The impact of COVID-19 on student learning during the transition from remote to in-person learning: using mind mapping to identify and address faculty concerns

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic led to suspension of in-person learning at many higher education institutions (HEIs) in March 2020. In response, HEIs transitioned most courses to online formats immediately and continued this mode of instruction through the 2020-2021 academic year. In fall 2021, numerous HEIs resumed in-person courses and some hybrid courses, and faculty began noting academic-related behavior deficiencies not previously observed in students. Focus groups of teaching faculty (n=8) from one university department were conducted to gather information on changes in student academic-related behaviors attributed to the disruption of teaching and learning due to COVID-19, and to compare observed deficiencies with the university's undergraduate learning goals. Mind mapping software was utilized to capture themes and subthemes. Identified themes were related to: problem-solving skills, grades, time management, attendance, and interpersonal communication, both in terms of student-to-student and student-to-faculty communication. For these identified areas, outcomes during the return to in-person learning were mostly undesirable. Based on these identified issues, suggested modifications that HEIs could use to modify course content and delivery to offset skill gaps and improve interpersonal communication were identified. Furthermore, observations may indicate that fully remote learning inhibited student learning and skill development during the 2020-2021 academic year. Future work should examine the effectiveness of the proposed modifications on student success.

From Chaos to Clarity: Use of Mind Maps as a Tool to Ensure Better Learning among Medical Students

“…Mind maps can be of different types in medical education, with each one having specific characteristics and plus points. [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ] Hierarchical mind maps are the commonest one, with a central theme and multiple other sub-themes branching out from it, and is extensively used to summarize the available information from different learning resource and to visualize how different concepts are related to each other [ Figure 1 ]. Flowchart mind maps tend to depict the sequence of a specific topic and are generally used to understand diagnostic/treatment algorithms or the process of arriving at a specific decision or even to visualize the specific tasks that must be done to reach the end product [ Figure 2 ].…”

“…[ 1 ] This potential gap in the acquisition of knowledge has ushered medical educationists and researchers to extensively conduct research work on learning strategies that might help the future generation of medical doctors to efficiently and effectively acquire knowledge and skills. [ 1 2 ]…”

Improving student learning and performance through a continuous flipped anatomy teaching model

“…While a historical control group was included in this study, there was no parallel control group that was taught using a noncontinuous flipped teaching model. Increasing literature suggests that the recent COVID-19 pandemic exerted mixed impact on student learning experience using digital platforms (Namkung et al, 2022;Tb et al, 2022) Therefore, a longitudinal study that involves a randomized controlled trial with a larger sample size should be conducted to precisely determine the long-term impact that a consistent flipped classroom teaching approach plays in anatomical education across multiple disciplines.…”

“…While a historical control group was included in this study, there was no parallel control group that was taught using a noncontinuous flipped teaching model. Increasing literature suggests that the recent COVID‐19 pandemic exerted mixed impact on student learning experience using digital platforms (Namkung et al., 2022; Tb et al., 2022), which could influence the transition of first‐year students to university learning and ultimately their attitude toward the flipped classroom teaching mode. Hence, a limitation existed in the comparison between the two student cohorts, some of whom may have different exposure to online or digital learning because of the recent COVID‐19 pandemic over the past few years.…”

Undergraduates’ Negative Emotion and Academic Procrastination During COVID-19: Life Autonomy as a Mediator and Sense of School Belonging as a Moderator

“…Clearly, academic procrastination among university students is a very important variable to examine, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the pressure to improve achievement among university students has led to an increase in academic procrastination, while at the same time, tackling academic procrastination among university students is a major issue in student management and teaching in universities. 36 In the post-pandemic era, it is important to build up students’ resilience to cope with emergencies and their own negative emotions.…”