Trustworthiness
To ensure the transparency of this research study,
trustworthiness (Polit & Beck, 2014) such as: dependability,
credibility, confirmability, and transferability was observed.
For dependability, the researchers asked an intercoder to
crosscheck the coded data. They also sought the help of an
auditor who is an expert in the research method to audit the
phenomenological process. For credibility, the researchers

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assured the participants that the interview is solely conducted

for research purposes. They were given a copy of the paper
upon the completion of the study. For confirmability, the
researchers ensured that participants’ experiences of silence
were covered and achieved. Hence, coded data identifying
their experience, their meanings, and the essence were returned
to them for verification. For transferability, the researchers
saw to it that detailed descriptions of the participants’ lived
experiences of silence are captured.

Personal Bracketing
Two of the researchers are graduate school faculty of College
of Arts and Sciences (CAS) in one of the colleges in Cagayan
de Oro City, while one is a faculty of a university in Bukidnon.
At the onset of the pandemic, the researchers began to
transition from face-to-face classes to virtual teaching. Before
the academic year started for such a transition, the researchers
were exposed to training, conferences, and workshops on
strategies in online teaching, learning management systems
and educational technologies and applications organized by
the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and facilitated
by their institutions. As they are teaching at the graduate
school, they too experienced the silence of students during
classes. They observed that some students do not open their
cameras or unmute their audio despite being told to engage
in the discussion. Furthermore, when students unmute audio,
they are observed to be multitasking based on their background
noises that are not related to the class. Students also used
their unstable internet connectivity and power interruption as
excuses. These situations make researchers feel unsure of the
students’ presence in class. The researchers recognized these
experiences, a priori knowledge, and assumptions. However,
all these were set aside and suspended to focus on the main
analysis of the experiences of the participants rather than the
research itself.

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It should be noted that the participants of this study

are working as teachers, social workers, and librarians.
Researchers have no direct contact and no previous
information about the participants as they have not been their
students.

Findings of the Study

Four themes emerged in the findings. These are emotional

exhaustion, academic preparedness, physical factors, and
cognitive and affective factors. These themes are based on
the cluster of sub-themes as shown in Table 1.

Table 1 shows the extracted statements from

the narratives of the participants, coded and clustered as
subthemes. The subthemes and the implied meanings are
considered significant in the formulation of the four main
themes.

Table 1.
Graduate School Students’ Experiences of Silence in Online
Learning

Main Sub- themes Significant General

Themes Statements Description of the
Theme
Emotional Fear … I am silent Fear in committing
Exhaustion because I am mistakes, in
afraid that my the professor’s
professor will questions,
ask me questions and possible
and I don’t know embarrassment
the answer... (P6, caused participants’
Transcript 6, Lines silence.
258-260)

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Anxiety I feel pressured, Silence is because

since most of my of the participants’
classmates were experiences
not working in of anxiety
city social welfare from feelings
and in our class, of pressured,
there are two of nervousness, shame
us working in to share ideas, and
the city social conscious/ inferior
welfare office. (P5, with their speaking
Transcript 5, Lines skills.
203-206)
Worn-out I tend to not ask Silence is due to
questions or add feelings of worn-
questions so that out or cognitively
the class will finish and emotionally
early. I just want weary in attending
the class to end as online classes.
I am already tired.
(P2, Transcript 2,
Lines 72-75)
Academic Readiness I have silent Silence signifies
preparedness moments especially students’
if I am not prepared unpreparedness
for the recitation. and lack of
(P3, Transcript 3, comprehension with
Line 103) unfamiliar terms.

Grasping for I want to know and Silence means

information learn more about grasping for
the course. (P6, information in the
Transcript 7, Lines online environment.
260-261)
Physical Teaching and … I am silent Silence is due to the
Factors Scheduling because of the instructors’ teaching
instructor’s method which
teaching method. plays an important
(P8, Transcript 8, role in the active
Lines 357-358) engagement of
students.

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Connectivity ...sometimes there Silence is due to

and are problems unstable internet
Surrounding with the internet connectivity.
connection. If there
is an activity or the
reporter is choppy,
you have to do
further research.
(P2, Transcript 2,
Lines 68-70)
Multitasking I do multitasking Participants have
being a mother varied reasons for
with an infant at multitasking.
the beginning of
COVID- 19 time,
I multitask. While
breastfeeding, I
also join the class.
(P4, Transcript 4,
Lines 149-150)
Cognitive Information … I am Silence is due
and Affective overload overwhelmed to information
Factors especially if overload of not only
the topics are disproportionate
interesting topics but also of
or difficult to engrossing topics.
understand and
that I also need
space and time
to understand
everything
especially that in
one session, a lot
are discussed. (P2,
Transcript 2, Lines
37-39)
Detachment “I really get shy in Detached feeling
the class especially is dependent on
when my classmates the environment
are fluent in English of the students
like when I had which include their
MAEL classmates.” classmates.
(P4, Transcript 4,
lines 136-137)

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Discussions

Data to identify the participants’ experiences of silence were

obtained from semi-structured interviews. Participants were
given code names or pseudonyms (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7,
and P8) for confidentiality purposes.

Following the interpretative phenomenological

analysis, four themes emerged: (1) emotional exhaustion;(2)
academic preparedness; (3) physical factors; and (4) cognitive
and affective factors.

Emotional Exhaustion (Fear, anxiety, and worn-out)

Silence, as an emotional exhaustion, refers to the participants’
experiences of fear, anxiety, and worn-out.

Fear

Fear in online learning is a manifestation of the participants’

fear of committing mistakes, of the professor’s questions, and
embarrassment. Participants shared that during synchronous
online classes, silence means that they are afraid of sharing
their ideas which might be incorrect. As shared by participants
1 and 5, “My silence means that I am afraid that my question
is not correct..” (P1, Transcript 1, Lines 23-26) “I am afraid
because I might commit mistakes in sharing my answers…”
(P5, Transcript 5-6, Lines 227-231).

Additionally, participants 6 and 7 expressed that their

silence meant that they were afraid and uncomfortable with
their professors, specifically when they asked questions that
they could not answer. “In the class, I am silent because I am
afraid my professor will ask me questions and I don’t know the
answer since I cannot relate to the course I am enrolled in...”
(P6, Transcript 6, Lines 258-260); “I feel uncomfortable….
I feel that there is a need for me to participate because the

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teacher might think that I am not listening attentively in the

discussion.” (P7, Transcript 8, Lines 331-333) Further, P1,
P2, P3, P4, P5, and P6 also expressed that their discomfort is
due to their classmates who have better experiences and can
share and express good ideas in their classes. Although fear
is a negative emotion compelled by graduate school students’
experience in online learning, such emotion is still relevant,
natural, and valid (Smidt et al., 2016).

Anxiety

Participants’ experiences of anxiety stem from feelings

of being pressured, nervous, ashamed to share their ideas,
conscious and inferior in their English-speaking skills.
Samaha (2021) deduced that anxiety in online learning is due
to stress. Undeniably, this pandemic gives stress to all people
be it at home, school, or at work just like the participants’
experience of anxiety. Participants reported that they are
silent because they are likely to feel inferior and withdrawn
in the presence of others, especially the cognizable and
competitive. Also, being silent means that they have nothing
to share in the discussion. Below are participants’ responses:

“I feel pressured, since most of my classmates

were not working in city social welfare and in
our class, there are two of us working in the city
social welfare office.” (P5, Transcript 5, Lines
203-206)

“I feel nervous because I don’t have any idea…”

(P6, Lines 265-266)

“...I really get shy in the class especially when

my classmates are fluent in English...” (P4,
Transcript 4, Lines 175-183)

Wang and Zhang (2021) opined that these feelings of

tension, uneasiness, and worrisome are considered as internet

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learning anxiety deemed as emotional responses of learners in

a networked environment. They reckoned that online learning
lacks external drive, which necessitates internal motivation.
Lack of internal motivation frequently leads to an increased
psychological discomfort like stress and anxiety.

Worn-out

Worn-out is the experience of being cognitively and

emotionally weary in attending classes online. This situation
makes participants passive.

P1 mentioned that she is very shy to ask questions and

finds it tiring because of too much information discussed and
shared in the class “...I am very shy to ask questions…I find
it hard and tiring to directly understand...” (P1, Transcript 1,
Lines 23-26).

Moreover, participants 2 and 3 pointed out that their

silence mean that they are heavily exhausted as they are also
working. Because of this, there are times that they are not able
to catch the discussions and become passive to the lectures.

“...I tend to not ask questions or add questions

so that the class will finish early… I just want the
class to end… (P2, Transcript 2, Lines 72-75).

“I lack preparation for the class discussion. I

work 6 days a week and also have a baby. There
are times that I only listen but do not really
understand what was said by the professor.” (P3,
Transcript 3, Lines 118-120)

These overwhelming exhaustions are aggravated by

the disruptions brought by the pandemic which are subsequent
to students experiencing academic burden, lack of relaxation,
and pressure (Mosleh et al., 2022).

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Academic preparedness (Readiness and Grasping

for information)
In academic preparedness, participants expressed that their
silence means that they are not ready and having difficulty
grasping information.

Readiness

Participants’ silence in online learning signifies that they are

not prepared, they lack comprehension of the topic and are
not familiar with the terms discussed. Participants 3 and 4
narrated that they become silent when they are not prepared
for their class. Since they are both working as teachers
and attend class after work, their readiness to classes is
jeopardized. Shakir (2021) mentioned that one of the barriers
in online learning is the student’s inability to manage their
time and academic activities.

“I have silent moments especially if I am not

prepared for the recitation.” (P3, Transcript 3,
Line 103).

P5 added that her silence means that there are

unfamiliar terms discussed by the professors. She narrated
that although she is working in the Social Welfare Department,
there are still terms that are foreign to her.

“There are terms that are unfamiliar to us, even

though I am currently working in City Social
Welfare. That is why I am silent in the class.”
(P5, Transcript 5, Lines 215-218)

P5 statement is an indication that a gap in learning

may be an instructor factor. Thus, instructors may provide
formative assessment to address learning gaps. Lee (2022)
mentioned that one element in successful online learning is
instructor’s feedback. She proposed that instructors provide
formative feedback to foster student learning.

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Grasping for Information

Grasping for information is an indication of the students’

cognitive ability which refers to the conscious mental
activities like thinking, reasoning, understanding, learning,
and remembering (Verbert et al., 2014). In the context of
P4, she described that being overwhelmed with information
leads her to stay silent in class to absorb all information.
P6, an Information Technology graduate, enrolled in the
Social Work program which is completely different from
her undergraduate program, requiring her to focus to catch
up on the instructor’s discussion. These narratives mean that
silence signifies that participants are ingesting information,
and acquiring knowledge about their course.

“Silence also for me is catching up and

comprehending the lesson...” (P6, Transcript 7,
Line 287)

“Another reason why I am silent in the class is

because I want to know and learn more about the
course.” (P6, Transcript 7, Lines 260-261)

Furthermore, silence in online learning is related

to the learning styles of the students. Fleming and Baume
(2006) categorized the learner’s learning styles using the
Visual, Aural, Read, and Kinesthetic (VARK) model. Two of
the participants belonged to the read/write learners, wherein
learners can learn best when they can use written textual
learning materials like handouts and lecture notes.

“But most of the time, I listen to the lecture of

my instructor and take notes.” (P6, Transcript 5,
Lines 262-263)

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Physical Factors (Teaching and Scheduling,

connectivity and surrounding, and multitasking)
Physical factors such as the teacher’s teaching method,
class schedule, internet connection, surroundings and multi-
tasking are factors of students’ silence.

Teaching and Scheduling

Teaching method plays an important role in the active

engagement of students. Online learning necessitates that
teachers employ interactive teaching strategies. P8 mentioned.
“…I am silent because of the instructor’s teaching method.”
(P8, Transcript 8, Lines 357-358). Cheta and Augustein
(2015), Harasim (2012) and Zhang (2020) figured out that
innovative teaching strategies like collaborative learning,
flipped classroom learning and personalized learning are
found to increase students’ motivation, engagement and
critical thinking.

P2 shared that he is enrolled in a night class after

his day work. He consciously does not participate because
he wanted the class to end early due to tiredness from the
day’s work. Kumari and Sethy (2021) encouraged teachers
to be conscious of their time when holding classes. They
recommended that the duration of the lecture should not be
too long as it reduces students’ interest in learning.

“…I tend to not ask questions or add questions

so that the class will finish early.” (P2, Transcript
2, Lines 72-74).

Connectivity and Surrounding

Five participants mentioned that their silence in online
class is due to unstable internet connection. Participants
1 and 2 shared that their internet connection at home is
unstable which results in their difficulty in understanding

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the lessons. Below are their responses:

“When I do not open my cam, one reason is

connectivity.” (P1, Transcript 1, Lines 5-7)

“..sometimes there are problems with the internet

connection. If there is an activity or the reporter
is choppy, you have to do further research.” (P2,
Transcript 2, Lines 68-70. Participants 5, 7, and 3
also encountered the same problems.

A stable internet connection is a basic requirement

in online learning (Subedi et al., 2020). Without this basic
requirement, it is exhausting for the students to engage
actively or attend their synchronous classes (Shakir, 2021).

Multitasking

Multitasking is when multiple actions are attempted

simultaneously, either physical or cognitive (Osuh and
Ishola, 2021). Participants have varied reasons why they do
tasks simultaneously. One of the participants is a mother to an
infant. While attending the online synchronous class, she is
also nursing her baby. Another participant is attending online
classes in her workplace. While P3 and P5 are searching for
answers in order to catch up with the discussion. Hence, their
silence means juggling with their roles as a student and as a
mother or employee.

“I do multitasking being a mother with an

infant at the beginning of COVID-19 time.
While breastfeeding, I also join the class.” (P4,
Transcript 4, Lines 149-150)

“…I am in the office and I cannot listen carefully

to the lecture because I am doing something.”
(P6, Transcript 6, Lines 261-262)

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Cognitive and Affective Factors (Information

overload and Detachment)
Cognitive and affective factors have also been identified
as themes in the narratives of the participants. Cognitive is
the area that incorporates mental exercises, and information
overload can be categorized under this. Affective factors on
the other hand, are identified with mentalities and qualities
that highlight the outlook and emotional state of one (Wang,
2021). A feeling of detachment is an example of this and is
identified to be experienced by the participants. Copeland
et al., (2021) reported that the pandemic affected students’
behavioral and emotional functioning, particularly attention
and externalizing problems, or their affective and cognitive
domains.

Information Overload

Information overload is generally described as a state of being

overwhelmed with the excessive quantity of information
(Misra & Stokols, 2012). Kashada et al. (2020) postulate
that the exposure to too much information significantly
undermines the process of undertaking effective and quality
decision making. This explains why the MA and MS students
resort to being silent during synchronous classes.

”…I am overwhelmed especially if the topics

are interesting or difficult to understand..” (P2,
Transcript 2, Lines 37-39)

“I get amazed and shocked with the load of

information.” (P4, Transcript 4, Line 112)

When the information received is too much, or

outflowing and overwhelming (P2, line 28), the processing
of these becomes hard which resort to not being able to say
anything. Shocked and amazed (P4, Transcript 4, line 112)
with the overwhelming and outflowing ideas become an

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Volume 16, No. 2 (2022)

automatic reaction, thereby, students have to find a space (P2,

line 38), resulting in their silence.

This silence due to information overload is not only

for arduous or disproportionate topics but also for engrossing
topics. As stated by a participant “....especially if the topics
are interesting or difficult to understand (P2, Transcript 2,
and Line 38)”. Nonetheless, despite the silence, participants
still make sure to listen and participate orally in the class.

“I listen to the lecture of my instructor and I take

notes” (P5, Transcript 6, line 205)

“Silence is thinking; thinking of the possible

questions and answers. “ (P6, Transcript 7, Line
219)

This also holds true to participants 2, 4, 6. These

statements mean that despite the difficulties encountered,
they still do their part as students.

Detachment

Categorized under the affective factor is detachment which

refers to the psychological condition of the inability of a
person to fully engage with feelings of their own or of others
(Legg, 2020).

When asked why they show instances of silence

during their synchronous classes, three reasons were
provided: classmates who seemed to know many things about
the subject, teachers or professors who seemed intimidating,
and difficulty in understanding the lesson.

“I really get shy in the class especially when my

classmates are fluent in English like when I had
MAEL classmates.” (P4, Transcript 4, lines 136-
137)

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Volume 16, No. 2 (2022)

“I am afraid and ashamed to share my answers

to my classmates.” (P5, Transcript 6, Lines 178-
179)

The previous statements show that the detached

feeling is dependent on their environment which includes their
classmates. When they are with a group, they are comfortable
working with, silence does not occur. When with the opposite
group, silence in the form of detachment happens.

This insecurity is not only because of the classmates,

but sometimes because of the professors. In the in-depth
interview, participants mentioned that when teachers show
friendliness, they do not hesitate to participate in the class.
When the teachers seem strict, this detaches them from the
discussion and stays silent.

“Another factor I feel is the instructor. If I feel that

the instructor is accommodating to questions, it
urges me to ask questions. If the instructor is the
opposite, I become hesitant to ask questions.”
(P4, Transcript 4, Lines 124-126)

As read above, students display hesitancy in

participating during classes for they fear their professors’
negative reactions to their answers. Some of these fears stem
from personal experiences with the professors and some
arbitrary thoughts.

Last is the difficulty in understanding the topic. When

topics are unfamiliar, students would rather just detach rather
than talk.

“I also need space and time to understand

everything especially that in one session, a lot is
discussed.” (P2, Transcript 2, Lines 48-49)

These statements proved that silence in the form

of detachment is due to students’ limited knowledge of

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Volume 16, No. 2 (2022)

the topic. They keep silent and detach themselves from

the class to process information or prevent from giving
incorrect answers. Intimidating professors and classmates
and limited knowledge of the topic have been found to cause
the detachment of the participants. Mahyoob (2020) and
Ullah et al. (2021) mentioned that e-learning at the outbreak
of COVID-19 may be confronted by various challenges
such as students’ capability, teachers’ motivation, and the
environment.

Silence for the graduate school students means

emotional exhaustion and lack of academic preparedness
due to physical, cognitive, and affective factors in the online
classes. Silence reflects their struggles in online learning.
Therefore, the essence of silence is struggle. Silence in
online learning without these struggles cannot become an
experience of silence. This finding is in consonance to the
findings identified by Donitsa-Schmidt and Ramot (2020);
Khalil, (2020); Varea and González-Calvo, (2020) where
they postulate that the migration to a new learning space has
faced several major concerns during the pandemic time.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The study inquired the lived experiences of graduate school

students’ experiences of silence in online learning during the
time of the pandemic. On the basis of the findings drawn, it
is inferred that their experiences of silence in online learning
during COVID-19 are exhibitions of their challenges. This
finding confirms and contributes to Mezirow’s (1991, p.xii)
assertion in transformational learning theory that states:

“…adult learners make meaning of their

experiences, how social and other structures
influence the way they construe that experience,
and how the dynamics involved in modifying

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Volume 16, No. 2 (2022)

meanings undergo changes when learners find

them to be dysfunctional.”

Through the transcendental phenomenological

inquiry process, four themes emerged: emotional exhaustion,
academic preparedness, physical factors, cognitive and
affective factors. Hooked with the theory of connectivism
the findings under study entail that graduate school students
identified technology as a key element of their online learning
which leads them to create their own learning opportunities
and experiences amidst the presence of silence. To make
meaning in the context of one’s learning experiences,
therefore, represents Mezirow’s transformative learning
theory. The participants may have different narratives of
silence in online learning, but their range of self-learning
and management skills are grappling with their transition
of purposeful decisions from epistemologically unknown to
ontologically known experiences.

Moreover, the findings of the study revealed a

volume of graduate school students’ unfavorable insights on
the meaning of silence. An intervention on students’ well-
being may be proposed to foster a positive disposition in an
online learning environment during the acute phase of the
pandemic for a more transformative learning experience.

Some essential recommendations can be drawn from

the study beyond theoretical inferences. For one, silence is
indicative of students’ struggles in online learning. Hence,
this calls for the professors to be flexible, compassionate, and
understanding in the online learning setup.

Since the conduct of this study was done virtually due

to the restrictions brought by COVID-19 pandemic, certain
limitations were recognized such as the participants, settings,
and the approach used. The nature of phenomenological
research does not generate findings that represent the entire
population of graduate students as well as does not generate

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theory or conceptual models to describe the phenomena of

the study. The researchers recommend future researchers
conduct a similar study in the context of face-to-face learning
in the post-pandemic time so as to have a comparative study
of the existing findings.

■■■

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