Learning Loss, a Potential Challenge for Transition to Undergraduate Study Following COVID19 School Disruption

Abstract

In a normal year approximately 3 months pass between students taking their final examinations in high school or college and beginning an undergraduate course in chemistry. In the months prior to those examinations, students will usually have undertaken an extensive period of revision and consolidation of the key concepts learned throughout their course. Some of this will be supported by their teachers and some will be independent study. The COVID19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of these examinations in the UK and Ireland, potentially leaving students with a 6-month gap between their last formal study and beginning their undergraduate courses. Insights from the literature and from teachers of students in the 16–18 age range show that it is likely students beginning undergraduate courses in the autumn of 2020 will have weaknesses in subject knowledge compared to previous cohorts. This is likely to be more significant in the areas of synthetic transformations in organic chemistry and core physical chemistry topics. In this communication we present a brief analysis of the potential issues with subject knowledge in order that instructors in higher education may be better informed about the potential challenges in teaching and learning following the COVID19 disruption.

Do examinations prepare students for higher education? A lesson from the Covid-19 lockdown

“…This suggests that the examination process is not involved in the acquisition of new knowledge. Contrary to expectations (Turner et al 2020), therefore, bioscience students did not enter university this academic year (2020/21) knowing or understanding less than in previous years. Examinations are sometimes seen as a motivation for learning (Koballa and Glyn 2007) but, rather than fostering understanding, they often involve cramming many, often disjunct, items of information into short-term memory for immediate retrieval.…”

“…With the end-of-school grading process in doubt for 2021, focus needs to turn to student learning, as this is the best preparation for higher education, not the grading process. Tests will need to continue in future years to avoid misconceptions and potentially damaging assumptions (Turner et al 2020).…”

“…The examinations are intended to provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, but if some of their performance is based on short term retention then it cannot be seen as assessment for learning. Assumptions are made about the value of examinations to learning (Turner et al 2020) and the relationship between the two is not simple (Lowman 1990) with over-emphasis on achievement often driving rote learning. End of school examinations should be seen only as a grading opportunity.…”

“…Students of 2020 had studied their A-level subjects for approximately 18 months before directly entering university. It has been assumed by school teachers and university lecturers that, by missing the revision phase associated with examinations, 2020 students would exhibit reduced knowledge recall compared to previous cohorts (Turner et al 2020).…”

What do secondary school students think about experimental practices in science lessons taught in distance education?

“…Both the physical constraints and low motivation experienced by the students during the distance education process may have influenced this result. There are also studies which concluded that distance education caused a decrease in students' motivation (Niemi & Kousa, 2020;Turner, Hughes & Presland, 2020). The students stated that while experimenting in face-to-face education, they discussed their ideas with their friends and carried out the experiments with their friends.…”