The impact of COVID-19 triggered changes to instruction and assessment on university students’ self-reported motivation, engagement and perceptions

Abstract

During the northern hemisphere Winter 2020 academic term, university students had to adjust to remote learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This abrupt change provided a unique opportunity to examine students’ motivation, engagement and perceptions of success and cheating under two learning conditions, namely traditional and remote. We used a single survey to collect retrospective self-report data from a convenience sample of Canadian undergraduate students ( n = 98) about their motivation, engagement and perceptions of success and cheating before COVID-19 and then in remote learning. Students' achievement goals, engagement and perceptions of success all significantly decreased, while their perceptions of cheating increased. Moreover, we used regression analyses to examine associations amongst achievement goals and engagement, perceptions of success and cheating concerns. Mastery-approach goals were positively associated with more engagement and higher perceptions of success. Achievement goals were unrelated to cheating. Students in large classes and who were originally concerned about cheating became more concerned about cheating in remote learning conditions. Our study provides information to researchers and instructors about how achievement goals relate to student outcomes across learning conditions. By extension, we provide timely recommendations for instructors as they continue to wrestle with how to deliver their courses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Psychological Distress among Students in Higher Education: One Year after the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Our results indicate that a significant number of students felt that they were dropping out of school during the pandemic [ 23 ] and that negative feeling had a significant influence on psychological distress. Academic investment and affiliation may prevent anxiety and depression in students.…”

“…Individuals from disadvantaged family backgrounds are more likely to have unsupportive attitudes toward online courses and are therefore at risk of greater psychological distress when COVID-related restrictions are in place [21]. Although teacher and student characteristics influence the behavioral intention to use and accept e-learning systems [22], it would appear that students' achievements, engagement, and perceptions of success decreased during the pandemic overall [23].…”

Remote learning among students with and without reading difficulties during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Many educational institutions conducted online surveys to evaluate the level of satisfaction of remote learning, the effectiveness of remote teaching, and to learn how students were coping with stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic (Aristovnik et al, 2020;Demuyakor, 2020). The results generally indicate several factors playing an important role in efficient remote studying: availability of a good quality Internet infrastructure and digital equipment, teaching staff support, computer skills in using remote learning platforms and programs, living conditions, as well as motivation, self-discipline, and self-initiative (Aristovnik et al, 2020;Daniels et al, 2021;Zhu et al, 2020). The effectiveness and the ease of implementation of remote learning depended much on the prevalence of this form of learning before the COVID-19 pandemic (Aristovnik et al, 2020).…”

Changes in Core Competencies among Korean University Students Due to Remote Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…This study revealed lower satisfaction and usefulness of teaching methods during the COVID-19 pandemic. Evaluation of remote education in universities due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been reported in many studies worldwide [ 4 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. A study in Canada observed a decrease in university students’ achievement goals, engagement, and perceptions of success, and an increase in perceptions of cheating [ 28 ].…”

“…Evaluation of remote education in universities due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been reported in many studies worldwide [ 4 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. A study in Canada observed a decrease in university students’ achievement goals, engagement, and perceptions of success, and an increase in perceptions of cheating [ 28 ]. In a study in India, a majority of students responded that they liked receiving remote education during the lockdown, but they reacted negatively toward maintaining the same education method after the lockdown was lifted, responding that the teaching method before the COVID-19 pandemic was better in many ways (i.e., topic understanding and net connectivity) [ 31 ].…”