Impact of the Emergency Transition to Remote Teaching on Student Engagement in a Non-STEM Undergraduate Chemistry Course in the Time of COVID-19 (original) (raw)
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Journal of Chemical Education, 2020
Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) is an open-access, four-year, public liberal arts college that emphasizes excellent instruction through active learning and small class sizes. The COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges to GGC general chemistry instructors as they sought to actively engage students in a new online setting. We reflect on the challenges faced by our college during this pandemic by analyzing student surveys, instructor reflections, and grade distributions across 20 sections of general chemistry 1 and 2 taught by 15 different instructors. We consider the most important challenges faced by students and the technology rapidly adopted by instructors. We then present three main themes found in the instructor reflections and consider the implications for going forward.
Journal of Chemical Education
With a sudden move to remote and online teaching due to COVID-19 pandemic, Organic Chemistry became more challenging for both students and educators with the emergence of new technological challenges and instructional strategies. The Organic Chemistry I class at SUNY Plattsburgh was shifted to an online learning model in an attempt to mimic face-to-face teaching as well as maintaining active learning. This communication highlights the instructor's perspectives on the challenges and insights gained for teaching Organic Chemistry I (lecture component) for the Spring 2020 semester in the time of COVID-19. A combination of asynchronous and synchronous teaching methods was found to be effective for content delivery, active learning, and increasing student's engagement. Synchronous class attendance was monitored and compared with typical face-to-face class attendance. Synchronous problem-solving exercises had an effect on student's attendance rate and learning. An exit survey indicated about 64% of students had a preference for faceto-face teaching over online teaching of Organic Chemistry.
ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES OF ONLINE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
8th INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ONCURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION CURRICULUM STUDIES IN LIFE LONGLEARNING, 2021
Aim of the study: This study aims to explore the experiences of instructors and undergraduate students regarding student engagement during online courses in the times of Covid-19 Pandemic. Identifying and describing online student engagement can provide several recommendations about online teaching and learning process. Method: Qualitative phenomenological method, adopted to identify the common senses of individuals’ experiences around a concept, was employed to explain online student engagement from the perspectives of instructors and students (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Findings: Based on the data obtained, it can be concluded that students face various difficulties concerning online engagement. Inactivity due to sitting in front of the computer screen for long hours and the sense of being isolated are the main physical and psychological factors that cause a loss in concentration, motivation and engagement during online lessons. For students studying applied sciences, the lack of hands-on training in laboratory courses is a major challenge to be engaged. Other significant factors that adversely affect student engagement are the high number of students in online classes, technical problems, a low degree of effort and enthusiasm of instructors, and a teacher-centered approach to teaching. The teacher-centered approach to teaching minimizes the interaction between the instructors and students. Due to the lack of interaction, students do not feel connected, motivated, concentrated and engaged during online lessons. Some of the instructors stated that they employed additional technological and instructional methods in order to make students more motivated and engaged during online courses. It is important to underline that these instructors were equipped with the necessary knowledge about online teaching. However, for the large number of students in online classes the technical problems are crucial issues that the instructors have to deal with. Despite all the disadvantages experienced, the participant students emphasized that they were more engaged if the instructor provided timely feedback and demonstrated effort, motivation and engagement during the lessons. This study is an ongoing research and the current study results are limited to 6 instructors and 6 undergraduate students. Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, engagement, higher education, undergraduate student
Journal of Chemical Education, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted teaching and learning worldwide during the Spring 2020 semester. Students and teachers had to shift to online teaching and learning in short order. With little time to prepare and inadequate training, faculty and students were thrust into a fluid situation, receiving training while teaching and learning. This essay is a reflection on experiences and lessons learned while teaching a trailer General Chemistry (I) course online to 278 undergraduate students. Challenges, successes, positive lessons learned, and plans for the future are discussed.
Journal of science education and technology, 2024
In this descriptive analysis, we consider the experiences of students who prefer face-to-face (F2F) classes but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had no alternative other than taking their introductory biology class online during the 2020-2021 academic year. We conducted focus group interviews with 12 college students who enrolled in an asynchronous online introductory biology course for non-majors. We interpret their experiences through the theoretical framing of student engagement, which generally centers students as the directors of their learning experiences. However, when reflecting on their online, technologically mediated experience, our participants regarded their instructors as the hub or convener of their interactions with content, technology, and other learners. We explore the implications of these findings for engaging other students who may find themselves involuntarily online, and make recommendations for pedagogy and communication around the culture of online learning.
Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research
The radical global shift to online teaching that resulted from the initial lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic forced many science educators into the predicament of translating courses, including teaching laboratories, that were based upon face-to-face or practical goals and conventions into ones that could be delivered online. We used this phenomenon at the scale of a research-intensive, land-grant public institution to understand the various ways that the switch was experienced by a large cohort of 702 undergraduate students taking General Chemistry Laboratory. Data was collected over 3 weeks with identical surveys involving four prompts for open-ended responses. Analysis involved sequential explanatory mixed methods where topic modeling, a machine learning technique, was used to identify 21 topics. As categories of experience, these topics were defined and further delineated into 52 dimensions by inductive coding with constant comparison. Reported strengths and positive implication...
Chemistry teacher international, 2023
This research comprehensively analyzes students' Chemistry Learning Experience (CLE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, comparing online learning experiences with traditional face-to-face instruction in the post-pandemic phase. Employing a quantitative approach and leveraging the Rasch model, the study focuses on capturing the nuances of individual student perceptions, an aspect often overlooked in group-centric statistical analyses. One hundred students (49 males and 51 females) participated in both study phases. Segmented into behavioral tendencies, content perceptions, and specific learning needs, the evaluation tools provided insights into the students' CLE across the two instructional modalities. Results from the stacking analysis revealed a positive shift in CLE post-pandemic, with students demonstrating a better grasp of and attitude toward chemistry in face-to-face settings. Racking analysis further underscored the changing difficulty perceptions of specific content items across the two learning environments. Gender-based patterns in CLE were also evident, with male students expressing a more favorable view of online learning during the pandemic than their female counterparts. The research findings advocate for a blended learning approach, harnessing the strengths of both online and traditional instructional methods. Furthermore, insights into gender-specific learning experiences emphasize the need for inclusive and adaptive teaching strategies, ensuring optimal learning experiences for all students. The study underscores educators' and students' resilience and adaptability in navigating the challenges of the pandemic. It offers valuable insights for future educational strategies in chemistry education.
Community College Chemistry Instruction and Research in the Time of COVID-19
Journal of Chemical Education, 2020
In March of 2020, as New York City was becoming the global epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 3 authors, members of the Chemistry Department at Queensborough Community CollegeCity University of New York, had 1 week to move their 13 lecture and laboratory sections of 4 different first-year undergraduate courses plus 2 active undergraduate research programs online. Studentssome of whom live in the areas of New York City hardest hit by the pandemic and/or are employed as essential workers or caregivers or were learning in a challenging environmentattended synchronous and/or asynchronous lectures and laboratories for the second half of the semester. Five percent of the 262 students in their classes were unable to complete the semester for undetermined technology, access, or personal reasons. While the authors feel that a redesign of the laboratory experience is necessary to satisfy general education outcomes if online laboratories are to continue in the long term, lecture students performed well posttransition. Students whose performance was 5−12% lower on exams in Spring 2020 than Fall 2019 (pre-COVID) performed 12− 25% better following the transition to online learning, although academic integrity remains a matter of great concern. The authors caution that the crisis-response distance education offered in the second half of the Spring 2020 semester was only that, and further effort will be necessary as online learning continues. The prior online experience of the faculty members varied, but all found it both a stressful transition and a valuable exercise in altering their pedagogical approaches for the future.
Student Responses to Changes in Introductory Physics Learning Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Physics Teacher, 2021
As a result of the spread of COVID-19 during spring 2020, many colleges and universities across the U.S., and beyond, were compelled to move entirely to remote, online instruction, or shut down. Due to the rapidity of this transition, instructors had to significantly—if not completely—change their instructional style on very short notice. Our purpose with this paper is to report on student experiences and reactions to the switch to emergency remote learning at two large land-grant, research-intensive universities. We aimed to explore how students have received and dealt with the shift to remote learning that began in March 2020, specifically in introductory physics and astronomy courses. By providing timely student feedback, we hope to help instructors tune their efforts to build a more effective remote learning environment.