The summer semester had just begun at Austrian and German universities when Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. Thus, in March 2020, all universities closed their campuses, switching to distance learning within the span of about a single day. How did lecturers handle the situation? Were they still able to turn the situation into a positive one? What were the main obstacles with this difficult situation, and where there conditions which helped them to overcome the new challenges? These are research questions of the present survey with a sample of 1,152 lecturers at universities in Austria and Germany. The survey focuses on the lecturers’ appraisals of the novel situation as challenging or threatful. These appraisals are important for approaching a situation or shying away from it. However, how well a person adjusts to a novel situation is also influenced by personal and environmental resources which help to overcome the situation. The present survey focused on four possible sources of influence: internal assessments of the situation determining it to be threatening and/or challenging, personal resources, attitudes, and support by the organization. It was investigated to which degree these sources of influence could contribute to the lecturers’ satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) with their teaching processes. A multiple regression with three criterion variables describing university lecturers’ perceived satisfaction with distance teaching was carried out. Predictor variables were the lecturers’ appraisals of challenge and threat, perceived support by the university and sense of belonging to the university, temporal resources, proficiency in using digital technologies, length of teaching experience, and gender. Lecturers were mostly satisfied with their teaching activities. Together with the perception of a low threat potential, challenge appraisals contributed strongest to satisfaction. In comparison, assessments of actual personal resources, skills in the use of digital technologies, teaching experience, and temporal resources were important but contributed less to satisfaction than challenge appraisals. It seems that lecturers were only able to use these resources when the technological resources were available and when the lecturers were confident in their technical abilities.

In the present study, we investigated neural processes underlying programming experience. Individuals with high programming experience might develop a form of computational thinking, which they can apply on complex problem-solving tasks such as reasoning tests. Therefore, N = 20 healthy young participants with previous programming experience and N = 21 participants without any programming experience performed three reasoning tests: Figural Inductive Reasoning (FIR), Numerical Inductive Reasoning (NIR), Verbal Deductive Reasoning (VDR). Using multi-channel EEG measurements, task-related changes in alpha and theta power as well as brain connectivity were investigated. Group differences were only observed in the FIR task. Programmers showed an improved performance in the FIR task as compared to non-programmers. Additionally, programmers exhibited a more efficient neural processing when solving FIR tasks, as indicated by lower brain activation and brain connectivity especially in easy tasks. Hence, behavioral and neural measures differed between groups only in tasks that are similar to mental processes required during programming, such as pattern recognition and algorithmic thinking by applying complex rules (FIR), rather than in tasks that require more the application of mathematical operations (NIR) or verbal tasks (VDR). Our results provide new evidence for neural efficiency in individuals with higher programming experience in problem-solving tasks.

"Flexible learning has been associated with e-learning, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Flexible learning gives the students large degrees of freedom to learn what, when, how and where they want. The aim of this study was to evaluate students’ preferences in e-learning and traditional classroom teaching, and was conducted from October 2019 to January 2020. Students from four courses were assigned randomly to two groups, an online and a classroom group. The study included two phases: three lectures by the lecturer (podcasts vs. classroom) and seven classroom units with student presentations and discussions. Performance and different personal characteristics and attitudes of 93 students were examined. Knowledge on the course topic was measured before the first lecture took place (t1), after the three lectures (t2) and after the following seven units (t3). Statistical analyses found no performance differences between the two groups (online/classroom); this held true for all three points in time. All students appreciated the opportunity of an intermediate exam at t2 (a change in comparison to former courses on the topic). Qualitative data showed that students felt a need for interaction with their colleagues and the lecturer, which they decided could be better fulfilled in the classroom, whereas the flexible learning setting had advantages for the exam preparation (e.g. repeating listening to the podcasts, taking breaks and learning tempo). Students’ arguments fit well to previous literature. Altogether, the study gives valuable insights into the didactic design of flexible learning."

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"The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for academia. Educators and students hopes for a short duration of the pandemic were disappointed soon and in 2021, one year after the onset of the pandemic, most universities were still restricted to online teaching. At the same time, ensuing restrictions due to COVID-19 coupled with uncertainty about the duration of these adverse circumstances, brought high pressure for many students. Within this background, the present study focuses on the question, to which degree students could develop and use coping mechanisms in these adverse circumstances and draw on personal resources such as sense of belonging, adaptability, and stress-outbalancing behaviors like sports. The aim of this study was to evaluate Austrian students perceived academic stress and was conducted from May to July 2021. Altogether, 202 students, 71 males (35.1%) and 131 females (64.9%) between 18 to 52 years old (M=23.74, SD=5.26) participated. Statistical analyses found significant correlations between perceived academic stress and sense of belonging (socially and organizationally), adaptability, depression, but no significant correlation with sports. In the regression, three variables significantly contributed to the assessment of academic stress. Adaptability and sense of belonging to a peer-group as well as adaptability decreased perceived academic stress. In contrast, depressive symptoms were positively related to academic stress. Altogether, 34.0% of the variance could be explained by the regression equation. Higher levels of perceived academic stress could mostly be explained by a lack of adaptability to the actual situation and sense of belonging to a peer group but a higher amount of perceived depression. These results point at measures that can be taken to alleviate students’ stress. Perceived academic stress and mental-health problems like depressive symptoms should not be taken too lightly, as they do not only concern only individual students, but have consequences for the university as a whole."