Psychology students’ motivation and learning in response to the shift to remote instruction during COVID-19.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to dramatic shifts in the teaching and learning of psychology. The purpose of this study was to document the impact of those shifts on undergraduate psychology students' motivation and self-regulation of learning during the initial transition to remote instruction. Psychology majors (N = 358) attending a public land-grant university in the southeastern U.S. voluntarily completed a survey at the end of the Spring 2020 semester. Closedand open-ended items assessed students' self-reported behavioral and psychological wellness, motivation, and learning experiences during the COVID-19 outbreak. A convergent mixed methods analysis was used in which open-ended questions provided context and experiential nuance to quantitative findings. Students reported increases in sleep, social media use, gaming, and procrastination, but decreases in academic motivation and self-regulation (e.g., focusing, juggling responsibilities). Over 75% reported increases in stress, which they attributed most frequently to motivational and academic challenges. Students reported learning less in most of their classes following the shift. They attributed this to internal factors, including selfregulatory/motivational difficulties, and external factors, such as instructional delivery modality. Although most perceived their instructors as understanding, nearly half reported a decline in instructional quality and communication after the shift to remote instruction. Over one third of students reported feeling less certain about their future educational plans. Implications for the provision of institutional and instructional supports for college students during and beyond the pandemic are discussed.

An Abrupt Transition to Digital Teaching—Norwegian Medical Students and Their Experiences of Learning Output during the Initial Phase of the COVID-19 Lockdown

“…Most of students in our study were living with other students during the initial lockdown, and 102 students moved back to their parents’ house for some time. Lack of information from the university, moving back home to parents and constant changes in workload are likely linked to increased stress and consequently reduced motivation in for instance psychology students [ 22 ]. Living in dormitories with other students may also have caused a lack of a suitable study environment for students in our study.…”

Does Instructional Quality Impact Male and Female University Students Differently? Focusing on Academic Stress, Academic Satisfaction, and Mental Health Impairment

“…Therefore, we predicted that higher-quality instruction would lowered stress among students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Supporting this prediction, studies have shown that students who have been satisfied with the quality of instruction in courses during the COVID-19 pandemic have also experienced less academic stress (Aristovnik et al, 2020;Usher et al, 2021;Yu et al, 2021).…”

“…Cognitive activation was also perceived as a challenge: Teachers reported a decline in the quality of student work and felt that they were overwhelming their students (Lemay et al, 2021). Regardless of these challenges, however, the quality of instruction in the online environment nonetheless had an impact on student development (see Aristovnik et al, 2020;Usher et al, 2021;Yu et al, 2021). How Does Instructional Quality Impact Students' Academic and Personal Outcomes?…”

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, students have experienced several stressors, such as difficulty concentrating, concerns about academic performance, and classroom workload (Son et al, 2020;Smith et al, 2021;Usher et al, 2021). Instructors may be able to help their students cope with these stressors by improving the quality of their instruction.…”

Kompetensi Guru dan Sarana Teknologi dalam meningkatkan Efektivitas Pembelajaran Pada Masa Covid-19

“…Dalam penelitian Usher, intensitas penggunakan gawai lebih meningkatkan di masa pandemic sangat disayangkan apabila pembelajaran terhadap murid tidak dimaksimalkan. Penggunaan media sosial, game, dan penundaan, tetapi penurunan motivasi akademik dan pengaturan diri (Usher et al, 2021).…”