Relationship between teaching modality and COVID-19, well-being, and teaching satisfaction (Campus & Corona): a cohort study among students in higher education

Abstract

Background: After lock-down during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions globally struggled to balance the need for infection control and educational requirements as they prepared to reopen. A particularly difficult choice was whether to offer for in-person or online teaching, since there was little or no empirical research to inform this decision. Norwegian universities and university colleges opted for a hybrid model when they reopened for the autumn semester, with some students offered more in-person teaching than others. This gave us an opportunity to study the association between different teaching modalities and COVID-19 risk, quality of life (subjective well-being), and teaching satisfaction. Methods: We conducted a prospective, observational cohort study among students in higher education institutions in Norway. Participants were surveyed biweekly from September to December in 2020. Findings: 26 754 students from 14 higher education institutions provided data to our analyses. Our best estimate for the association between two weeks of in-person teaching and COVID-19 risk was -22% (95% CI -77% to 33%), compared to online teaching. Quality of life was positively associated with in-person teaching (3% relative risk difference; 95% CI 2% to 4%), as was teaching satisfaction (10%; 95% CI 8% to 11%). Interpretation: The association between COVID-19 infection and teaching modality was highly uncertain. Shifting from in-person to online teaching seems to have a negative impact on the well-being of students in higher education.

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on mental health care use among Norwegian students in higher education: a nation-wide register-based pre-post cohort study

“…Comparable studies have typically focused on children or the general population 23,24 while studies on mental health issues due to the pandemic that focus on students in higher education are limited survey and interview studies based on convenience sampling and self-reporting of symptoms and are mainly cross-sectional studies conducted in the rst phase of the pandemic. 2,[5][6][7][8][9] In line with other studies on use of health services during the pandemic, we show that the level of mental health consultations was reduced relative to previous years in the spring of 2020. [25][26][27] This nding is, however, in contrast to survey studies that reported higher prevalence than before of psychological distress, including symptoms such as stress, anxiety, sleep pattern disruption, and depressive thoughts, at the beginning of the pandemic.…”

“…[1][2][3][4] Studies mainly based on convenience samples and cross sectional data suggest that the initial shock of the pandemic and the associated restrictions in the spring of 2020 had an adverse impact on students' mental health and well-being. 2,[5][6][7][8][9][10] In contrast, results for the general population are more mixed, and worsened mental health (if any) tend to emerge later in the pandemic. [11][12][13][14] Furthermore, there has been steep increase in mental health symptoms and diagnoses among (particularly female) students prior to the pandemic, sometimes assessed to be sharper than among their non-enrolled peers.…”

Multidisciplinary Student Groups Support Digital Education as a Public Health Precautional Action to Prevent Spread of COVID-19 Infection: A Mixed Methods Study

“…4 , 22 , 29–32 Some studies have reported that students experience a reduced quality of life, academic stress, financial insecurity, and increased levels of physical problems during the pandemic. 22 , 25 , 30 , 33–36 . Blended learning on campus, according to the flipped classroom model, was implemented in most Norwegian universities’ during the autumn 2020.…”