COVID-19 Campus Closures in the United States: American Student Perceptions of Forced Transition to Remote Learning

Abstract

As colleges and universities rapidly closed due to COVID-19, students and faculty were faced with unique challenges. The pandemic forced the cancellation of all campus activities, both extra-curricular and program-focused, such as student teaching experiences and nursing clinical rotations. Additionally, instructors were forced to rethink content delivery as coursework was quickly moved online and administered remotely via virtual platforms. Students were impacted as university level programs underwent a major paradigm shift within a matter of days or weeks. This study examined perspectives of undergraduate and graduate students regarding their experiences with rapid conversion from on-ground, in-person courses to remote instruction during the spring 2020 semester. The researchers employed a QUAN-QUAL descriptive mixed methods design. Using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, the researchers examined general perspectives on in-person learning before the pandemic; initial perceptions about remote learning; and perceptions of the students about effort, engagement, needs, and ethical behavior as they engaged in totally remote learning. Results, analyzed using SPSS (QUAN) and inter-coder agreement (QUAL), indicated that initially students were engaged and satisfied with their in-person instruction, but became less satisfied and engaged during remote instruction. Undergraduate students experienced feelings of increased frustration, decreased accountability and engagement during remote learning, and turned to collaboration to earn points as they finished the semester.

Students’ Responses to Multi-Modal Emergency Remote Learning During COVID-19 in a South African Higher Institution

“…ERTL is considered to be a double-edged sword in that it enabled learning to take place during the COVID-19 pandemic but also constrained effective learning (Ewing & Cooper, 2021). It is considered to be flexible and convenient (Serhan, 2020) and some authors claim that it caused feelings of disengagement, demotivation and isolation among students (Parker et al, 2021). Although ERTL enabled learning to take place, it exposed and exacerbated the digital divide between students (Krönke, 2020;Shin & Hickey, 2020;Williams et al, 2021).…”

“…During the national lockdowns, most students had to go back to their homes. Whilst the home environments provided a comfortable learning environment for some students (Parker et al, 2021), they impeded many with financially-poor backgrounds and family responsibilities (Mohmmed et al, 2020;Obuaku-Igwe, 2020;Shin & Hickey, 2020). Many studies considered home environments unconducive for learning (JISC, 2021;Kaisara & Bwalya, 2020) as several students did not have a dedicated space to work, undisturbed (Wilcox & Vignal, 2020) which negatively affects student learning.…”

“…Remote learning promoted the anytime anywhere learning (Mazana, 2018) and reached people who would have been inaccessible (Yuhasriati et al, 2020). Students enjoyed the comfortable home environments, efficient time utilisation, smooth interaction (Benito et al, 2021;Shim & Lee, 2020), flexibility, convenience (Wise & Bergner, 2020) and the freedom to structure their learning (Jena, 2020;Parker et al, 2021). They had no obligation to attend lectures in cramped lecture venues and could learn in more relaxed environments (Parker et al, 2021), improving their concentration levels (Pincock, 2020).…”

Asynchronous Delivery of a 400 Level, Partially Peer-Graded, Oral Presentation and Discussion Course in Systems Neuroscience for 60 Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…By Spring 2020, it was evident that an in-person, 400 level undergraduate, communication course in Systems Neuroscience in Fall 2020 would have to be adapted for remote, asynchronous delivery in an online environment to enrolled students because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 to teaching [1][2][3], including the undergraduate medical [4][5][6][7] and neuroscience curricula [8,9], have been documented by many. Online learning experiences are often solitary learning experiences consisting of following textbook reading assignments, and downloading and watching lecture videos.…”

Implementation of Asynchronous Educational Modules to Improve Student Understanding of Statistical Analysis in STEM Undergraduate Courses

“…Several studies have supported that remote course formats greatly hinder student learning and content retention (Bashitialshaaer et al, 2021;Barton, 2020;Onyema, 2020;Syafril & Novrianti, 2021;Wester et al, 2021). Such a transition was not only challenging for students who had to adapt to an unfamiliar learning environment, but it proved equally as challenging for educators of all grade levels who were required to develop an online curriculum in a matter of weeks (Bartalesi-Graf et al, 2020;Green et al, Mukhametshin et al, 2021;Parker et al, 2021;Sahu, 2020). As a result, not all concepts previously integrated into course curriculums were seamlessly transitioned to fit this new remote learning format (Dhawan, 2020;Humphrey & Wiles, 2021;Perets et al, 2020).…”