Title: Distressed to Distracted: Examining Undergraduate Learning and Stress Regulation During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Undergraduates’ distress has increased dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset, raising concerns for academic achievement. Yet little is known about the mechanisms by which pandemic-related distress may affect students’ learning and performance, and consequently, how we might intervene to promote student achievement despite the continuing crisis. Across two studies with nearly 700 undergraduates, we highlight the mediating role of distraction: undergraduates higher in COVID-19 distress saw lower learning gains from an asynchronous neuroscience lesson due to increased mind wandering during the lesson. We replicate and extend this finding in Study 2: probing what pandemic-related stressors worried students and revealing systematic differences among students of marginalized identities, with largest impacts on first-generation, Latinx women. We also examined whether stress reappraisal or mindfulness practices may mitigate the observed distress-to-distraction pathway. Only mindfulness reduced mind wandering, though this did not translate to learning. We conclude with implications for practice and future research. more »« less
Gin, Logan E.; Guerrero, Frank A.; Brownell, Sara E.; Cooper, Katelyn M.(
, CBE—Life Sciences Education)
Momsen, Jennifer
(Ed.)
The COVID-19 pandemic caused nearly all colleges and universities to transition in-person courses to an online format. In this study, we explored how the rapid transition to online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic affected students with disabilities. We interviewed 66 science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) undergraduates with disabilities at seven large-enrollment institutions during Spring 2020. We probed to what extent students were able to access their existing accommodations, to what extent the online environment required novel accommodations, and what factors prevented students from being properly accommodated in STEM courses. Using inductive coding, we identified that students were unable to access previously established accommodations, such as reduced-distraction testing and note-takers. We also found that the online learning environment presented novel challenges for students with disabilities that may have been lessened with the implementation of accommodations. Finally, we found that instructors making decisions about what accommodations were appropriate for students and disability resource centers neglecting to contact students after the transition to online instruction prevented students from receiving the accommodations that they required in STEM courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study illuminates current gaps in the support of students with disabilities and pinpoints ways to make online STEM learning environments more inclusive for students with disabilities.
Wong, Joseph T.; Chen, Edward; Au-Yeung, Natalie; Lerner, Bella S.; Richland, Lindsey Engle(
, Education and Information Technologies)
Abstract
Traditionally, learning among young students has taken place within structured, physical classroom settings. However, the emergence of distance learning has introduced a diverse range of learning methods, including online, hybrid, and blended approaches. When the COVID-19 pandemic led to extended delays in in-person instruction, use of educational technologies such as asynchronous videos and online platforms were deployed to deliver mathematics curricula aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), though best practices for teaching mathematics asynchronously are not well studied. This study focuses on exploring the effectiveness of a math course on proportional reasoning that was co-designed, developed, and deployed in 5th and 6th grade Orange County classrooms. Examining the learning experience design (LXD) paradigm, this research focuses on discerning its influence on (n = 303) children's engagement during their involvement in an online, video-based math course. LXD is implemented by combining evidence-based pedagogical instructional design with human-centered user experience (UX) design. The study utilized a structural equation model to analyze the relationships between learners' user experiences, situational interest, mind-wandering, and online engagement. The results demonstrated significant direct effects between students' situational interest, user experience, and their level of online engagement. Findings also indicate that students' situational interest and mind-wandering significantly mediate the relationship between their user experiences and online engagement. These results have important theoretical and practical implications for researchers, designers, and instructors. By combining evidenced-based pedagogical learning design with human-centered user experience design, LX designers can promote situational interest, reduce mind-wandering, and increase engagement in elementary mathematics courses conducted in asynchronous online settings.
Asish, S. M.; Hossain, E.; Kulshreshth. A. K.; Borst, C. W.(
, International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments (ICAT-EGVE))
Educational VR may increase engagement and retention compared to traditional learning, for some topics or students. However, a student could still get distracted and disengaged due to stress, mind-wandering, unwanted noise, external alerts, etc. Student eye gaze can be useful for detecting distraction. For example, we previously considered gaze visualizations to help teachers understand student attention to better identify or guide distracted students. However, it is not practical for a teacher to monitor a large numbers of student indicators while teaching. To help filter students based on distraction level, we consider a deep learning approach to detect distraction from gaze data. The key aspects are: (1) we created a labeled eye gaze dataset (3.4M data points) from an educational VR environment, (2) we propose an automatic system to gauge a student's distraction level from gaze data, and (3) we apply and compare three deep neural classifiers for this purpose. A proposed CNN-LSTM classifier achieved an accuracy of 89.8\% for classifying distraction, per educational activity section, into one of three levels.
Motivation: This is a complete paper. There was a sudden shift from traditional learning to online learning in Spring 2020 with the outbreak of COVID-19. Although online learning is not a new topic of discussion, universities, faculty, and students were not prepared for this sudden change in learning. According to a recent article in ‘The Chronicle of Higher Education, “even under the best of circumstances, virtual learning requires a different, carefully crafted approach to engagement”. The Design Thinking course under study is a required freshmen level course offered in a Mid-western University. The Design Thinking course is offered in a flipped format where all the content to be learned is given to students beforehand and the in-class session is used for active discussions and hands-on learning related to the content provided at the small group level. The final learning objective of the course is a group project where student groups are expected to come up with functional prototypes to solve a real-world problem following the Design Thinking process. There were eighteen sections of the Design Thinking course offered in Spring 2020, and with the outbreak of COVID-19, a few instructors decided to offer synchronous online classes (where instructors were present online during class time and provided orientation and guidance just like a normal class) and a few others decided to offer asynchronous online classes (where orientation from the instructor was delivered asynchronous and the instructor was online during officially scheduled class time but interactions were more like office hours). Students were required to be present synchronously at the team level during the class time in a synchronous online class. In an asynchronous online class, students could be synchronous at the team level to complete their assignment any time prior to the deadline such that they could work during class time but they were not required to work at that time. Through this complete paper, we are trying to understand student learning, social presence and learner satisfaction with respect to different modes of instruction in a freshmen level Design Thinking course. Background: According to literature, synchronous online learning has advantages such as interaction, a classroom environment, and better course quality whereas asynchronous online learning has advantages such as self-controlled and self-directed learning. The disadvantages of synchronous online learning include the learning process, technology issues, and distraction. Social isolation, lack of interaction, and technology issue are a few disadvantages related to asynchronous online learning. Problem Being Addressed: There is a limited literature base investigating different modes of online instruction in a Design Thinking course. Through this paper, we are trying to understand and share the effectiveness of synchronous and asynchronous modes of instruction in an online Flipped Design Thinking Course. The results of the paper could also help in this time of pandemic by shedding light on the more effective way to teach highly active group-based classrooms for better student learning, social presence, and learner satisfaction. Method/Assessment: An end of semester survey was monitored in Spring 2020 to understand student experiences in synchronous and asynchronous Design Thinking course sections. The survey was sent to 720 students enrolled in the course in Spring 2020 and 324 students responded to the survey. Learning was measured using the survey instrument developed by Walker (2003) and the social presence and learner satisfaction was measured by the survey modified by Richardson and Swan (2003). Likert scale was used to measure survey responses. Anticipated Results: Data would be analyzed and the paper would be completed by draft paper submission. As the course under study is a flipped and active course with a significant component of group work, the anticipated results after analysis could be that one mode of instruction has higher student learning, social presence, and learner satisfaction compared to the other.
The early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States caused unprecedented disruption to engineering students and society-at-large. Residential students suddenly found themselves forced off-campus and into a new regime of online learning. On top of this, students faced pandemic related uncertainty about their health and the health of their loved ones, restrictions on social life, and the privations of a stuttering economy. It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic the engineering student population saw large increases in incidences of depression and other psychological conditions.
While COVID-19 continues to be a concern, many of the restrictions and precautions associated with the early outbreak have been relaxed. Most engineering programs are back to in person learning, and strict COVID-testing regimes, mask mandates, and limits on large public gatherings have been largely phased out. With academia and society slowly adjusting to this “new normal,” it is important to know whether and to what extent mental health of engineering students has changed over the course of the pandemic. This work explores this question by analyzing longitudinal data collected at four times from 2019-2021. We analyze how the prevalence of different conditions changed with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether they have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Among other results, we found statistically significant increases were observed in total depressive disorders between our initial sample (Fall 2019) and a sample taken immediately post-COVID (Spring 2020). While measured rates of depression decreased between Spring 2020 and Fall 2021, it was not statistically significant, potentially indicating that the student population is still recovering on this metric. Conversely our data shows a statistically significant drop in moderate-to-major psychological distress between our Fall 2019 pre-pandemic sampling and our Fall 2021 post-pandemic sampling indicating, potentially indicating an improvement in overall mental health. Breaking the data down by gender, no significant changes were observed across any measure during the four sample periods for women respondents. Men, however, showed a significant increase in depressive disorders from Fall 2019 to Spring 2020; and a significant decrease in depressive disorders from Spring 2020 to Fall 2021.
Mesghina, Almaz, Wong, Joseph T., Davis, Elizabeth L., Lerner, Bella S., Jackson-Green, Bryant J., and Richland, Lindsey E. Distressed to Distracted: Examining Undergraduate Learning and Stress Regulation During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10328497. AERA Open 7. Web. doi:10.1177/23328584211065721.
Mesghina, Almaz, Wong, Joseph T., Davis, Elizabeth L., Lerner, Bella S., Jackson-Green, Bryant J., & Richland, Lindsey E. Distressed to Distracted: Examining Undergraduate Learning and Stress Regulation During the COVID-19 Pandemic. AERA Open, 7 (). Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10328497. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584211065721
Mesghina, Almaz, Wong, Joseph T., Davis, Elizabeth L., Lerner, Bella S., Jackson-Green, Bryant J., and Richland, Lindsey E.
"Distressed to Distracted: Examining Undergraduate Learning and Stress Regulation During the COVID-19 Pandemic". AERA Open 7 (). Country unknown/Code not available. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584211065721.https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10328497.
@article{osti_10328497,
place = {Country unknown/Code not available},
title = {Distressed to Distracted: Examining Undergraduate Learning and Stress Regulation During the COVID-19 Pandemic},
url = {https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10328497},
DOI = {10.1177/23328584211065721},
abstractNote = {Undergraduates’ distress has increased dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset, raising concerns for academic achievement. Yet little is known about the mechanisms by which pandemic-related distress may affect students’ learning and performance, and consequently, how we might intervene to promote student achievement despite the continuing crisis. Across two studies with nearly 700 undergraduates, we highlight the mediating role of distraction: undergraduates higher in COVID-19 distress saw lower learning gains from an asynchronous neuroscience lesson due to increased mind wandering during the lesson. We replicate and extend this finding in Study 2: probing what pandemic-related stressors worried students and revealing systematic differences among students of marginalized identities, with largest impacts on first-generation, Latinx women. We also examined whether stress reappraisal or mindfulness practices may mitigate the observed distress-to-distraction pathway. Only mindfulness reduced mind wandering, though this did not translate to learning. We conclude with implications for practice and future research.},
journal = {AERA Open},
volume = {7},
author = {Mesghina, Almaz and Wong, Joseph T. and Davis, Elizabeth L. and Lerner, Bella S. and Jackson-Green, Bryant J. and Richland, Lindsey E.},
}
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