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The COVID-19 pandemic was highly disruptive and Institutions of Higher Education struggled to effectively educate undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students, who were facing unique challenges in their modified learning environments. While some research has focused on educational challenges encountered in high-risk pandemic environments, limited empirical evidence exists to provide insights into the positive experiences of STEM students during the pandemic. Considering that motivation and positive psychology theorists emphasize that positive processes strengthen the optimal functioning of people and institutions, the purpose of this present research was to explore positive experiences that strengthened undergraduate STEM students’ motivation to complete their STEM course requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Data was obtained from an open-ended Qualtrics-based survey question requiring research participants to explain why salient positive experiences influenced motivation. An inductive thematic analysis method was adopted to analyze statements from 131 STEM students enrolled in six U.S. institutions.  Utilizing the NVivo-12 qualitative analysis software, data analysis involved coding and theme development. Grounded in the data, the emergent theme, Perceiving Advancements, explained specific experiences that were described as positive and motivated the completion of STEM educational requirements. Drawing from previous lived experiences and expectations, STEM student motivation was attributed to the perceived capacity or potential of positive experiences to advance to academic, career, and personal goals. Theoretical insights contribute to understanding motivation in STEM students during high-risk contexts, while practical implications inform interventions for resource optimization and improved STEM student and institution resiliency in high-risk contexts such as pandemics. With caution, findings may be extended to inform positive psychology and motivation research, policies, and practices of non-STEM, non-undergraduate, and non-U.S. populations. 

Professor-student interactions influence student learning experiences and performance. The COVID pandemic transformed STEM learning environments across U.S. institutions; however, its impact on STEM professor-student interactions and STEM student learning experiences are yet to be understood. The purpose of this nationwide inductive research study is to examine the impact of COVID-19 on professor-student interactions, undergraduate STEM student learning, and STEM student performance. To achieve this, a qualitative method is adopted and purposive sampling is utilized to enroll 63 STEM students from six U.S institutions. Data is collected through one-hour ZOOM interviews, giving students the opportunity to narrate their STEM learning experiences and performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data is analyzed using the NVIVO qualitative analysis software for coding, categorizing, memo-ing, and constant comparative analysis. Results reveal emergent codes on the STEM professor-student interactions to include professor leniency, caring attitude, availability, communication, instruction style, teaching resources, technology literacy, camera on/off requirements, live/recorded sessions, time zone, and student workload. Limited positive impacts on student learning include improved familiarity with alternate STEM learning resources and development of virtual learning soft skills. Negative learning experiences are extensive and coded as: poor comprehension, keeping up, overdrive, isolation, lowered motivation, schedule conflicts, and anxiety. Consequently, students made adaptation decisions coded as: alternate learning sources, refined scheduling, community support, preferring teaching assistants, working out, reporting professors, procrastination, and tuning out. While proactive students and students with prior virtual learning experiences improved or maintained their grades, many students opted for the pass/fail grade or complete withdrawal due to poor STEM learning and performance. Findings indicate that while STEM professors were adjusting to modified teaching environments, many STEM students were developing a sense of independence, self-study, and peer reliance to improve their own STEM understanding and performance with minimal reliance on STEM professors. Lessons learned and best practices for professor-student interactions and student learning are recommended for potential replication in STEM communities for improved adaptability and resiliency during future pandemics. Future research will focus on measuring the effect of best practices on professor-student interactions, student learning experiences, and performance.