This study aimed to introduce a cooperative learning program, using a social networking service (KakaoTalk) for a non-credited course, and examine its educational effects. It analyzed 45 academic underachievers (31.02%) and 24 voluntary participants (16.55%) who engaged in the program from among 145 students majoring in basic nursing science at the College of Nursing in Y-city. Test scores of the students were collected before and after implementing the six-session program. SPSS WIN 18.0 program was used to analyze the data and determine the means, standard deviation, lowest scores, highest scores, and independent sample t-test. The analysis of the test scores indicates that the implementation of the program improved academic performance significantly, particularly among the students who previously displayed academic underachievement (t=3.11, p=.003). Additionally, the results of analyzing the testimonials and collecting survey responses, regarding satisfaction level, were 4.05 points, and showed that the program would be effective in the COVID-19 era, as it is real-time based, makes it easy to share learning content, enables repeated reviews, develops a sense of responsibility through cooperative learning, and promotes diverse perspectives. The study program could make up for the learning deficits that may arise due to the prolonged pandemic and reduce the learning gap.
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