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The objective of this research was to identify and characterize actions taken by autonomous public universities in Mexico in response to COVID-19. The study is theoretically grounded in the notion of emergency education, which refers to broad prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, normalization, and educational recovery mechanisms for disasters. We conducted an exploratory-descriptive study, analyzing information posted on university websites from January 15 to June 30, 2020. It was found that many universities adopted reactive measures, albeit with no far-reaching prevention and mitigation strategies before they went into shutdown. We conclude there is a need to develop institutional policies that lay the foundation for an educational culture able to respond proactively to future catastrophes and for a shift from enacting guidelines for academic continuity to preparing broad education programs for emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of socio-emotional discursive strategies employed by students in collaborative tasks online. A multiple-case study was conducted to explore collaborative processes among three groups of students enrolled in the psychopedagogy degree in the first academic cycle of 2014 at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). To complete the task, students made contributions to an asynchronous communication forum for thirty days. The results point to four types of socio-emotional discursive strategies that have a significant impact on group performance: i) the use of inclusive pronouns; ii) the formulation of expectations about the task; iii) positive feedback on the way the group is working; and iv) expressions of mutual support among participants. It is also concluded that the groups with the best learning outcomes tend to maintain or increase their use of socio-emotional discursive strategies over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results of a research developed with students of bachelor's degree in education from Autonomous University of Baja California, Mexico. In six small groups of students, collaborative learning processes in asynchronous communication technology environments were analyzed. Through a multiple case study methodology, the discourse displayed by the students during their collaboration was analyzed with a double focus: the cognitive discourse oriented to the knowledge construction and the discourse aimed to regulate the task. The results highlights that the establishment of goals, the formulation of positive expectations about the task, the monitoring of progress and the socio-emotional support are regulatory mechanisms that contribute strongly to the development of rich and profound processes of shared knowledge construction. A positive effect of the regulatory discourse on the cognitive activity of students is concluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]