research questions about covid 19 for students

Greater Good Science Center • Magazine • In Action • In Education

11 Questions to Ask About COVID-19 Research

Debates have raged on social media, around dinner tables, on TV, and in Congress about the science of COVID-19. Is it really worse than the flu? How necessary are lockdowns? Do masks work to prevent infection? What kinds of masks work best? Is the new vaccine safe?

You might see friends, relatives, and coworkers offer competing answers, often brandishing studies or citing individual doctors and scientists to support their positions. With so much disagreement—and with such high stakes—how can we use science to make the best decisions?

Here at Greater Good , we cover research into social and emotional well-being, and we try to help people apply findings to their personal and professional lives. We are well aware that our business is a tricky one.

research questions about covid 19 for students

Summarizing scientific studies and distilling the key insights that people can apply to their lives isn’t just difficult for the obvious reasons, like understanding and then explaining formal science terms or rigorous empirical and analytic methods to non-specialists. It’s also the case that context gets lost when we translate findings into stories, tips, and tools, especially when we push it all through the nuance-squashing machine of the Internet. Many people rarely read past the headlines, which intrinsically aim to be relatable and provoke interest in as many people as possible. Because our articles can never be as comprehensive as the original studies, they almost always omit some crucial caveats, such as limitations acknowledged by the researchers. To get those, you need access to the studies themselves.

And it’s very common for findings and scientists to seem to contradict each other. For example, there were many contradictory findings and recommendations about the use of masks, especially at the beginning of the pandemic—though as we’ll discuss, it’s important to understand that a scientific consensus did emerge.

Given the complexities and ambiguities of the scientific endeavor, is it possible for a non-scientist to strike a balance between wholesale dismissal and uncritical belief? Are there red flags to look for when you read about a study on a site like Greater Good or hear about one on a Fox News program? If you do read an original source study, how should you, as a non-scientist, gauge its credibility?

Here are 11 questions you might ask when you read about the latest scientific findings about the pandemic, based on our own work here at Greater Good.

1. Did the study appear in a peer-reviewed journal?

In peer review, submitted articles are sent to other experts for detailed critical input that often must be addressed in a revision prior to being accepted and published. This remains one of the best ways we have for ascertaining the rigor of the study and rationale for its conclusions. Many scientists describe peer review as a truly humbling crucible. If a study didn’t go through this process, for whatever reason, it should be taken with a much bigger grain of salt.

“When thinking about the coronavirus studies, it is important to note that things were happening so fast that in the beginning people were releasing non-peer reviewed, observational studies,” says Dr. Leif Hass, a family medicine doctor and hospitalist at Sutter Health’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, California. “This is what we typically do as hypothesis-generating but given the crisis, we started acting on them.”

In a confusing, time-pressed, fluid situation like the one COVID-19 presented, people without medical training have often been forced to simply defer to expertise in making individual and collective decisions, turning to culturally vetted institutions like the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Is that wise? Read on.

2. Who conducted the study, and where did it appear?

“I try to listen to the opinion of people who are deep in the field being addressed and assess their response to the study at hand,” says Hass. “With the MRNA coronavirus vaccines, I heard Paul Offit from UPenn at a UCSF Grand Rounds talk about it. He literally wrote the book on vaccines. He reviewed what we know and gave the vaccine a big thumbs up. I was sold.”

From a scientific perspective, individual expertise and accomplishment matters—but so does institutional affiliation.

Why? Because institutions provide a framework for individual accountability as well as safety guidelines. At UC Berkeley, for example , research involving human subjects during COVID-19 must submit a Human Subjects Proposal Supplement Form , and follow a standard protocol and rigorous guidelines . Is this process perfect? No. It’s run by humans and humans are imperfect. However, the conclusions are far more reliable than opinions offered by someone’s favorite YouTuber .

Recommendations coming from institutions like the CDC should not be accepted uncritically. At the same time, however, all of us—including individuals sporting a “Ph.D.” or “M.D.” after their names—must be humble in the face of them. The CDC represents a formidable concentration of scientific talent and knowledge that dwarfs the perspective of any one individual. In a crisis like COVID-19, we need to defer to that expertise, at least conditionally.

“If we look at social media, things could look frightening,” says Hass. When hundreds of millions of people are vaccinated, millions of them will be afflicted anyway, in the course of life, by conditions like strokes, anaphylaxis, and Bell’s palsy. “We have to have faith that people collecting the data will let us know if we are seeing those things above the baseline rate.”

3. Who was studied, and where?

Animal experiments tell scientists a lot, but their applicability to our daily human lives will be limited. Similarly, if researchers only studied men, the conclusions might not be relevant to women, and vice versa.

Many psychology studies rely on WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic) participants, mainly college students, which creates an in-built bias in the discipline’s conclusions. Historically, biomedical studies also bias toward gathering measures from white male study participants, which again, limits generalizability of findings. Does that mean you should dismiss Western science? Of course not. It’s just the equivalent of a “Caution,” “Yield,” or “Roadwork Ahead” sign on the road to understanding.

This applies to the coronavirus vaccines now being distributed and administered around the world. The vaccines will have side effects; all medicines do. Those side effects will be worse for some people than others, depending on their genetic inheritance, medical status, age, upbringing, current living conditions, and other factors.

For Hass, it amounts to this question: Will those side effects be worse, on balance, than COVID-19, for most people?

“When I hear that four in 100,000 [of people in the vaccine trials] had Bell’s palsy, I know that it would have been a heck of a lot worse if 100,000 people had COVID. Three hundred people would have died and many others been stuck with chronic health problems.”

4. How big was the sample?

In general, the more participants in a study, the more valid its results. That said, a large sample is sometimes impossible or even undesirable for certain kinds of studies. During COVID-19, limited time has constrained the sample sizes.

However, that acknowledged, it’s still the case that some studies have been much larger than others—and the sample sizes of the vaccine trials can still provide us with enough information to make informed decisions. Doctors and nurses on the front lines of COVID-19—who are now the very first people being injected with the vaccine—think in terms of “biological plausibility,” as Hass says.

Did the admittedly rushed FDA approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine make sense, given what we already know? Tens of thousands of doctors who have been grappling with COVID-19 are voting with their arms, in effect volunteering to be a sample for their patients. If they didn’t think the vaccine was safe, you can bet they’d resist it. When the vaccine becomes available to ordinary people, we’ll know a lot more about its effects than we do today, thanks to health care providers paving the way.

5. Did the researchers control for key differences, and do those differences apply to you?

Diversity or gender balance aren’t necessarily virtues in experimental research, though ideally a study sample is as representative of the overall population as possible. However, many studies use intentionally homogenous groups, because this allows the researchers to limit the number of different factors that might affect the result.

While good researchers try to compare apples to apples, and control for as many differences as possible in their analyses, running a study always involves trade-offs between what can be accomplished as a function of study design, and how generalizable the findings can be.

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You also need to ask if the specific population studied even applies to you. For example, when one study found that cloth masks didn’t work in “high-risk situations,” it was sometimes used as evidence against mask mandates.

However, a look beyond the headlines revealed that the study was of health care workers treating COVID-19 patients, which is a vastly more dangerous situation than, say, going to the grocery store. Doctors who must intubate patients can end up being splattered with saliva. In that circumstance, one cloth mask won’t cut it. They also need an N95, a face shield, two layers of gloves, and two layers of gown. For the rest of us in ordinary life, masks do greatly reduce community spread, if as many people as possible are wearing them.

6. Was there a control group?

One of the first things to look for in methodology is whether the population tested was randomly selected, whether there was a control group, and whether people were randomly assigned to either group without knowing which one they were in. This is especially important if a study aims to suggest that a certain experience or treatment might actually cause a specific outcome, rather than just reporting a correlation between two variables (see next point).

For example, were some people randomly assigned a specific meditation practice while others engaged in a comparable activity or exercise? If the sample is large enough, randomized trials can produce solid conclusions. But, sometimes, a study will not have a control group because it’s ethically impossible. We can’t, for example, let sick people go untreated just to see what would happen. Biomedical research often makes use of standard “treatment as usual” or placebos in control groups. They also follow careful ethical guidelines to protect patients from both maltreatment and being deprived necessary treatment. When you’re reading about studies of masks, social distancing, and treatments during the COVID-19, you can partially gauge the reliability and validity of the study by first checking if it had a control group. If it didn’t, the findings should be taken as preliminary.

7. Did the researchers establish causality, correlation, dependence, or some other kind of relationship?

We often hear “Correlation is not causation” shouted as a kind of battle cry, to try to discredit a study. But correlation—the degree to which two or more measurements seem connected—is important, and can be a step toward eventually finding causation—that is, establishing a change in one variable directly triggers a change in another. Until then, however, there is no way to ascertain the direction of a correlational relationship (does A change B, or does B change A), or to eliminate the possibility that a third, unmeasured factor is behind the pattern of both variables without further analysis.

In the end, the important thing is to accurately identify the relationship. This has been crucial in understanding steps to counter the spread of COVID-19 like shelter-in-place orders. Just showing that greater compliance with shelter-in-place mandates was associated with lower hospitalization rates is not as conclusive as showing that one community that enacted shelter-in-place mandates had lower hospitalization rates than a different community of similar size and population density that elected not to do so.

We are not the first people to face an infection without understanding the relationships between factors that would lead to more of it. During the bubonic plague, cities would order rodents killed to control infection. They were onto something: Fleas that lived on rodents were indeed responsible. But then human cases would skyrocket.

Why? Because the fleas would migrate off the rodent corpses onto humans, which would worsen infection. Rodent control only reduces bubonic plague if it’s done proactively; once the outbreak starts, killing rats can actually make it worse. Similarly, we can’t jump to conclusions during the COVID-19 pandemic when we see correlations.

8. Are journalists and politicians, or even scientists, overstating the result?

Language that suggests a fact is “proven” by one study or which promotes one solution for all people is most likely overstating the case. Sweeping generalizations of any kind often indicate a lack of humility that should be a red flag to readers. A study may very well “suggest” a certain conclusion but it rarely, if ever, “proves” it.

This is why we use a lot of cautious, hedging language in Greater Good , like “might” or “implies.” This applies to COVID-19 as well. In fact, this understanding could save your life.

When President Trump touted the advantages of hydroxychloroquine as a way to prevent and treat COVID-19, he was dramatically overstating the results of one observational study. Later studies with control groups showed that it did not work—and, in fact, it didn’t work as a preventative for President Trump and others in the White House who contracted COVID-19. Most survived that outbreak, but hydroxychloroquine was not one of the treatments that saved their lives. This example demonstrates how misleading and even harmful overstated results can be, in a global pandemic.

9. Is there any conflict of interest suggested by the funding or the researchers’ affiliations?

A 2015 study found that you could drink lots of sugary beverages without fear of getting fat, as long as you exercised. The funder? Coca Cola, which eagerly promoted the results. This doesn’t mean the results are wrong. But it does suggest you should seek a second opinion : Has anyone else studied the effects of sugary drinks on obesity? What did they find?

It’s possible to take this insight too far. Conspiracy theorists have suggested that “Big Pharma” invented COVID-19 for the purpose of selling vaccines. Thus, we should not trust their own trials showing that the vaccine is safe and effective.

But, in addition to the fact that there is no compelling investigative evidence that pharmaceutical companies created the virus, we need to bear in mind that their trials didn’t unfold in a vacuum. Clinical trials were rigorously monitored and independently reviewed by third-party entities like the World Health Organization and government organizations around the world, like the FDA in the United States.

Does that completely eliminate any risk? Absolutely not. It does mean, however, that conflicts of interest are being very closely monitored by many, many expert eyes. This greatly reduces the probability and potential corruptive influence of conflicts of interest.

10. Do the authors reference preceding findings and original sources?

The scientific method is based on iterative progress, and grounded in coordinating discoveries over time. Researchers study what others have done and use prior findings to guide their own study approaches; every study builds on generations of precedent, and every scientist expects their own discoveries to be usurped by more sophisticated future work. In the study you are reading, do the researchers adequately describe and acknowledge earlier findings, or other key contributions from other fields or disciplines that inform aspects of the research, or the way that they interpret their results?

Greater Good’s Guide to Well-Being During Coronavirus

Practices, resources, and articles for individuals, parents, and educators facing COVID-19

This was crucial for the debates that have raged around mask mandates and social distancing. We already knew quite a bit about the efficacy of both in preventing infections, informed by centuries of practical experience and research.

When COVID-19 hit American shores, researchers and doctors did not question the necessity of masks in clinical settings. Here’s what we didn’t know: What kinds of masks would work best for the general public, who should wear them, when should we wear them, were there enough masks to go around, and could we get enough people to adopt best mask practices to make a difference in the specific context of COVID-19 ?

Over time, after a period of confusion and contradictory evidence, those questions have been answered . The very few studies that have suggested masks don’t work in stopping COVID-19 have almost all failed to account for other work on preventing the disease, and had results that simply didn’t hold up. Some were even retracted .

So, when someone shares a coronavirus study with you, it’s important to check the date. The implications of studies published early in the pandemic might be more limited and less conclusive than those published later, because the later studies could lean on and learn from previously published work. Which leads us to the next question you should ask in hearing about coronavirus research…

11. Do researchers, journalists, and politicians acknowledge limitations and entertain alternative explanations?

Is the study focused on only one side of the story or one interpretation of the data? Has it failed to consider or refute alternative explanations? Do they demonstrate awareness of which questions are answered and which aren’t by their methods? Do the journalists and politicians communicating the study know and understand these limitations?

When the Annals of Internal Medicine published a Danish study last month on the efficacy of cloth masks, some suggested that it showed masks “make no difference” against COVID-19.

The study was a good one by the standards spelled out in this article. The researchers and the journal were both credible, the study was randomized and controlled, and the sample size (4,862 people) was fairly large. Even better, the scientists went out of their way to acknowledge the limits of their work: “Inconclusive results, missing data, variable adherence, patient-reported findings on home tests, no blinding, and no assessment of whether masks could decrease disease transmission from mask wearers to others.”

Unfortunately, their scientific integrity was not reflected in the ways the study was used by some journalists, politicians, and people on social media. The study did not show that masks were useless. What it did show—and what it was designed to find out—was how much protection masks offered to the wearer under the conditions at the time in Denmark. In fact, the amount of protection for the wearer was not large, but that’s not the whole picture: We don’t wear masks mainly to protect ourselves, but to protect others from infection. Public-health recommendations have stressed that everyone needs to wear a mask to slow the spread of infection.

“We get vaccinated for the greater good, not just to protect ourselves ”

As the authors write in the paper, we need to look to other research to understand the context for their narrow results. In an editorial accompanying the paper in Annals of Internal Medicine , the editors argue that the results, together with existing data in support of masks, “should motivate widespread mask wearing to protect our communities and thereby ourselves.”

Something similar can be said of the new vaccine. “We get vaccinated for the greater good, not just to protect ourselves,” says Hass. “Being vaccinated prevents other people from getting sick. We get vaccinated for the more vulnerable in our community in addition for ourselves.”

Ultimately, the approach we should take to all new studies is a curious but skeptical one. We should take it all seriously and we should take it all with a grain of salt. You can judge a study against your experience, but you need to remember that your experience creates bias. You should try to cultivate humility, doubt, and patience. You might not always succeed; when you fail, try to admit fault and forgive yourself.

Above all, we need to try to remember that science is a process, and that conclusions always raise more questions for us to answer. That doesn’t mean we never have answers; we do. As the pandemic rages and the scientific process unfolds, we as individuals need to make the best decisions we can, with the information we have.

This article was revised and updated from a piece published by Greater Good in 2015, “ 10 Questions to Ask About Scientific Studies .”

About the Authors

Jeremy Adam Smith

Uc berkeley.

Jeremy Adam Smith edits the GGSC’s online magazine, Greater Good . He is also the author or coeditor of five books, including The Daddy Shift , Are We Born Racist? , and (most recently) The Gratitude Project: How the Science of Thankfulness Can Rewire Our Brains for Resilience, Optimism, and the Greater Good . Before joining the GGSC, Jeremy was a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University.

Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas

Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas, Ph.D. , is the science director of the Greater Good Science Center, where she directs the GGSC’s research fellowship program and serves as a co-instructor of its Science of Happiness and Science of Happiness at Work online courses.

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The Impact of COVID-19 on the Careers of Women in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2021)

Chapter: 8 major findings and research questions, 8 major findings and research questions, introduction.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in late 2019, created unprecedented global disruption and infused a significant level of uncertainty into the lives of individuals, both personally and professionally, around the world throughout 2020. The significant effect on vulnerable populations, such as essential workers and the elderly, is well documented, as is the devastating effect the COVID-19 pandemic had on the economy, particularly brick-and-mortar retail and hospitality and food services. Concurrently, the deaths of unarmed Black people at the hands of law enforcement officers created a heightened awareness of the persistence of structural injustices in U.S. society.

Against the backdrop of this public health crisis, economic upheaval, and amplified social consciousness, an ad hoc committee was appointed to review the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women in academic science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) during 2020. The committee’s work built on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report Promising Practices for Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Opening Doors (the Promising Practices report), which presents evidence-based recommendations to address the well-established structural barriers that impede the advancement of women in STEMM. However, the committee recognized that none of the actions identified in the Promising Practices report were conceived within the context of a pandemic, an economic downturn, or the emergence of national protests against structural racism. The representation and vitality of academic women in STEMM had already warranted national attention prior to these events, and the COVID-19

pandemic appeared to represent an additional risk to the fragile progress that women had made in some STEMM disciplines. Furthermore, the future will almost certainly hold additional, unforeseen disruptions, which underscores the importance of the committee’s work.

In times of stress, there is a risk that the divide will deepen between those who already have advantages and those who do not. In academia, senior and tenured academics are more likely to have an established reputation, a stable salary commitment, and power within the academic system. They are more likely, before the COVID-19 pandemic began, to have established professional networks, generated data that can be used to write papers, and achieved financial and job security. While those who have these advantages may benefit from a level of stability relative to others during stressful times, those who were previously systemically disadvantaged are more likely to experience additional strain and instability.

As this report has documented, during 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic had overall negative effects on women in academic STEMM in areas such productivity, boundary setting and boundary control, networking and community building, burnout rates, and mental well-being. The excessive expectations of caregiving that often fall on the shoulders of women cut across career timeline and rank (e.g., graduate student, postdoctoral scholar, non-tenure-track and other contingent faculty, tenure-track faculty), institution type, and scientific discipline. Although there have been opportunities for innovation and some potential shifts in expectations, increased caregiving demands associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, such as remote working, school closures, and childcare and eldercare, had disproportionately negative outcomes for women.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women in STEMM during 2020 are understood better through an intentionally intersectional lens. Productivity, career, boundary setting, mental well-being, and health are all influenced by the ways in which social identities are defined and cultivated within social and power structures. Race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, academic career stage, appointment type, institution type, age, and disability status, among many other factors, can amplify or diminish the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for a given person. For example, non-cisgender women may be forced to return to home environments where their gender identity is not accepted, increasing their stress and isolation, and decreasing their well-being. Women of Color had a higher likelihood of facing a COVID-19–related death in their family compared with their white, non-Hispanic colleagues. The full extent of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for women of various social identities was not fully understood at the end of 2020.

Considering the relative paucity of women in many STEMM fields prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, women are more likely to experience academic isolation, including limited access to mentors, sponsors, and role models that share gender, racial, or ethnic identities. Combining this reality with the physical isolation stipulated by public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic,

women in STEMM were subject to increasing isolation within their fields, networks, and communities. Explicit attention to the early indicators of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected women in academic STEMM careers during 2020, as well as attention to crisis responses throughout history, may provide opportunities to mitigate some of the long-term effects and potentially develop a more resilient and equitable academic STEMM system.

MAJOR FINDINGS

Given the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not possible to fully understand the entirety of the short- or long-term implications of this global disruption on the careers of women in academic STEMM. Having gathered preliminary data and evidence available in 2020, the committee found that significant changes to women’s work-life boundaries and divisions of labor, careers, productivity, advancement, mentoring and networking relationships, and mental health and well-being have been observed. The following findings represent those aspects that the committee agreed have been substantiated by the preliminary data, evidence, and information gathered by the end of 2020. They are presented either as Established Research and Experiences from Previous Events or Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic during 2020 that parallel the topics as presented in the report.

Established Research and Experiences from Previous Events

___________________

1 This finding is primarily based on research on cisgender women and men.

Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic during 2020

Research questions.

While this report compiled much of the research, data, and evidence available in 2020 on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, future research is still needed to understand all the potential effects, especially any long-term implications. The research questions represent areas the committee identified for future research, rather than specific recommendations. They are presented in six categories that parallel the chapters of the report: Cross-Cutting Themes; Academic Productivity and Institutional Responses; Work-Life Boundaries and Gendered Divisions of Labor; Collaboration, Networking, and Professional Societies; Academic Leadership and Decision-Making; and Mental Health and Well-being. The committee hopes the report will be used as a basis for continued understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in its entirety and as a reference for mitigating impacts of future disruptions that affect women in academic STEMM. The committee also hopes that these research questions may enable academic STEMM to emerge from the pandemic era a stronger, more equitable place for women. Therefore, the committee identifies two types of research questions in each category; listed first are those questions aimed at understanding the impacts of the disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by those questions exploring the opportunities to help support the full participation of women in the future.

Cross-Cutting Themes

What are the short- and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the career trajectories, job stability, and leadership roles of women, particularly of Black women and other Women of Color? How do these effects vary across institutional characteristics, 2 discipline, and career stage?

2 Institutional characteristics include different institutional types (e.g., research university, liberal arts college, community college), locales (e.g., urban, rural), missions (e.g., Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Asian American/Native American/Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities), and levels of resources.

How did the confluence of structural racism, economic hardships, and environmental disruptions affect Women of Color during the COVID-19 pandemic? Specifically, how did the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black citizens impact Black women academics’ safety, ability to be productive, and mental health?
How has the inclusion of women in leadership and other roles in the academy influenced the ability of institutions to respond to the confluence of major social crises during the COVID-19 pandemic?
How can institutions build on the involvement women had across STEMM disciplines during the COVID-19 pandemic to increase the participation of women in STEMM and/or elevate and support women in their current STEMM-related positions?
How can institutions adapt, leverage, and learn from approaches developed during 2020 to attend to challenges experienced by Women of Color in STEMM in the future?

Academic Productivity and Institutional Responses

How did the institutional responses (e.g., policies, practices) that were outlined in the Major Findings impact women faculty across institutional characteristics and disciplines?
What are the short- and long-term effects of faculty evaluation practices and extension policies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic on the productivity and career trajectories of members of the academic STEMM workforce by gender?
What adaptations did women use during the transition to online and hybrid teaching modes? How did these techniques and adaptations vary as a function of career stage and institutional characteristics?
What are examples of institutional changes implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that have the potential to reduce systemic barriers to participation and advancement that have historically been faced by academic women in STEMM, specifically Women of Color and other marginalized women in STEMM? How might positive institutional responses be leveraged to create a more resilient and responsive higher education ecosystem?
How can or should funding arrangements be altered (e.g., changes in funding for research and/or mentorship programs) to support new ways of interaction for women in STEMM during times of disruption, such as the COVID-19 pandemic?

Work-Life Boundaries and Gendered Divisions of Labor

How do different social identities (e.g., racial; socioeconomic status; culturally, ethnically, sexually, or gender diverse; immigration status; parents of young children and other caregivers; women without partners) influence the management of work-nonwork boundaries? How did this change during the COVID-19 pandemic?
How have COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions affected progress toward reducing the gender gap in academic STEMM labor-force participation? How does this differ for Women of Color or women with caregiving responsibilities?
How can institutions account for the unique challenges of women faculty with parenthood and caregiving responsibilities when developing effective and equitable policies, practices, or programs?
How might insights gained about work-life boundaries during the COVID-19 pandemic inform how institutions develop and implement supportive resources (e.g., reductions in workload, on-site childcare, flexible working options)?

Collaboration, Networking, and Professional Societies

What were the short- and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic-prompted switch from in-person conferences to virtual conferences on conference culture and climate, especially for women in STEMM?
How will the increase in virtual conferences specifically affect women’s advancement and career trajectories? How will it affect women’s collaborations?
How has the shift away from attending conferences and in-person networking changed longer-term mentoring and sponsoring relationships, particularly in terms of gender dynamics?
How can institutions maximize the benefits of digitization and the increased use of technology observed during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue supporting women, especially marginalized women, by increasing accessibility, collaborations, mentorship, and learning?
How can organizations that support, host, or facilitate online and virtual conferences and networking events (1) ensure open and fair access to participants who face different funding and time constraints; (2) foster virtual connections among peers, mentors, and sponsors; and (3) maintain an inclusive environment to scientists of all backgrounds?
What policies, practices, or programs can be developed to help women in STEMM maintain a sense of support, structure, and stability during and after periods of disruption?

Academic Leadership and Decision-Making

What specific interventions did colleges and universities initiate or prioritize to ensure that women were included in decision-making processes during responses to the COVID-19 pandemic?
How effective were colleges and universities that prioritized equity-minded leadership, shared leadership, and crisis leadership styles at mitigating emerging and potential negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women in their communities?
What specific aspects of different leadership models translated to more effective strategies to advance women in STEMM, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic?
How can examples of intentional inclusion of women in decision-making processes during the COVID-19 pandemic be leveraged to develop the engagement of women as leaders at all levels of academic institutions?
What are potential “top-down” structural changes in academia that can be implemented to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or other disruptions?
How can academic leadership, at all levels, more effectively support the mental health needs of women in STEMM?

Mental Health and Well-being

What is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and institutional responses on the mental health and well-being of members of the academic STEMM workforce as a function of gender, race, and career stage?
How are tools and diagnostic tests to measure aspects of wellbeing, including burnout and insomnia, used in academic settings? How does this change during times of increased stress, such as the COVID-19 pandemic?
How might insights gained about mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic be used to inform preparedness for future disruptions?
How can programs that focus on changes in biomarkers of stress and mood dysregulation, such as levels of sleep, activity, and texting patterns, be developed and implemented to better engage women in addressing their mental health?
What are effective interventions to address the health of women academics in STEMM that specifically account for the effects of stress on women? What are effective interventions to mitigate the excessive levels of stress for Women of Color?

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The spring of 2020 marked a change in how almost everyone conducted their personal and professional lives, both within science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) and beyond. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global scientific conferences and individual laboratories and required people to find space in their homes from which to work. It blurred the boundaries between work and non-work, infusing ambiguity into everyday activities. While adaptations that allowed people to connect became more common, the evidence available at the end of 2020 suggests that the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic endangered the engagement, experience, and retention of women in academic STEMM, and may roll back some of the achievement gains made by women in the academy to date.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Careers of Women in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identifies, names, and documents how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the careers of women in academic STEMM during the initial 9-month period since March 2020 and considers how these disruptions - both positive and negative - might shape future progress for women. This publication builds on the 2020 report Promising Practices for Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine to develop a comprehensive understanding of the nuanced ways these disruptions have manifested. The Impact of COVID-19 on the Careers of Women in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will inform the academic community as it emerges from the pandemic to mitigate any long-term negative consequences for the continued advancement of women in the academic STEMM workforce and build on the adaptations and opportunities that have emerged.

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The impact of COVID-19 on student achievement and what it may mean for educators

Subscribe to the brown center on education policy newsletter, jim soland , jim soland assistant professor, school of education and human development - university of virginia, affiliated research fellow - nwea @jsoland megan kuhfeld , megan kuhfeld senior research scientist - nwea @megankuhfeld beth tarasawa , bt beth tarasawa executive vice president of research - nwea @bethtarasawa angela johnson , aj angela johnson research scientist - nwea erik ruzek , and er erik ruzek research assistant professor, curry school of education - university of virginia jing liu jing liu assistant professor of education policy - university of maryland-college park @drjingliu.

May 27, 2020

This Chalkboard post from May 2020 draws on historical data and past research to forecast the possible impact of COVID-19 school closures on student achievement. With actual data from the 2020-21 school year now available, please see this December 2020 Chalkboard post for an updated analysis of this trend.

Virtually all K-12 students in the United States are currently missing face-to-face instruction due to COVID-19. Many parents and educators thus share a common worry: When the pandemic subsides, kids will return to school with lower achievement. There are also concerns that the gap between high- and low-achieving students will become larger. Given the need to address these concerns, we decided to use prior test scores from millions of students and leverage research on summer learning patterns to make informed projections of what learning loss due to the pandemic might look like. Ultimately, we wanted to know: What sort of learning losses could we expect from the shortened 2019-20 school year?

Answering this question is complicated by the unique circumstances of COVID-19. Current school closures have added to the time that most students already spend at home during the summer months without explicit face-to-face instruction from teachers. Meanwhile, teachers are scrambling to adapt content for an online platform and parents are juggling work responsibilities (if not joblessness) with caring for and educating their own children. Students themselves are faced with isolation, anxiety about a deadly virus, and uncertainty about the future. In so many ways, the current situation is unprecedented for most people alive today.

Yet there are parallels between the current situation and other reasons students miss school that can give us insight into how COVID-19 may affect achievement. This includes research on the effects of out-of-school time on learning due to absenteeism , weather-related school closures (e.g., Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans), and summer vacation . Existing evidence can provide a rough sense of how time out of school due to COVID-19 will affect achievement.

We relied heavily on past precedent when trying to understand how COVID-19 might impact achievement in the short and medium term. We used a national sample of over 5 million students in grades 3-8 who took MAP Growth assessments in 2017-2018. These assessments enable such estimates because MAP Growth is administered multiple times per year, which means test scores are available in fall, winter, and spring such that changes in achievement during the year can be understood and anticipated. We compared typical growth for students who completed a standard-length school year to projections under multiple scenarios. These scenarios were directly informed by out-of-school-time research.

The results are deeply concerning.

The two figures below show projected math and reading learning patterns from the beginning of the 2019-20 school year (before COVID-19 school closures) through the start of the 2020-21 school year. The solid lines represent average trajectories in a typical year with typical growth (estimated based on a prior year’s data) followed by normal patterns of learning loss over the summer (generally, student achievement/learning tends to decline during the summer, though this varies greatly by student). Next, we assume an extended summer loss would occur during the period since schools closed. We refer to this scenario as the “COVID Slide” (represented by the dotted lines). These projections give a sense of how much learning students could lose, though we hope they will be overestimations of loss, given the online instruction and home schooling occurring.

F1 COVID-19 learning loss - mathematics forecast

These preliminary COVID Slide estimates suggest students could begin fall 2020 with roughly 70% of the learning gains in reading from the prior year relative to a typical school year. In mathematics, students may show even smaller learning gains from the previous year, returning with less than 50% of the gains. In lower grades, students may be nearly a full year behind in math compared to what we would observe in normal conditions.

Though not shown in the figures, we produced similar estimates of learning loss based on research showing the effect of being absent on achievement. That is, we simply assumed students’ learning during COVID-19 school closures would be akin to what occurs when students miss school, a large assumption given the online learning and homeschooling now occurring. Results for absenteeism-based projections were often more dire.

We also examined how much more variable achievement might be in the fall—that is, how wide the range in achievement might be between very high and very low-performing students. This range has implications for whether teachers can provide similar content to all students in their classrooms, or if they might need to further differentiate instruction based on a broader range of needs.

f3 Learning loss in 4th and 6th grade in mathematics

The above figures show our estimate of that variability by subject for 4 th and 6 th grade. The shaded areas display the spread in potential outcomes between students who were in the 25 th percentile of summer learning loss (who showed steep declines) and those in the 75 th percentile (who showed flat lines or even small gains during the summer). In mathematics, we see a fair amount of variability in learning rates, though the majority of students show losses over the extended closure and summer period. However, in reading, there is an even wider spread of potential outcomes, with students who are in the 75 th percentile and above showing sizable learning gains during the summer. Further, the figure below shows that extended time out of school may lead to more variability in achievement when students return in the fall relative to a typical year. A wider range of learning needs like the ones suggested by the figure could create greater challenges for teachers.

$f5 math and reading$

The New York Times warns that today’s students could be the “COVID generation.” As we think through our road to recovery, we hope education leaders consider our projections among many data points when preparing to support students returning in the fall. Specifically, our results indicate that:

Students may be substantially behind, especially in mathematics . Thus, teachers of different grade levels may wish to coordinate in order to determine where to start instruction. Educators will also need to find ways to assess students early, either formally or informally, to understand exactly where students are academically.
Students are likely to enter school with more variability in their academic skills than under normal circumstances. Therefore, educators may need to consider ways to further differentiate instruction or provide opportunities for individualized learning.
Students who lose the most during the summer tend to gain the most when back in school, but this may not hold for COVID-19 . Regardless, the ground that students have to make up during the 2020-21 academic year will probably be greater due to COVID-19. Therefore, educators may want to work with students to determine growth rates needed to catch up and set learning goals for the year that are ambitious but obtainable.

Finally, the effects of COVID-19 our study cannot examine may be the ones most worthy of addressing. Prior research on students displaced by Hurricane Katrina indicated that they had difficulty concentrating and often manifested symptoms of depression in the months following the hurricane. Understanding these impacts and how best to support students’ social and emotional needs after the huge disruption of COVID-19 will be essential. Many students may face greater food insecurity, loss of family income, loss of family members to the coronavirus, and fear of catching the virus themselves.

While the scale of the COVID-19 school closures is novel, the inequalities in our school systems are unfortunately anything but new. Our models cannot account for the reality that the crisis is having an unequal impact on our most underserved communities. Nonetheless, we hope these analyses, which synthesize what we know from existing bodies of research, will inform tomorrow’s decision-making.

Center for School and Student Progress

Research brief

Learning during COVID-19: An update on student achievement and growth at the start of the 2021-22 school year

December 2021

By: Karyn Lewis , Megan Kuhfeld

Description

To what extent has the COVID-19 pandemic affected student achievement and growth in reading and math, and which students have been most impacted? As school districts plan, implement, and hone their efforts to support academic recovery, these are critical questions. New NWEA research addresses these questions and provides insight to inform leaders working to support recovery for all students. Using data from 6 million students in grades 3-8 who took MAP Growth assessments in reading and math, this brief examines how gains across the pandemic (from fall 2019 to fall 2021) and student achievement in fall 2021 compare to pre-pandemic trends. The results showed that, on average, both student achievement at the start of the 2021-22 school year and student gains across the pandemic (from fall 2019 to fall 2021) lagged pre-pandemic norms, especially in math. Achievement was lower for all student groups in fall 2021, but with disproportionately high impacts for historically marginalized students and students in high-poverty schools. Growth across the pandemic varied by pre-pandemic achievement status: higher achievers made gains that were more consistent with projected normative growth, whereas lower-achieving students were more likely to fall short of growth projections.

Topics: COVID-19 & schools , Equity , Growth modeling

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Published: 09 May 2024

Looking back to move forward: comparison of instructors’ and undergraduates’ retrospection on the effectiveness of online learning using the nine-outcome influencing factors

Yujie Su ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1444-1598 1 ,
Xiaoshu Xu ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0667-4511 1 ,
Yunfeng Zhang 2 ,
Xinyu Xu 1 &
Shanshan Hao 3

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume 11 , Article number: 594 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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This study delves into the retrospections of undergraduate students concerning their online learning experiences after the COVID-19 pandemic, using the nine key influencing factors: behavioral intention, instruction, engagement, interaction, motivation, self-efficacy, performance, satisfaction, and self-regulation. 46 Year 1 students from a comprehensive university in China were asked to maintain reflective diaries throughout an academic semester, providing first-person perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of online learning. Meanwhile, 18 college teachers were interviewed with the same questions as the students. Using thematic analysis, the research identified 9 factors. The research revealed that instruction ranked highest among the 9 factors, followed by engagement, self-regulation, interaction, motivation, and others. Moreover, teachers and students had different attitudes toward instruction. Thirdly, teacher participants were different from student participants given self-efficacy and self-regulation due to their variant roles in online instruction. Lastly, the study reflected students were not independent learners, which explained why instruction ranked highest in their point of view. Findings offer valuable insights for educators, administrators, and policy-makers involved in higher education. Recommendations for future research include incorporating a more diverse sample, exploring relationships between the nine factors, and focusing on equipping students with skills for optimal online learning experiences.

Exploring the influence of teachers’ motivating styles on college students’ agentic engagement in online learning: The mediating and suppressing effects of self-regulated learning ability

Nudge or not, university teachers have mixed feelings about online teaching

A longitudinal Q-study to assess changes in students’ perceptions at the time of pandemic

Introduction.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on education worldwide, leading to the widescale adoption of online learning. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), at the peak of the pandemic, 192 countries had implemented nationwide closures, affecting approximately 99% of the world’s student population (UNESCO 2020 a). In response, educational institutions, teachers, and students quickly adapted to online learning platforms, leveraging digital technologies to continue education amidst the crisis (Marinoni et al. 2020 ).

The rapid and unexpected shift to online learning brought about a surge in research aiming to understand its impact, effectiveness, and challenges. Researchers across the globe have been investigating various dimensions of online learning. Some focus on students’ experiences and perspectives (Aristovnik et al. 2021 ), technological aspects (Bao 2020 ), pedagogical strategies (Hodges et al. 2020 ), and the socio-emotional aspect of learning (Ali 2020 ). Tan et al. ( 2021 ) found that motivation and satisfaction were mostly positively perceived by students, and lack of interaction was perceived as an unfavorable online instruction perception. Some center on teachers’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges (Lucas and Vicente, 2023 ; Mulla et al. 2023 ), post-pandemic pedagogisation (Rapanta et al. 2021 ), and post-pandemic further education (Kohnke et al. 2023 ; Torsani et al. 2023 ). It was worth noting that elements like interaction and engagement were central to the development and maintenance of the learning community (Lucas and Vincente 2023 ),

The rise of online learning has also posed unprecedented challenges. Studies have pointed out the digital divide and accessibility issues (Crawford et al. 2020 ), students’ motivation and engagement concerns (Martin and Bolliger 2018 ), and the need for effective online instructional practices (Trust and Whalen 2020 ). The rapid transition to online learning has highlighted the need for robust research to address these challenges and understand the effectiveness of online learning in this new educational paradigm.

Despite the extensive research on online learning during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, there remains a notable gap in understanding the retrospective perspectives of both undergraduates and teachers. Much of the current literature has focused on immediate response strategies to the transition to online learning, often overlooking the detailed insights that reflective retrospection can provide (Marinoni et al. 2020 ; Bao 2020 ). In addition, while many studies have examined isolated aspects of online learning, they have not often employed a comprehensive framework, leaving undergraduates’ voices, in particular, underrepresented in the discourse (Aristovnik et al. 2021 ; Crawford et al. 2020 ). This study, situated in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impetus toward online learning, seeks to fill this crucial gap. By exploring online learning from the perspectives of both instructors and undergraduates, and analyzing nine key factors that include engagement, motivation, and self-efficacy, the research contributes vital insights into the dynamics of online education (Wang and Wang 2021 ). This exploration is especially pertinent as digital learning environments become increasingly prevalent worldwide (UNESCO 2020b ). The findings of our study are pivotal for shaping future educational policies and enhancing online education strategies in this continuously evolving educational landscape (Greenhow et al. 2021 ). Thus, three research questions were raised:

Q1: How do undergraduates and teachers in China retrospectively perceive the effectiveness of online learning after the COVID-19 pandemic?

Q2: Which of the nine outcome influencing factors had the most significant impact on online learning experiences after the pandemic, and why?

Q3: What recommendations can be proposed to enhance the effectiveness of online learning in the future?

The research takes place at a comprehensive university in China, with a sample of 46 Year 1 students and 18 experienced teachers. Their reflections on the effectiveness of online learning were captured through reflective diaries guided by four questions. These questions investigated the students’ online learning states and attitudes, identified issues and insufficiencies in online learning, analyzed the reasons behind these problems, and proposed improvements. By assessing their experiences and perceptions, we seek to explore the significant factors that shaped online learning outcomes after the pandemic and the means to enhance its effectiveness.

This paper first presents a review of the existing literature, focusing on the impact of the pandemic on online learning and discussing the nine significant factors influencing online learning outcomes. Following this, the methodology utilized for this study is detailed, setting the stage for a deeper understanding of the research process. Subsequently, we delve into the results of the thematic analysis conducted based on undergraduate students and teachers’ retrospections. Finally, the paper concludes by offering meaningful implications of the findings for various stakeholders and suggesting directions for future research in this critical area.

Literature review

Online learning application and evaluation in higher education.

Online learning, also known as e-learning or distance learning, refers to education that takes place over the Internet rather than in a traditional classroom setting. It has seen substantial growth over the past decade and has been accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Trust and Whalen 2020 ). Online learning allows for a flexible learning environment, breaking the temporal and spatial boundaries of traditional classroom settings (Bozkurt and Sharma 2020 ). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions globally have embraced online learning at an unprecedented scale. This has led to an immense surge in research focusing on the effects of the pandemic on online learning (Crawford et al. 2020 ; Marinoni et al. 2020 ).

Researchers were divided in their attitudes toward the effects of online learning, including positive, neutral, and negative. Research by Bahasoan et al. ( 2020 ), Bernard et al. ( 2004 ), Hernández-Lara and Serradell-López ( 2018 ), and Paechter and Maier ( 2010 ) indicated the effectiveness of online learning, including improved outcomes and engagement in online formats, providing flexibility and enhancing digital skills for instance. Research, including studies by Dolan Hancock and Wareing ( 2015 ) and Means et al. ( 2010 ), indicates that under equivalent conditions and with similar levels of support, there is frequently no substantial difference in learning outcomes between traditional face-to-face courses and completely online courses.

However, online learning was not without its challenges. Research showing less favorable results for specific student groups can be referenced in Dennen ( 2014 ), etc. The common problems faced by students included underdeveloped independent learning ability, lack of motivation, difficulties in self-regulation, student engagement and technical issues (Aristovnik et al. 2021 ; Martin and Bolliger 2018 ; Song et al. 2004 ; Zheng et al. 2022 ).

Moreover, factors like instructional strategies, course design, etc. were also linked to learning outcomes and successful online learning (Ali 2020 ; Hongsuchon et al. 2022 ). Careaga-Butter et al. ( 2020 ) critically analyze online education in pandemic and post-pandemic contexts, focusing on digital tools and resources for teaching in synchronous and asynchronous learning modalities. They discuss the swift adaptation to online learning during the pandemic, highlighting the importance of technological infrastructure, pedagogical strategies, and the challenges of digital divides. The article emphasizes the need for effective online learning environments and explores trends in post-pandemic education, providing insights into future educational strategies and practices.

Determinants of online learning outcomes

Online learning outcomes in this paper refer to the measurable educational results achieved through online learning methods, including knowledge acquisition, skill development, changes in attitudes or behaviors, and performance improvements (Chang 2016 ; Panigrahi et al. 2018 ). The literature review identified key factors influencing online learning outcomes, emphasizing their significant role in academic discourse. These factors, highlighted in scholarly literature, include student engagement, instructional design, technology infrastructure, student-teacher interaction, and student self-regulation.

Student Engagement: The level of a student’s engagement significantly impacts their learning outcomes. The more actively a student is engaged with the course content and activities, the better their performance tends to be. This underscores the importance of designing engaging course content and providing opportunities for active learning in an online environment (Martin and Bolliger 2018 ).

Instructional Design: How an online course is designed can greatly affect student outcomes. Key elements such as clarity of learning objectives, organization of course materials, and the use of diverse instructional strategies significantly impact student learning (Bozkurt and Sharma 2020 ).

Technology Infrastructure: The reliability and ease of use of the learning management system (LMS) also play a significant role in online learning outcomes. When students experience technical difficulties, it can lead to frustration, reduced engagement, and lower performance (Johnson et al. 2020 ).

Student-Teacher Interaction: Interaction between students and teachers in an online learning environment is a key determinant of successful outcomes. Regular, substantive feedback from instructors can promote student learning and motivation (Boling et al. 2012 ).

Student Self-Regulation: The autonomous nature of online learning requires students to be proficient in self-regulated learning, which involves setting learning goals, self-monitoring, and self-evaluation. Students who exhibit strong self-regulation skills are more likely to succeed in online learning (Broadbent 2017 ).

While many studies have investigated individual factors affecting online learning, there is a paucity of research offering a holistic view of these factors and their interrelationships, leading to a fragmented understanding of the influences on online learning outcomes. Given the multitude of experiences and variables encompassed by online learning, a comprehensive framework like is instrumental in ensuring a thorough investigation and interpretation of the breadth of students’ experiences.

Students’ perceptions of online learning

Understanding students’ perceptions of online learning is essential for enhancing its effectiveness and student satisfaction. Studies show students appreciate online learning for its flexibility and convenience, offering personalized learning paths and resource access (Händel et al. 2020 ; Johnson et al. 2020 ). Yet, challenges persist, notably in maintaining motivation and handling technical issues (Aristovnik et al. 2021 ; Händel et al. 2020 ). Aguilera-Hermida ( 2020 ) reported mixed feelings among students during the COVID-19 pandemic, including feelings of isolation and difficulty adjusting to online environments. Boling et al. ( 2012 ) emphasized students’ preferences for interactive and communicative online learning environments. Additionally, research indicates that students seek more engaging content and innovative teaching approaches, suggesting a gap between current online offerings and student expectations (Chakraborty and Muyia Nafukho 2014 ). Students also emphasize the importance of community and peer support in online settings, underlining the need for collaborative and social learning opportunities (Lai et al. 2019 ). These findings imply that while online learning offers significant benefits, addressing its shortcomings is critical for maximizing its potential.

The pandemic prompted a reconsideration of instructional modalities, with many students favoring face-to-face instruction due to the immediacy and focus issues (Aristovnik et al. 2021 ; Trust and Whalen 2020 ). Despite valuable insights, research gaps remain, particularly in long-term undergraduate reflections and the application of nine factors of comprehensive frameworks, indicating a need for more holistic research in online learning effectiveness.

Teachers’ perceptions of online learning

The pandemic has brought attention to how teachers manage instruction in virtual learning environments. Teachers and students are divided in terms of their attitudes toward online learning. Some teachers and students looked to the convenience and flexibility of online learning (Chuenyindee et al. 2022 ; Al-Emran and Shaalan 2021 ). They conceived that online learning provided opportunities to improve educational equality as well (Tenório et al. 2016 ). Even when COVID-19 was over, the dependence on online learning was likely here to stay, for some approaches of online learning were well-received by students and teachers (Al-Rahmi et al. 2019 ; Hongsuchon et al. 2022 ).

Teachers had shown great confidence in delivering instruction in an online environment in a satisfying manner. They also agreed that the difficulty of teaching was closely associated with course structures (Gavranović and Prodanović 2021 ).

Not all were optimistic about the effects of online learning. They sought out the challenges facing teachers and students during online learning.

A mixed-method study of K-12 teachers’ feelings, experiences, and perspectives that the major challenges faced by teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic were lack of student participation and engagement, technological support for online learning, lack of face-to-face interactions with students, no work-life balance and learning new technology.

The challenges to teachers’ online instruction included instruction technology (Maatuk et al. 2022 ; Rasheed et al. 2020 ), course design (Khojasteh et al. 2023 ), and teachers’ confidence (Gavranović and Prodanović 2021 ).

Self-regulation challenges and challenges in using technology were the key challenges to students, while the use of technology for teaching was the challenge facing teachers (Rasheed et al. 2020 ).

The quality of course design was another important factor in online learning. A research revealed the competency of the instructors and their expertise in content development contributed a lot to students’ satisfaction with the quality of e-contents.

Theoretical framework

The theoretical foundation of the research is deeply rooted in multifaceted framework for online learning, which provides a comprehensive and interwoven model encompassing nine critical factors that collectively shape the educational experience in online settings. This framework is instrumental in guiding our analysis and enhances the comparability and interpretability of our results within the context of existing literature.

Central to Yu’s framework is the concept of behavioral intention, which acts as a precursor to student engagement in online learning environments. This engagement, inherently linked to the students’ intentions and motivations, is significantly influenced by the quality of instruction they receive. Instruction, therefore, emerges as a pivotal element in this model, directly impacting not only student engagement but also fostering a sense of self-efficacy among learners. Such self-efficacy is crucial as it influences both the performance of students and their overall satisfaction with the learning process.

The framework posits that engagement, a derivative of both strong behavioral intention and effective instruction, plays a vital role in enhancing student performance. This engagement is tightly interlaced with self-regulation, an indispensable skill in the autonomous and often self-directed context of online learning. Interaction, encompassing various forms such as student-teacher and peer-to-peer communications, further enriches the learning experience. It significantly contributes to the development of motivation and self-efficacy, both of which are essential for sustaining engagement and fostering self-regulated learning.

Motivation, especially when intrinsically driven, acts as a catalyst, perpetuating engagement and self-regulation, which ultimately leads to increased satisfaction with the learning experience. In this framework, self-efficacy, nurtured through effective instruction and meaningful interactions, has a positive impact on students’ performance and satisfaction, thereby creating a reinforcing cycle of learning and achievement.

Performance in this model is viewed as a tangible measure of the synergistic interplay of engagement, instructional quality, and self-efficacy, while satisfaction reflects the culmination of the learning experience, shaped by the quality of instruction, the extent and nature of interactions, and the flexibility of the learning environment. This satisfaction, in turn, influences students’ future motivation and their continued engagement with online learning.

Yu’s model thus presents a dynamic ecosystem where changes in one factor can have ripple effects across the entire spectrum of online learning. It emphasizes the need for a holistic approach in the realm of online education, considering the complex interplay of these diverse yet interconnected elements to enhance both the effectiveness and the overall experience of online learning.

The current study employed a qualitative design to explore teachers’ and undergraduates’ retrospections on the effectiveness of online learning during the first semester of the 2022–2023 school year, which is in the post-pandemic period. Data were collected using reflective diaries, and thematic analysis was applied to understand the experiences based on the nine factors.

Sample and sampling

The study involved 18 teachers and 46 first-year students from a comprehensive university in China, selected through convenience sampling to ensure diverse representation across academic disciplines. To ensure a diverse range of experiences in online learning, the participant selection process involved an initial email inquiry about their prior engagement with online education. The first author of this study received ethics approval from the department research committee, and participants were informed of the study’s objectives two weeks before via email. Only those participants who provided written informed consent were included in the study and were free to withdraw at any time. Pseudonyms were used to protect participants’ identities during the data-coding process. For direct citations, acronyms of students’ names were used, while “T+number” was used for citations from teacher participants.

The 46 students are all first-year undergraduates, 9 females and 37 males majoring in English and non-English (see Table 1 ).

The 18 teachers are all experienced instructors with at least 5 years of teaching experience, 13 females and 5 male, majoring in English and Non-English (see Table 2 ).

Data collection

Students’ data were collected through reflective diaries in class during the first semester of the 2022–2023 school year. Each participant was asked to maintain a diary over the course of one academic semester, in which they responded to four questions.

The four questions include:

What was your state and attitude toward online learning?

What were the problems and shortcomings of online learning?

What do you think are the reasons for these problems?

What measures do you think should be taken to improve online learning?

This approach provided a first-person perspective on the participants’ online teaching or learning experiences, capturing the depth and complexity of their retrospections.

Teachers were interviewed separately by responding to the four questions the same as the students. Each interview was conducted in the office or the school canteen during the semester and lasted about 20 to 30 min.

Data analysis

We utilized thematic analysis to interpret the reflective diaries, guided initially by nine factors. This method involved extensive engagement with the data, from initial coding to the final report. While Yu’s factors provided a foundational structure, we remained attentive to new themes, ensuring a comprehensive analysis. Our approach was methodical: familiarizing ourselves with the data, identifying initial codes, systematically searching and reviewing themes, and then defining and naming them. To validate our findings, we incorporated peer debriefing, and member checking, and maintained an audit trail. This analysis method was chosen for its effectiveness in extracting in-depth insights from undergraduates’ retrospections on their online learning experiences post-pandemic, aligning with our research objectives.

According to the nine factors, the interviews of 18 teachers and 46 Year 1 undergraduates were catalogued and listed in Table 3 .

Behavioral intention towards online learning post-pandemic

Since the widespread of the COVID-19 pandemic, both teachers and students have experienced online learning. However, their online teaching or learning was forced rather than planned (Baber 2021 ; Bao 2020 ). Students more easily accepted online learning when they perceived the severity of COVID-19.

When entering the post-pandemic era, traditional teaching was resumed. Students often compared online learning with traditional learning by mentioning learning interests, eye contact, face-to-face learning and learning atmosphere.

“I don’t think online learning is a good form of learning because it is hard to focus on learning.” (DSY) “In unimportant courses, I would let the computer log to the platform and at the same time do other entertains such as watching movies, listening to the music, having snacks or do the cleaning.” (XYN) “Online learning makes it impossible to have eye contact between teachers and students and unable to create a face-to-face instructional environment, which greatly influences students’ initiative and engagement in classes.” (WRX)

They noted that positive attitudes toward online learning usually generated higher behavioral intention to use online learning than those with negative attitudes, as found in the research of Zhu et al. ( 2023 ). So they put more blame on distractions in the learning environment.

“Online learning relies on computers or cell phones which easily brings many distractions. … I can’t focus on studying, shifting constantly from study and games.” (YX) “When we talk about learning online, we are hit by an idea that we can take a rest in class. It’s because everyone believes that during online classes, the teacher is unable to see or know what we are doing.” (YM) “…I am easily disturbed by external factors, and I am not very active in class.” (WZB)

Teachers reported a majority of students reluctantly turning on their cameras during online instruction and concluded the possible reason for such behavior.

“One of the reasons why some students are unwilling to turn on the camera is that they are worried about their looks and clothing at home, or that they don’t want to become the focus.” (T4)

They also noticed students’ absent-mindedness and lazy attitude during online instruction.

“As for some students who are not self-regulated, they would not take online learning as seriously as offline learning. Whenever they are logged onto the online platform, they would be unable to stay focused and keep their attention.” (T1)

Challenges and opportunities in online instruction post-pandemic

Online teaching brought new challenges and opportunities for students during and after the pandemic. The distractions at home seemed to be significantly underestimated by teachers in an online learning environment (Radmer and Goodchild 2021 ). It might be the reason why students greatly expected and heavily relied on teachers’ supervision and management.

“The biggest problem of online learning is that online courses are as imperative as traditional classes, but not managed face to face the same as the traditional ones.” (PC) “It is unable to provide some necessary supervision.” (GJX) “It is incapable of giving timely attention to every student.” (GYC) “Teachers can’t understand students’ conditions in time in most cases so teachers can’t adjust their teaching plan.” (MZY) “Some courses are unable to reach the teaching objectives due to lack of experimental conduction and practical operation.” (YZH) “Insufficient teacher-student interaction and the use of cell phones make both groups unable to engage in classes. What’s more, though online learning doesn’t put a high requirement for places, its instructional environment may be crucial due to the possible distractions.” (YCY)

Teachers also viewed online instruction as an addition to face-to-face instruction.

“Online learning cannot run as smoothly as face-to-face instruction, but it can provide an in-time supplement to the practical teaching and students’ self-learning.” (T13, T17) “Online instruction is an essential way to ensure the normal function of school work during the special periods like the pandemic” (T1, T15)

Factors influencing student engagement in online learning

Learning engagement was found to contribute to gains in the study (Paul and Diana 2006 ). It was also referred to as a state closely intertwined with the three dimensions of learning, i.e., vigor, dedication, and absorption (Schaufeli et al. 2002 ). Previous studies have found that some key factors like learning interaction, self-regulation, and social presence could influence learning engagement and learning outcomes (Lowenthal and Dunlap 2020 ; Ng 2018 ). Due to the absence of face-to-face interaction like eye contact, facial expressions and body language, both groups of interviewees agreed that the students felt it hard to keep their attention and thus remain active in online classes.

“Students are unable to engage in study due to a lack of practical learning environment of online learning.” (ZMH, T12) “Online platforms may not provide the same level of engagement and interaction as in-person classrooms, making it harder for students to ask questions or engage in discussions.” (HCK) “The Internet is cold, lack of emotional clues and practical connections, which makes it unable to reproduce face-to-face offline learning so that teachers and students are unlikely to know each other’s true feelings or thoughts. In addition, different from the real-time learning supervision in offline learning, online learning leaves students more learning autonomy.” (XGH) “Lack of teachers’ supervision and practical learning environment, students are easily distracted.” (LMA, T9)

Just as Zhu et al. ( 2023 ) pointed out, we had been too optimistic about students’ engagement in online learning, because online learning relied more on students’ autonomy and efforts to complete online learning.

Challenges in teacher-student interaction in online learning

Online learning has a notable feature, i.e., a spatial and temporal separation among teachers and students. Thus, online teacher-student interactions, fundamentals of relationship formation, have more challenges for both teachers and students. The prior studies found that online interaction affected social presence and indirectly affected learning engagement through social presence (Miao and Ma 2022 ). In the present investigation, both teachers and students noted the striking disadvantage of online interaction.

“Online learning has many problems such as indirect teacher-student communication, inactive informative communication, late response of students and their inability to reflect their problems. For example, teachers cannot evaluate correctly whether the students have mastered or not.” (YYN) “Teachers and students are separated by screens. The students cannot make prompt responses to the teachers’ questions via loudspeakers or headphones. It is not convenient for students to participate in questioning and answering. …for most of the time, the students interact with teachers via typing.” (ZJY) “While learning online, students prefer texting the questions to answering them via the loudspeaker.”(T7)

Online learning interaction was also found closely related to online learning engagement, performance, and self-efficacy.

“Teachers and students are unable to have timely and effective communication, which reduces the learning atmosphere. Students are often distracted. While doing homework, the students are unable to give feedback to teachers.” (YR) “Students are liable to be distracted by many other side matters so that they can keep their attention to online learning.” (T15)

In the online learning environment, teachers need to make efforts to build rapport and personalizing interactions with students to help them perform better and achieve greater academic success (Harper 2018 ; Ong and Quek 2023 ) Meanwhile, teachers should also motivate students’ learning by designing the lessons, giving lectures and managing the processes of student interactions (Garrison 2003 ; Ong and Quek 2023 ).

Determinants of self-efficacy in online learning

Online learning self-efficacy refers to students’ perception of their abilities to fulfill specific tasks required in online learning (Calaguas and Consunji 2022 ; Zimmerman and Kulikowich 2016 ). Online learning self-efficacy was found to be influenced by various factors including task, learner, course, and technology level, among which task level was found to be most closely related (Xu et al. 2022 ). The responses from the 46 student participants reveal a shared concern, albeit without mentioning specific tasks; they highlight critical aspects influencing online learning: learner attributes, course structure, and technological infrastructure.

One unifying theme from the student feedback is the challenge of self-regulation and environmental distractions impacting learning efficacy. For instance, participant WSX notes the necessity for students to enhance time management skills due to deficiencies in self-regulation, which is crucial for successful online learning. Participant WY expands on this by pointing out the distractions outside traditional classroom settings, coupled with limited teacher-student interaction, which hampers idea exchange and independent thought, thereby undermining educational outcomes. These insights suggest a need for strategies that bolster students’ self-discipline and interactive opportunities in virtual learning environments.

On the technological front, participants WT and YCY address different but related issues. Participant WT emphasizes the importance of up-to-date course content and learning facilities, indicating that outdated materials and tools can significantly diminish the effectiveness of online education. Participant YCY adds to this by highlighting problems with online learning applications, such as subpar functionalities that can introduce additional barriers to learning.

Teacher participants, on the other hand, shed light on objective factors predominantly related to course content and technology. Participant T5’s response underscores the heavy dependency on technological advancement in online education and points out the current inability of platforms or apps to adequately monitor student engagement and progress. Participant T9 voices concerns about course content not being updated or aligned with contemporary trends and student interests, suggesting a disconnect between educational offerings and learner needs. Meanwhile, participant T8 identifies unstable network services as a significant hindrance to online teaching, highlighting infrastructure as a critical component of online education’s success.

Teachers also believed the insufficient mastery of facilities and unfamiliarity with online instruction posed difficulty.

“Most teachers and students are not familiar with online instruction. For example, some teachers are unable to manage online courses so they cannot design the courses well. Some students lack self-regulation, which leads to their distraction or avoidance in class.” (T9)

Influences on student performance in online learning

Students’ performance during online lessons is closely associated with their satisfaction and self-efficacy. Most of the student participants reflected on their distractions, confusion, and needs, which indicates their dissatisfaction with online learning.

“During online instruction, it is convenient for the students to make use of cell phones, but instead, cell phones bring lots of distraction.” (YSC) “Due to the limits of online learning, teachers are facing the computer screen and unable to know timely students’ needs and confusion. Meanwhile, it’s inconvenient for teachers to make clear explanations of the sample questions or problems.” (HZW)

They thought their low learning efficiency in performance was caused by external factors like the learning environment.

“The most obvious disadvantage of online learning goes to low efficiency. Students find it hard to keep attention to study outside the practical classroom or in a relaxing environment.” (WY) “Teachers are not strict enough with students, which leads to ineffective learning.” (WRX)

Teacher participants conceived students’ performance as closely related to valid online supervision and students’ self-regulation.

“Online instruction is unable to create a learning environment, which helps teachers know students’ instant reaction. Only when students well regulate themselves and stay focused during online learning can they achieve successful interactions and make good accomplishments in the class.” (T11) “Some students need teachers’ supervision and high self-regulation, or they were easily distracted.” (T16)

Student satisfaction and teaching effectiveness in online learning

Online learning satisfaction was found to be significantly and positively associated with online learning self-efficacy (Al-Nasa’h et al. 2021 ; Lashley et al. 2022 ). Around 46% of student participants were unsatisfied with teachers’ ways of teaching.

“Comparatively, bloggers are more interesting than teachers’ boring and dull voices in online learning.” (DSY) “Teachers’ voice sounds dull and boring through the internet, which may cause listeners to feel sleepy, and the teaching content is not interesting enough to the students.” (MFE)

It reflected partly that some teachers were not adapted to online teaching possibly due to a lack in experience of online teaching or learning (Zhu et al. 2022 ).

“Some teachers are not well-prepared for online learning. They are particularly unready for emergent technological problems when delivering the teaching.” (T1) “One of the critical reasons lies in the fact that teachers and students are not well trained before online learning. In addition, the online platform is not unified by the college administration, which has led to chaos and difficulty of online instruction.” (T17)

Teachers recognized their inadequate preparation and mastery of online learning as one of the reasons for dissatisfaction, but student participants exaggerated the role of teachers in online learning and ignored their responsibility in planning and managing their learning behavior, as in the research of (Xu et al. 2022 ).

The role of self-regulation in online learning success

In the context of online learning, self-regulation stands out as a crucial factor, necessitating heightened levels of student self-discipline and autonomy. This aspect, as Zhu et al. ( 2023 ) suggest, grants students significant control over their learning processes, making it a vital component for successful online education.

“Online learning requires learners to be of high discipline and self-regulation. Without good self-regulation, they are less likely to be effective in online learning.” (YZJ) “Most students lack self-control, unable to control the time of using electronic products. Some even use other electronic products during online learning, which greatly reduces their efficiency in learning.” (GPY) “Students are not well developed in self-control and easily distracted. Thus they are unable to engage fully in their study, which makes them unable to keep up with others” (XYN)

Both groups of participants had a clear idea of the positive role of self-regulation in successful learning, but they also admitted that students need to strengthen their self-regulation skills and it seemed they associated with the learning environment, learning efficiency and teachers’ supervision.

“If they are self-motivated, online learning can be conducted more easily and more efficiently. However, a majority are not strong in regulating themselves. Teachers’ direct supervision in offline learning can do better in motivating them to study hard…lack of interaction makes students less active and motivated.” (LY) “Students have a low level of self-discipline. Without teachers’ supervision, they find it hard to listen attentively or even quit listening. Moreover, in class, the students seldom think actively and independently.” (T13)

The analysis of participant responses, categorized into three distinct attitude groups – positive, neutral, and negative – reveals a multifaceted view of the disadvantages of online learning, as shown in Tables 4 and 5 . This classification provides a clearer understanding of how attitudes towards online learning influence perceptions of self-regulation and other related factors.

In Table 4 , the division among students is most pronounced in terms of interaction and self-efficacy. Those with neutral attitudes highlighted interaction as a primary concern, suggesting that it is less effective in an online setting. Participants with positive attitudes noted a lack of student motivation, while those with negative views emphasized the need for better self-efficacy. Across all attitudes, instruction, engagement, self-regulation, and behavior intention were consistently identified as areas needing improvement.

Table 5 sheds light on teachers’ perspectives, revealing a consensus on the significance and challenges of instruction, motivation, and self-efficacy in online learning. Teachers’ opinions vary most significantly on self-efficacy and engagement. Those with negative attitudes point to self-efficacy and instructional quality as critical areas needing attention, while neutral attitudes focus on the role of motivation.

Discussions

Using a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the questionnaire data showed that among the 18 college teachers and 46 year 1 undergraduate students of various majors taking part in the interview, about 38.9% of teachers and about 30.4% of students supported online learning. Only two teachers were neutral about online learning, and 50% of teachers did not support virtual learning. The percentages of students who expressed positive and neutral views on online learning were the same, i.e., 34.8%. This indicates that online learning could serve as a complementary approach to traditional education, yet it is not without challenges, particularly in terms of student engagement, self-regulation, and behavioral intention, which were often attributed to distractions inherent in online environments.

In analyzing nine factors, it was evident that both teachers and students did not perceive these factors uniformly. Instruction was a significant element for both groups, as validated by findings in Tables 3 and 5 . The absence of face-to-face interactions in online learning shifted the focus to online instruction quality. Teachers cited technological challenges as a central concern, while students criticized the lack of engaging content and teaching methods. This aligns with Miao and Ma ( 2022 ), who argued that direct online interaction does not necessarily influence learner engagement, thus underscoring the need for integrated approaches encompassing interactions, self-regulation, and social presence.

Furthermore, the role of technology acceptance in shaping self-efficacy was highlighted by Xu et al. ( 2022 ), suggesting that students with higher self-efficacy tend to challenge themselves more. Chen and Hsu ( 2022 ) noted the positive influence of using emojis in online lessons, emphasizing the importance of innovative pedagogical approaches in online settings.

The study revealed distinct priorities between teachers and students in online learning: teachers emphasized effective instruction delivery, while students valued learning outcomes, self-regulation, and engagement. This divergence highlights the unique challenges each group faces. Findings by Dennen et al. ( 2007 ) corroborate this, showing instructors focusing on content and guidance, while students prioritize interpersonal communication and individualized attention. Additionally, Lee et al. ( 2011 ) found that reduced transactional distance and increased student engagement led to enhanced perceptions of learning outcomes, aligning with students’ priorities in online courses. Understanding these differing perspectives is crucial for developing comprehensive online learning strategies that address the needs of both educators and learners.

Integrating these findings with broader contextual elements such as technological infrastructure, pedagogical strategies, socio-economic backgrounds, and environmental factors (Balanskat and Bingimlas 2006 ) further enriches our understanding. The interplay between these external factors and Yu’s nine key aspects forms a complex educational ecosystem. For example, government interventions and training programs have been shown to increase teachers’ enthusiasm for ICT and its routine use in education (Balanskat and Bingimlas 2006 ). Additionally, socioeconomic factors significantly impact students’ experiences with online learning, as the digital divide in connectivity and access to computers at home influences the ICT experience, an important factor for school achievement (OECD 2015 ; Punie et al. 2006 ).

In sum, the study advocates for a holistic approach to understanding and enhancing online education, recognizing the complex interplay between internal factors and external elements that shape the educational ecosystem in the digital age.

Conclusion and future research

This study offered a comprehensive exploration into the retrospective perceptions of college teachers and undergraduate students regarding their experiences with online learning following the COVID-19 pandemic. It was guided by a framework encompassing nine key factors that influence online learning outcomes. To delve into these perspectives, the research focused on three pivotal questions. These questions aimed to uncover how both undergraduates and teachers in China view the effectiveness of online learning post-pandemic, identify which of the nine influencing factors had the most significant impact, and propose recommendations for enhancing the future effectiveness of online learning.

In addressing the first research question concerning the retrospective perceptions of online learning’s effectiveness among undergraduates and teachers in China post-COVID-19 pandemic, the thematic analysis has delineated clear divergences in attitude between the two demographics. Participants were primarily divided into three categories based on their stance toward online learning: positive, neutral, and negative. The results highlighted a pronounced variance in attitude distribution between teachers and students, with a higher percentage of teachers expressing clear-cut opinions, either favorably or unfavorably, towards the effectiveness of online learning.

Conversely, students displayed a pronounced inclination towards neutrality, revealing a more cautious or mixed stance on the effectiveness of online learning. This prevalent neutrality within the student body could be attributed to a range of underlying reasons. It might signify students’ uncertainties or varied experiences with online platforms, differences in engagement levels, gaps in digital literacy, or fluctuating quality of online materials and teaching methods. Moreover, this neutral attitude may arise from the psychological and social repercussions of the pandemic, which have potentially altered students’ approaches to and perceptions of learning in an online context.

In the exploration of the nine influential factors in online learning, it was discovered that both teachers and students overwhelmingly identified instruction as the most critical aspect. This was closely followed by engagement, interaction, motivation, and other factors, while performance and satisfaction were perceived as less influential by both groups. However, the attitudes of teachers and students towards these factors revealed notable differences, particularly about instruction. Teachers often attributed challenges in online instruction to technological issues, whereas students perceived the quality of instruction as a major influence on their learning effectiveness. This dichotomy highlights the distinct perspectives arising from their different roles within the educational process.

A further divergence was observed in views on self-efficacy and self-regulation. Teachers, with a focus on delivering content, emphasized the importance of self-efficacy, while students, grappling with the demands of online learning, prioritized self-regulation. This reflects their respective positions in the online learning environment, with teachers concerned about the efficacy of their instructional strategies and students about managing their learning process. Interestingly, the study also illuminated that students did not always perceive themselves as independent learners, which contributed to the high priority they placed on instruction quality. This insight underlines a significant area for development in online learning strategies, emphasizing the need for fostering greater learner autonomy.

Notably, both teachers and students concurred that stimulating interest was a key factor in enhancing online learning. They proposed innovative approaches such as emulating popular online personalities, enhancing interactive elements, and contextualizing content to make it more relatable to students’ lives. Additionally, practical suggestions like issuing preview tasks and conducting in-class quizzes were highlighted as methods to boost student engagement and learning efficiency. The consensus on the importance of supervisory roles underscores the necessity for a balanced approach that integrates guidance and independence in the online learning environment.

The outcomes of our study highlight the multifaceted nature of online learning, accentuated by the varied perspectives and distinct needs of teachers and students. This complexity underscores the necessity of recognizing and addressing these nuances when designing and implementing online learning strategies. Furthermore, our findings offer a comprehensive overview of both the strengths and weaknesses of online learning during an unprecedented time, offering valuable insights for educators, administrators, and policy-makers involved in higher education. Moreover, it emphasized the intricate interplay of multiple factors—behavioral intention, instruction, engagement, interaction, motivation, self-efficacy, performance, satisfaction, and self-regulation—in shaping online learning outcomes. presents some limitations, notably its reliance on a single research method and a limited sample size.

However, the exclusive use of reflective diaries and interviews restricts the range of data collection methods, which might have been enriched by incorporating additional quantitative or mixed-method approaches. Furthermore, the sample, consisting only of students and teachers from one university, may not adequately represent the diverse experiences and perceptions of online learning across different educational contexts. These limitations suggest the need for a cautious interpretation of the findings and indicate areas for future research expansion. Future research could extend this study by incorporating a larger, more diverse sample to gain a broader understanding of undergraduate students’ retrospections across different contexts and cultures. Furthermore, research could also explore how to better equip students with the skills and strategies necessary to optimize their online learning experiences, especially in terms of the self-regulated learning and motivation aspects.

Data availability

The data supporting this study is available from https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.25583664.v1 . The data consists of reflective diaries from 46 Year 1 students from a comprehensive university in China and 18 college teachers. We utilized thematic analysis to interpret the reflective diaries, guided initially by nine factors. The results highlight the critical need for tailored online learning strategies and provide insights into its advantages and challenges for stakeholders in higher education.

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The Corresponding author received the National Social Science Foundation of China for Education General Program (BGA210054) for this work.

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Su, Y., Xu, X., Zhang, Y. et al. Looking back to move forward: comparison of instructors’ and undergraduates’ retrospection on the effectiveness of online learning using the nine-outcome influencing factors. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 11 , 594 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03097-z

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9 Big Questions Education Leaders Should Ask to Address Covid-19

Figuring out to how to deal with the summer slide and traumas resulting from the pandemic are just two of the biggest concerns.

Principal works at her computer in her office

CNN recently reported that if we can’t find a vaccine for Covid-19 soon, social distancing could continue for another two years. Since it’s nearly impossible to enforce social distancing for 30 children in a classroom, schools may be some of the last spaces to reopen.

Although many school and district leaders are understandably preoccupied with immediate Band-Aid solutions, this is also the time to discuss long-term reform. As we prepare for remote learning for the indefinite future, the following are urgent topics and questions we must confront in order to prepare for the likely shift away from traditional schooling practices. I’ve broken them down into three sections: equity, staff, and students and families.

1. Curriculum: We’ve been suddenly given an opportunity to create a curriculum that not only provides space for choice and differentiation, but also expands access. When everyone is attending the same school (the internet), there are ways to ensure that they all have access to the same curriculum. We may need two sets of teachers in schools—presenters, who are screencast experts and will spend their time developing engaging virtual lessons, and tutors, who will work with small groups of students to help them understand those lessons.

No matter our strategy, our first and most important consideration must be equity. The Mid Atlantic Equity Consortium has an equity audit that schools can use to evaluate policies as they work to ensure that all students have a path to success. How are we using equity as a lens as we rethink schools?

2. Pre-K to 2nd grade: While it’s logical to expect middle and high school students to be able to work more independently and from a distance, elementary students—especially pre-K to second grade—are at the greatest risk in this setting. During distance learning, parents of younger children must monitor and guide the learning process more closely, so schools will need to invest more heavily in supports for families with younger children. Interventions might look like smaller e-class sizes; more student-friendly technology platforms; and distributing books, whiteboards, and manipulatives like math blocks to families. How are we redirecting resources to K–2?

3. Summer: Covid-19 is no doubt going to be a summer slide multiplier . While there are plenty of programs that work to close opportunity gaps by leveraging summer and other out-of-school time, we have to also explore in-house interventions. We might even want to make summer school a permanent feature of schooling. Leaders should discuss what additional opportunities they can provide students outside of the traditional (now remote) school day. Even if schools get only a small number of students continuing to engage in learning during the summer, it’s worth it. How are we leveraging time during the summer to catch students up?

4. Professional development: We need to start shifting away from traditional professional development. Districts can move professional development to individualized e-courses and webinars that target teachers’ specific needs. Imagine every teacher in the school choosing from dozens of professional development learning pathways. What professional learning this summer and next year will best set up staff to serve a new set of students’ needs?

5. “Techspertise”: Whether you were a “techspert” already or were overwhelmed by anything with a hard drive, we have to eliminate excuses and build our technology expertise quickly. We can lean on tutorials and webinars to train both staff and families to navigate e-learning platforms. We also must scrutinize technology experience when hiring staff and then prepare for intensive technology onboarding. How are we talking about our technology identities and training staff?

6. Therapy: One teacher described her experience three weeks into the crisis: “I’m so stressed now and can’t sleep because the families I support are under so much duress. I’m not just supporting my students with their challenges, I’m also supporting their families.” More than ever before, this is a time to take care of everyone’s mental health.

Telehealth options will likely become a primary tool for supporting students and families who face trauma, but schools will also need to lean on school-based coaches and counselors for teacher support. Trauma-informed pedagogy must guide our work. What resources, training, and personnel will support everyone’s social and emotional Covid-related needs?

Students and Families

7. Virtual vs. in-person: Even Bill Gates readily admits that kids need in-person social interaction as part of their schooling. As long as Covid-19 remains a threat, any in-person schooling will require high levels of creativity to mitigate risks. One consideration for education leaders, especially in cities where school buildings are small and student populations are large, is a rotating schedule. In-person learning might be possible only a few days a week to limit student interaction. Schools also need to seriously consider looping teachers or at least keeping cohorts of students together. What is a realistic hybrid model for in-person and virtual learning?

8. Individualized learning: Personalization and acceleration will likely be priorities in the coming year, as schools battle learning and opportunity gaps that existed before the pandemic and those exacerbated by it. Technology is well-suited for supporting personalized learning, but pedagogy will have to shift. Schools have to ask everything from “How will we keep kids physically active during virtual class time?” to “How do we teach reading from a distance?”

Teachers’ proficiency with technology will help, but we also have to consider how we can make e-libraries readily accessible. For science, students will be able to see experiments more easily but will miss out on other sensory experiences—if a student can’t feel the heat of a flame from a science experiment, will their brain encode the experience as permanently? We need more research around the science of e-learning. What pedagogical shifts must we make to our practice to serve students’ remote learning needs?

9. Family communication: Parents have officially become the primary liaisons for their child’s learning—parents are teachers, and teachers are their learning consultants. Teachers have also been given a clearer window into what happens when students’ families are struggling to put food on the table or are dealing with other challenges at home.

This is a great time to develop protocols for parent engagement—with an increased need for interaction between families and teachers, how do we communicate with each other effectively? How are we actively empowering and believing in families? The more schools see parents as partners, not barriers, the better we will collectively serve students. What are families’ needs, and how are we working with them collaboratively?

In a crisis where major change is both inevitable and uncertain, we have to listen to teachers, students, and families. What are they experiencing? What do they need? School and district leaders must explore these questions together with those most impacted by the decisions they make.

This pandemic has highlighted inequities in our society that have been ignored for a long time. We don’t have a crystal ball to predict the future, but we can urgently discuss the big, bold questions that will help us prepare for the changes ahead.

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‘Harvard Thinking’: How far has COVID set back students?

In podcast, an economist, a policy expert, and a teacher explain why learning losses are worse than many parents realize

Samantha Laine Perfas

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We’re now three academic years beyond the pandemic. A lot of families think things are back to normal. Thomas Kane disagrees.

“A lot of parents misperceive how much students have lost,” said the faculty director for the Center for Education Policy Research . “That has been one of the biggest things hampering the recovery, parents thinking things are fine now that kids are back in school.”

According to Kane’s research , on average students have lost about a half a grade level in math and a quarter of a grade level in reading. But that’s on average; individually, some schools are doing even better than before the pandemic, while others have lost as much as two grade levels in education.

Heather Hill , a co-director of the teacher education program at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, said one thing she noticed was that students forgot how to “student.” Gone were skills in studying, sitting in classrooms, and taking notes.

“When teachers came back they said, ‘Wow, these kids have forgotten how to be students,’ and one of the things we saw pretty immediately was a rise in behavior issues,” Hill said. While a lot of those issues have been addressed, she said, others — like the rising absenteeism rates that are nearly double pre-pandemic levels — have not.

Stephanie Conklin, Ed.M.’06, a New York State Master Teacher who teaches math at Colonie Central High School, said educators are facing higher expectations than ever.

“We’re asked to be counselors, social workers, teach math, teach writing, and teach students how to be students,” Conklin said, pointing to rising rates of turnover and burnout. Guests talked about the need to better support teachers and what that might look like beyond pay raises.

In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with Kane, Hill, and Conklin about post-pandemic challenges in the classroom and how to fix them.

Thomas Kane: A lot of parents misperceive how much students have lost. They see kids are back in school and they’re thinking everything’s back to normal. And honestly, that has been one of the biggest things hampering the recovery: parents thinking things are fine now that kids are back in school.

Samantha Laine Perfas: American schools took a big hit during the pandemic. On average, they lost half a grade level in math and a little less than that in reading. Some schools have come back, but many others have not, and some are in even worse shape. Other problems have also cropped up, like a surprising rise in absenteeism that spans geography and income. So what happens now?

Welcome to Harvard Thinking, a podcast where the life of the mind meets everyday life.

Today, I’m joined by:

Kane: Tom Kane. I’m a faculty director of the Center for Education Policy Research here at Harvard.

Laine Perfas: He works with school districts and state agencies to help them evaluate programs and policies. Since the pandemic, a lot of his research has focused on gains and losses in education. Then:

Heather Hill: Heather Hill. I am at Harvard GSE. My research focuses on mathematics teaching. I spend a lot of time in classrooms, which is one of my favorite things to do.

Laine Perfas: She also co-directs the teacher education program at GSE, Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, and helps prepare teachers for the classroom. And finally:

Stephanie Conklin: Stephanie Conklin. I’m a math teacher at Colonie Central High School.

Laine Perfas: She’s also a New York State Master Teacher and a graduate of GSE. She serves on the faculty at the University of Albany.

And I’m Samantha Laine Perfas, your host and a writer for The Harvard Gazette. And in this episode, we’ll explore what’s happening in our schools as they try to regain pandemic learning losses.

It’s not a surprise that education took a big hit during the pandemic, but I think there’s been some surprise regarding its lingering effects. I’d love to start the conversation with where things stand now. Maybe, Tom, you can start by talking a little bit about your research in this area.

Kane: Sam, as you said, it was not surprising that students lost ground during the pandemic. But I think many were surprised by just the magnitudes of the losses, especially in many high-poverty school districts in the U.S. Remember March of 2021, when the American Rescue Plan passed, people were sort of hoping that online learning was, maybe, 80 percent as good as in-person learning. We learned subsequently that many districts lost much more than 20 percent of their typical learning during that school year. Now, as a country, we lost about half of a grade level in math and we made up about a third of that. We lost about a quarter of a grade level in reading and we made up about one quarter of that. So we still have a ways to go, and that is on average. There are many districts that are much farther behind than that, like more than a grade level behind.

Laine Perfas: Yeah. I actually wanted to ask you about how the average somewhat hides the greater gaps that are at play. Because when I was looking at some of your research, I was seeing that some school districts are pretty much back to where they were, if not doing even better than before the pandemic. But other areas are significantly worse than pre-pandemic. What’s happening there and what districts seem to be recovering in a way that we would hope, and which districts are being left behind?

Kane: There was a lot of variation in the magnitude of losses, but two factors did play a role. One was high-poverty schools in every state were more likely to stay closed for longer. For instance, in Florida the average school went back sooner than the average school in Massachusetts. But still, even in Florida, the higher-poverty districts stayed closed for longer. And that was true in most other states. The second reason is that when schools closed the losses were larger for higher-poverty schools. Interestingly, in the places where schools did not close for long — like practically every school was closed in the spring of 2020 — but among those places that came back quickly in the fall of 2020, there wasn’t as much increase in inequality. High-poverty and low-poverty schools lost about the same amount of ground. It was in the places where schools were closed for half of the 2021 year or more, that’s where we really saw big differences in the magnitude of the losses.

Unfortunately, an untold story is that the higher-poverty districts in Massachusetts did the opposite of catching up between ’22 and ’23. They lost more ground. So Lynn, Massachusetts, is now basically two grade levels behind where they themselves were in 2019. Those gaps that existed before the pandemic are bigger now and all of the recovery in Massachusetts has been limited to the higher-income districts like Newton, Wellesley, Lexington. The higher-poverty districts like Lynn, Fall River, fell further behind between ’22 and ’23.

Hill: I think one of the issues about being home for a full year, which is what a lot of kids were in some cases in some of these urban districts, is that they forgot how to “student,” if you think about student as a verb. “Studenting” means paying attention, being engaged with your peers, being engaged with your teacher. When teachers came back they said, “Wow, these kids have forgotten how to be students,” and one of the things we saw pretty immediately was a rise in behavior issues on the part of kids. I would say from what I can tell, and I’d be curious what Stephanie thinks about this, I think those are worked out. But what teachers are also saying at this point is that the student engagement is not back yet.

Conklin: As Heather mentioned, when students came back to the classroom, besides just learning how to student, we also noticed that a lot of students’ skills in learning had really suffered. So for example, just students’ ability to retain facts and retain information, that is a real skill that we teach in schools. And then the other piece, too, to learning how to be a student, is being organized. Keeping track of eight classes for many of our students is a real struggle at the middle- and high-school level. And then not having had to do that for a year really made it even harder for students to access the curriculum. So many of us in education had to take a step back, not only reteach academic skills, we also have to teach, OK, how do you take notes in a math classroom? How do you use a calculator if you haven’t used it for a year?

Laine Perfas: It sounds like a big challenge has just been transitioning kids back to school. But another challenge that we’re seeing is actually getting kids back in the classroom in the first place. Can you talk about that and how absenteeism rates are really high right now?

Kane: Basically, chronic absenteeism rates have almost doubled from before the pandemic. By the way, when you yourself miss class, you miss more than a day. Obviously you miss that day you were gone, but the first day you’re back you’re maybe picking up 75 percent of what the teacher is saying. The second day you’re back you’re maybe picking up 80 percent of what the teacher is saying. But when you’re a teacher where 5 percent of kids are missing one day, but it’s a different 5 percent the next day, it’s a different 5 percent the next day. And then you’re trying to juggle and keep everybody going. It really becomes disruptive.

Laine Perfas: Are people still getting sick or is it just not seeing the value of attending school? What exactly is causing that huge increase in absenteeism?

Kane: I don’t think anybody really knows yet. At least part of it is likely due to the fact that I think parents are more aware of communicable diseases, whereas we might have sent our kid to school when they were coughing, now we might hesitate. But I think that is a small share of it. It’s more likely to be things like families have gotten out of their routines, kids, they’re more accustomed to being at home during a weekday of school.

Hill: I think parents are home more often as well at work from home, which takes the burden off of sending your kids to school because you’re like, “It’s not a big deal for you to be home.”

Conklin: For my students I take a picture of all my notes. I post my assignments online. Many of us educators got into a routine of making everything accessible for students, whether they’re in or out of the classroom. Now the positives to that are tremendous. I have students who will follow my notes on their iPad while taking notes with me in class, I have students if they’re absent a day here or there, they can catch up. However, I think that what that’s done is, if we have students who maybe are like, “Well, I’m not feeling great, I’m going to just stay home because Dr. Conklin always puts her notes online and I can catch up tomorrow.” I think families also have the same issue, but I did want to take Tom’s comment like a little bit farther about when a kid misses one day. In the educator perspective, we are not only trying to catch kids up for that day, teach them the content, but also from past things. Three years ago, they missed that content. So what I’m finding is it’s almost like whack-a-mole teaching. “OK, these five kids were out on Thursday. I need to catch them up on today’s lesson, but they still don’t know how to do these four topics.” But then I also have kids who I want to extend the lesson because they already know it. So we’re finding that teachers are not only scaffolding, differentiating lessons, it’s almost like too much for one human being to do, to have two to three different classrooms running in one classroom setting.

Hill: One of the things I think about teaching, which was already pre-pandemic a really difficult job for a lot of reasons, it’s become 20 percent harder. And that may not sound like, “Oh, it’s insurmountable.” But 20 percent harder day in, day out becomes really unsustainable. And I think one of the things that we’ve been seeing is increased teacher absence rates as well, which, paired with teacher shortages and sub shortages, puts schools in this really difficult position. So many of the schools that I’m in, it just feels very tenuous to be there because it erodes the social contract a little bit between students and teachers when you get that level of everybody’s absent and relationships can suffer.

Kane: So for all these reasons, it’s remarkable that between 2022 and 2023 kids did make up some of the ground. Students gained about .17 grade level in math, so that means that students learned roughly about 117 percent of what they would typically learn in math, which is remarkable. But a lot of that was paid for with federal dollars. People had extra resources to hire teachers’ aides or to hire tutors or expand summer school, and that federal money is expiring at the end of September.

Laine Perfas: I wanted to ask a little bit more about the relief dollars, because it seems like they helped. One, did they help, and was that a consistent benefit across the country? And then also, why is it ending in September if there’s clearly still pretty huge gaps that need to be bridged?

Kane: Remember, the American Rescue Plan, which provided this pot of federal money to school districts around the country, was passed in March of 2021; many schools were still closed. So that was before anybody knew how big the losses were going to be. And 90 percent of the money was sent directly to school districts. So basically 13,000 different school districts around the country were making up their own recovery plan. Some came up with better plans than others.

Unfortunately, the federal guidance on this was downright misleading because the federal law only required them to spend 20 percent on academic recovery. But a lot of districts like Lynn or Fall River that lost more than a grade level, there was no way they were going to be able to recover spending 20 percent of those federal dollars on academic recovery. There was simply no way. Imagine if at the beginning of the pandemic, the federal government said, “We’re not even going to try to come up with a vaccine. We’re going to send all the money out to local public health authorities and say, ‘You come up with your own solution.’” And that’s exactly what we did in education, is we put out $190 billion, 90 percent of it, directly to school districts. And then had them all figure out their own plans and some have made progress and some haven’t.

Conklin: I know, on the ground in my district, we’re spending a lot of money focusing on more teachers in classrooms. I teach an at-risk population. I’m math certified, but also special-ed certified, and I have a co-teacher. So there are two adults in my classroom at all times to support our special-ed students, all of our learners who are struggling, and so, at least in my district, I think we’ve been able to spend the money wisely, and we’ve been able to justify keeping those positions by changing how we’re funding other things. Now, when we talk about Lynn and other school districts in Massachusetts, they were probably underfunded to begin with. And so now they’re having to go back and figure out where can we put this money if it’s toward staffing, it’s toward students’ needs, in our high-poverty schools. How are we then going to justify keeping extra staff, which we know works? I’m in New York and high schools that I’m in touch with, our special-ed students who are consistently attending school because they have supports, they’re being really successful and they are catching up.

Kane: This is one place where I feel like both the federal government and states really dropped the ball during the pandemic. We had an opportunity to learn more about the efficacy of different strategies. The problem was we blew the opportunity to learn which of those strategies were most effective. So like in Stephanie’s school district, choosing to have a couple of teachers in a given classroom, that’s one strategy. Other districts did things like, they said, “We’re going to hire math coaches,” and other places said, “Oh, we’re going to really try to expand summer learning,” or, “We’re going to hire tutors.” And even if each of those has some positive effect, I don’t think we have a good sense now, a better sense than we did before the pandemic, of what is the bang for the buck for these different strategies. School districts weren’t tracking which kids got what, so we didn’t learn nearly as much as we could have and should have learned over the last two or three years.

Laine Perfas: Stephanie, you mentioned that, at least in your school district, just staffing up was a really wise investment of resources. How do you do that when there’s so much teacher turnover and burnout right now? Heather, I think you actually mentioned that earlier in the conversation, that teachers are exhausted. It’s a really hard job. It was hard before, and now it’s even harder. I just want to create some space to talk about that a little bit because teachers are such a vital part of the solution and yet they’re struggling as well.

Conklin: It’s a great question. I have so many thoughts. I guess I would say I am on staff at University of Albany, teaching folks how to become teachers. I know in the past three years, pre-COVID, we had about 50 students in our teacher-ed program. And now I think I have 24 this semester. So we’re certainly seeing a huge hit.

I think what teachers are being asked to do is tremendously different than what I was asked to do during my teacher training 15 years ago. We’re asked to be counselors, social workers, teach math, teach writing, and teach students how to be students. I know that our program at University of Albany, we’re always seeking to change it, amend it, but a lot of the state requirements for teachers are not aligned. Two six-week student teaching opportunities I don’t feel is enough — that’s the state requirements right now — in order to really prepare someone for a lifelong career in education. We really should be looking at programs where student teachers are placed for an entire school year in a district and or in a placement and working with a mentor teacher on how to deal with this. OK, when you have a student in crisis, how do you deal with it? How do you deal with it the day after spring break when no student wants to do any work? Which can be very stressful when you have 30 kids in front of you and everyone still wants to be on spring break, yourself included. All these nuances of teaching really need to be taught and modeled for new teachers. I think the current system and the current programs that we’re offering may not necessarily yield themselves to creating teachers who have that resiliency, that ability to sort of push through this much more challenging time.

Hill: OK, so number one, just pay teachers more. If the job is 20 percent harder in any other profession, we’d be like, and you pay people more. Instead, what we see is many states saying, “Oh, we can’t find teachers at the wage that we’re willing to pay. Let’s let people into classrooms who have no training.” There is some weird way in which the public governance of teaching as a profession has stood in the way of actually paying teachers the money that is needed to do the job that they have.

The next thing would be to take a look at teachers’ overall working conditions. There is an enormous amount of stuff that we’re asking teachers to do on top of just teaching students. Looking at that level of workload and paring back what is not necessary would be step two for me, which is to say, how can we get teachers more time to prepare for and to teach students? End of story. Number three is schools need to be better places for teachers to work. Teachers leave schools that are not well-managed, and not all schools are well-managed right now for various reasons. Helping schools get over shortage of subs, helping principals establish common disciplinary policies across the school, establish common routines in classrooms, so as kids are moving around they’re very familiar with this is how we do things at the school; that can make a big difference to getting teachers to stay in the profession.

Laine Perfas: Why do we put all that pressure on teachers? There are so many needs that students have. I’m wondering if there’s space for other people who are not teachers to be part of this solution as well. And what that could look like, engaging an entire community on a broader level to help with some of these challenges.

Kane: We had an event here where the governor of Rhode Island was talking about what they’re doing; you know, very few mayors can teach Algebra I. But mayors can help with the attendance issue, with public information campaigns, with maybe lowering bus fares or handing out transportation cards to students or providing more transportation options. That is one area where public organizations outside of schools could really help.

But the other area is, so here in Boston, there’s an organization called Boston After School and Beyond that helps organize summer learning opportunities. Rather than having the school try to plan both the enrichment activities for summer learning and the academic content, what Boston is doing is saying, “OK, so we got a bunch of organizations here in the city that run enrichment opportunities during the summer: summer camps or museums or other organizations. And why don’t we have them organize the enrichment, but then have the Boston Public Schools provide teachers to teach on site?” So it’s splitting up that task and saying, “Hey, look, we don’t have to solve all of this. Why don’t we let the nonprofits who were already doing a great job recruiting kids and getting kids to show up for summer and just inserting some summer learning into that.”

Conklin: We are finding that summertime, where we have the 10 weeks of students not doing anything, does need to be filled. And the idea that someone else could take that on besides a school? Those opportunities really would benefit students. One of the things I wanted to agree with you wholeheartedly on is giving teachers more time. Tom mentioned algebra. I’ve been teaching algebra for 17 years. I have been rewriting everything the past three years. The time with my colleagues, the time to prepare for my students that are in front of me, is critical. And I know a lot of things we’re talking about relate to funding, but that is one very tangible thing: teachers having more time. And going along with that, I think one of my biggest stressors is dealing with families who have a really challenging time understanding why their students are behind, why their students aren’t being successful. And having support from administrators, which I do have at my school, who are willing to say, “Hey, we need to support your child. Here’s what we’re going to do.” And it’s not just on the teacher.

Hill: The solutions that you’re suggesting are the right set of solutions. I don’t know how to do a hard reset on teachers’ working conditions. The way that the bureaucracy has grown in American education is that teachers need this, and teachers need that. But that takes teachers’ time, and it takes time away from preparing to teach students, and from, in many cases, actually teaching students. One of the things that is the most robust in this literature on the production function for kids — meaning like what produces student achievement — is literally, like, time on task: Are kids in classrooms? This comes back to the absence issue. Are kids there? Are teachers there providing instruction?

Kane: One of the barriers is that a lot of parents misperceive how much students have lost. They see kids are back in school and they’re thinking, everything’s back to normal. If parents are misperceiving the amount of loss, it’s going to be hard for school districts to ask for the bigger things like major increases in funding for teachers or big increases in summer learning and honestly, that has been one of the biggest things, I think, hampering the recovery, is parents thinking things are fine now that kids are back in school.

Laine Perfas: How might parents get a better understanding of how bad things are in some of the school districts?

Kane: I wish more schools would just tell parents, before school’s out, when their child is below grade level in math or reading or any other subject so the parents actually have time to sign up for summer learning. Instead, there’s been a lack of honesty with parents on just where kids are. And part of that is on schools. I can understand, if you’re already overwhelmed, like, who wants to get parents riled up? But I do think that lack of parent awareness of the magnitude of the losses is meaning that parents are pushing back on things like extending the school year or signing their kid up for summer learning.

Conklin: I would agree with Tom. I think, too, in the past two to three years, many students have been given a literal pass in courses because of COVID. You know, during the 2020, 2021 years, many students were passed on, whether through social promotion or because of policies related to COVID. So I think families have become accustomed to, well, they’re struggling, but they’ll get through. But now that we’re three years post-pandemic, three academic years, many of those supports to pass students are going away so students are going to be expected to pass exams that do have graduation requirements.

Hill: Can I ask Stephanie, what you were saying about students feeling like they can get by past their classes without having to really put in full effort is really interesting because I feel like from what I have seen anecdotally it’s certainly the case. One of the things I like to recommend is homework, but I know that is a fraught issue, so I’m curious how you’re thinking about this and whether that is part of a solution.

Conklin: I think the issue is, is that if kids don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t know what they’re doing at home. So I know that, for many of the teachers, what we talk about is having an assignment that is reasonable to do at home and that is started in class. So I always, the last five minutes of class, “OK, let’s get a jump start. Let’s read the directions together. Let’s do a couple problems.” For my middle and high school kids, you know, we’re really suggesting no more than 10 to 15 minutes of homework. And that’s actually probably all the practice they need to get that specific skill down.

Laine Perfas: We’ve been talking a little bit about solutions that could happen at the local or community level, but what policies need to change to create a healthier education ecosystem long term?

Kane: Sam, that is a great question. I wish it was a much more lively debate right now going on in states, because as I said, the federal money is about to run out. For the last three years, we’ve just been watching districts spend down the federal money without thinking about, “OK, so what’s going to happen when the federal money runs out?” Here are a few just very concrete things that states could be doing. You know, number one, they could be providing extra resources for students who are behind, so targeted benefits either to kids or to districts. A second thing, and this is something that Texas has been doing, they said, “OK, we, the state, will pay half the cost for additional days of learning time that you provide.” A number of districts have extended the school year beyond 180 days in Texas, as a result of this. And a third area, states could set aside some money for funding pilot programs for lowering absenteeism rates and then evaluating those. So a state could say, here’s a pot of money if a district out there has an idea or a pilot program they would like to launch to try to help lower absenteeism rates. If the state were to fund those and then fund evaluations of them, we could be learning much faster than we are about how we’re going to lower the absenteeism problem.

Hill: One of the things that I was thinking, this was a few years ago, back at the beginning of the pandemic, is just to say, everything is on the table. There’s a lot that I think we can do to increase academic learning time without changing structures within the schools to that much of an extent. There’s actually already programs that address student absentee rates. What they look like is they look very relational. So it’s working with the parents, having somebody from the school, sometimes a guidance counselor, somebody whose job is it to go and try to coordinate and reduce chronic absenteeism on the part of students. They can be very successful when they are able to form relationships with parents and really engage parents in solving the problem.

Conklin: To recruit the best teachers we need to offer a higher pay, and I think that people would be willing to work more for a higher pay. I have a doctorate in education and I can’t tell you how many of my students say, “Why are you a teacher if you have a Ph.D.? You went to Harvard and you have a Ph.D. and you’re teaching here?” I think we need to change that perspective. We need to pay teachers well, we need to treat teachers well. So if we talk about policy, every school for every certain number of kids having a social worker, having a counselor so that those SEL (social emotional learning) needs, which we know have been huge concern for teachers, students, families, are met. I think those are some of the issues that really would attract more teachers.

Kane: We’ve been talking mostly about academic recovery and what it’s going to take. I think we need to take a step back and realize what drove this. The learning loss to some extent is a result of public health measures, that were taken on behalf of all of us. I know there are people who disagree with those public health decisions that were made, but they were on our behalf by duly elected or appointed officials. Basically, what we’re doing now is deciding who’s going to pay for that. Right now, in a lot of communities, we’ve said, OK, kids are going to pay for that. That we’re not going to do what’s necessary to help students catch up. Framed that way, I think most people would say, “Gosh, of course, we need to continue the recovery beyond September. We’ve got to figure out some way to make sure these losses are made up because these were losses that were caused by public health measures intended to benefit all of us. It’s on us to make sure kids are made whole.” That’s what this is all about.

Laine Perfas: Thank you for joining me and for talking about this really important issue.

Hill: Thanks, Sam, for having me.

Conklin: Thank you for having me.

Kane: Thanks, Sam.

Laine Perfas: Thanks for listening. For a transcript of this episode and to see all of our other episodes, visit harvard.edu/thinking. This episode was hosted and produced by me, Samantha Laine Perfas. It was edited by Ryan Mulcahy, Paul Makishima, and Simona Covel. Original music and sound design by Noel Flatt. Produced by Harvard University.

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Open access
Published: 09 May 2024

Teaching pre-clinical medical students remotely in Nigeria post Covid-19 pandemic: can past experiences shape future directions?

Beatrice Emma-Okon 1 ,
Michal Tombs 2 ,
Rufus Akomolafe 1 &
Olugbenga Ayannuga 1

BMC Medical Education volume 24 , Article number: 515 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

20 Accesses

Metrics details

Online teaching has gained popularity in recent years, but changes have been slower to implement in Lower or Medium Income Countries (LMIC). The aim of this research was to build upon educators’ experiences of remote teaching during Covid-19 to inform the development of a blended learning approach for teaching pre-clinical subjects at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria (OAU).

The Critical Incident Technique (CIT) was used in this exploratory study. Participants were invited to either complete an online qualitative questionnaire or take part in an online structured interview, which were hosted on Microsoft platforms. Data were obtained from eighteen educators and were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Findings suggest that most educators (72%) continued to engage with remote teaching post-pandemic. All lab-based practical topics returned to being in-person, and teachers’ experiences highlighted that a new blended learning approach should focus on asynchronized online teaching of didactic subjects. Five main themes captured educators’ experiences and lessons learned regarding online teaching including: skills and training, teachers’ motivation and attitudes, internet and connectivity, learners’ behaviors, and socio-economic constraints.

Findings provided additional evidence on the way in which educators in LMIC would like to build upon the positive aspects of online teaching and move towards a blended learning model. However, the implementation of such an approach should consider students’ and faculty’s needs and socio-economic constraints.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

The last decade has been characterized by an increase of remote teaching of pre-clinical subjects such as anatomy, biochemistry, and physiology across the globe [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Such changes have been slower to implement in Lower- or Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) and it was the abrupt shift to remote delivery that served as a catalyst for change [ 4 ]. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about significant changes in educational systems, and this was the situation in OAU College of Health Sciences. Pre-covid, the teaching of pre-clinical subjects was only conducted face to face as there were no institutional guidelines or facilities regarding online teaching. During lockdown, educators had to put emergency measures in place and migrated to remote teaching after attending a one-day rotational training.

Many institutions were able to quickly transition to online teaching during the pandemic because they had customized Learning Management Systems where instructional materials were hosted and the teaching process was facilitated (e.g., Moodle, Blackboard or Canvas) [ 5 ]. In developing countries, where such systems were not in place pre-pandemic, the transition to online teaching was more challenging [ 6 ]. This was the case at OAU, where quality of online teaching varied from one educator to another, and content was delivered via different platforms. This practice continued until lockdown measures had eased and educators and learners were able to return to classes. Educationalists were then faced with the question of what next, and whether and how online teaching should continue.

Studies conducted post-pandemic point towards an increased demand for online teaching and that the experience has brought about an openness towards innovation and new learning opportunities [ 7 , 8 ]. The unintended gains propelled higher education institutions to revise their educational strategy towards a blended model [ 9 ] and OAU is now considering the use of a LMS, which is an important step forward towards a blended learning model.

The research question of this study was explorative in nature and focused on examining the experiences of educators to identify lessons learned that can inform future institutional directions regarding the teaching of pre-clinical subjects. The objectives were to: (I) ascertain the extent to which educators continued to teach online post-pandemic, and (II) examine enablers and challenges to online teaching and the lessons learned from these. This was in line with Adult Learning Theory that recognizes experience and perceptions of needs as a source of learning and development [ 10 ]. Context specific factors were explored as these can shape the effectiveness of teaching and learning [ 7 ].

Study design

This was a questionnaire-based study, with a particular focus on collecting exploratory qualitative data to tap into educators’ experiences. Quantitative questions were primarily designed to collect demographic and descriptive data related to online teaching experiences post pandemic. Open-ended qualitative questions utilized the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) as a framework for data collection and analysis [ 11 ]. The Critical Incident technique has its roots in organizational psychology and is defined as “a set of procedures for collecting observations of human behaviour in such a way as to facilitate their potential usefulness in solving practical problems and developing broad psychological principles” [ 12 ]. CITs are essentially unusual and memorable events, produced by the way participants look and interpret the significance of a situation; thus any experience teachers encountered in their teaching may be a critical incident and therefore a situation they can reflect upon [ 13 ]. This open-ended procedure encouraged the sharing of experiences directed by the research question and provided flexibility of the data collection process [ 14 ]. Although the technique is most often used in interviews or focus groups, researchers have also adapted a questionnaire approach as a way of ensuring anonymity and preventing bottlenecks and delays [ 15 ].

The study was conducted at the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, OAU, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. An opportunity sampling strategy was employed and all educators in these Departments who carried out online Teaching of pre-clinical teaching during the Covid-19 period (2019/2020) were invited to participate. A sample of 18 educationalists volunteered to take part, consisting of eight, seven and three participants from the Departments of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Physiological Sciences and Medical Biochemistry, respectively. Most participants were male ( n = 17) and in the age range 41–50 years.

Data collection

Data collection was carried out using an online questionnaire via Microsoft Forms. A link to the questionnaire was sent to the institutional email addresses of respondents along with the participant information sheet and consent form. The invitation email highlighted that anyone who had experience of teaching online during the pandemic can take part in the study. Participants provided information such as age, gender, department, and length of time in their educational role. In addition, they were asked to rate their use of remote teaching methods during, and post pandemic. An open-ended question asked them to indicate the reason for why they teach or do not teach virtually post pandemic.

The main part of the questionnaire was qualitative and was based on CIT philosophy. Questions asked participants to reflect on a particular example (incident) of something or someone that enabled or challenged their online teaching. They were asked to describe, in their own words, what happened and how things turned out in as much detail as possible. Structured interviews were conducted with three educators who preferred this option, in which case the questionnaire was used as a template and the interview was structured and transcribed onto the form. The questionnaire was initially piloted with three academic staff at the same faculty.

Ethical considerations

Permission for the study was obtained from the gatekeeper (Provost, College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University). Ethical approval was processed and obtained from the Ethical Committee of Cardiff University School of Medicine. It is important to note that three of the researchers are faculty members at the institution. Thus, potential bias and effect of relationships were addressed using an online questionnaire or structured interview method and literature was used extensively to reflect on preconceptions. Academic supervision was provided throughout (external), and reflexivity and transparency were ensured in the analysis process. Coding and themes were reviewed and checked for their definition by three researchers until agreement was achieved.

Data analysis

Descriptive data were obtained for demographic characteristics and to capture participants’ rating of their experiences of teaching online. Qualitative CIT data were analyzed using thematic analysis [ 16 ]. Codes were assigned to each incident to capture and identify conceptually recurring patterns. All responses associated with a particular code were then categorized into themes, which were reviewed and defined by three researchers.

Data were analyzed in line with the research objectives, with a focus on examining participants’ experiences of teaching online and their perceptions of enablers and barriers to online teaching. Overall, findings indicated that some medical educators continued to use online teaching methods post-pandemic, and the motivations were varied. Through exploration of enablers and challenges of teaching online during the pandemic, it was possible to highlight some of the lessons learned from these experiences.

Online teaching post-pandemic

Participants were asked if they continued to teach remotely post pandemic, out of which most said they have (72%). The remaining had fully gone back to the face-to-face mode. The reasons for continuing to use remote teaching were varied. For some, the motivation came from students’ preference. For example, ‘After the pandemic, students don’t want to come for physical classes…they prefer the online method’(P3). One participant noted that ‘Students demanded for it’ (P13) and that ‘Students like it’ (P17). Other comments suggested that teaching online during the pandemic provided an opportunity for change and diversification of teaching using technology. For example, participant 16 noted that teaching online during the pandemic taught him a new way of delivering his lectures: ‘Students on resumption early this year were to take my class, but it could not hold because of the strike action. I then decided to post my lectures online, hoping that they will soon resume, and we will have face to face interactions for explanation’. One participant noted that ‘ Online teaching seems to be an easier way of reaching (our) students’ (P2). It is possible that this acted as a catalyst for continuing this practice, as noted by participant 18: ‘The Institution encouraged online teaching for large classes’.

Educators who abandoned virtual teaching as soon as they were able to fully resume face to face teaching expressed different views. As suggested by participant 9, ‘I thought that the University wants us to discontinue online teaching after the pandemic’. Another participant made a particular reference to teaching practical classes, which are central for pre-clinical teaching. He noted that he wished to ‘engage the students in full face-to-face practical classes (P15)’. Practical classes are pivotal to the teaching of pre-clinical subjects and had to be postponed as noted by participants: ‘ Physical classes were conducted after students returned to the campus with students being divided into small groups’ (P1) , and ‘We brought in students in batches for physical interaction during practical…our practical sessions were not so effective because limited time was available for each batch of students (P18)’. Whilst most educators agreed that some elements of online teaching worked well, this was not the case with practical classes. ‘…online classes may not replace the practical demonstration and so online teaching has its limitations and shortcomings, … it should not be over romanticized” (P2).

Enablers and barriers to online teaching and lessons learned

Five main themes were identified that captured participants’ reflections on their experiences of teaching remotely that can inform future directions. These were: Skill and training, Motivation and attitudes, Internet and connectivity, Learners’ behaviors, and Socio-economic constraints (see Table 1 ).

Theme 1: skills and training

This theme highlighted the benefits of having some previous experience of online teaching and the usefulness of training that was available to them. As noted: ’Previous use of zoom for informal activities helped me to adjust to online teaching” (P11). Similarly, participant 9 commented on how he was able to benefit from his previous experience of teaching ‘ part-time Nursing undergraduate students of the open distance learning programme online for a few years before the pandemic’ . Indeed, even a one-day training event organised by the University was useful, with comments such as ’ Training was organized … and this helped me to handle the classes‘ (P2) , and ’My understanding of the technology for online teaching improved appreciably after undergoing the training organized by the University‘(P3). Participants who took advantage of unplanned external and informal training opportunities also noted some benefits, such as ‘At the onset of online real time teaching using Google meet, I was faced with the challenge of 100 space limit … a colleague from AISPI (African Institute for Science Policy and Innovation) sent notice for a workshop on methods by which google meet could be used without limit to the number of participants’ ( P18 ). Some also learnt from more experienced colleagues: ‘Colleagues in my Department who are familiar with online methods also assisted me’ (P16).

Theme 2: teachers’ motivation and attitudes

This theme reflects educators’ comments that capture their motivation to continue meeting students’ educational needs. Some educators commented that it was their duty as teachers and ‘it was just a necessity’ (P5 ) and that ‘the need to engage students for productivity was the driving force for the online teaching” (P4) so they ‘had to adapt’ (P12). For others, the online learning environment gave a feeling of safety and convenience. As noted, ‘ It was convenient and safe for both the teacher and the students (P15).’ Similarly, participant 3 said that he ‘ enjoyed the ease and comfort of being able to work remotely’. For some, it eliminated the time and expenses required for travelling, as noted by participant 7 ‘ It saves me the trouble of going to school whenever I have lectures. I teach in the comfort of my house”.

Theme 3: internet and connectivity

The availability of resources and internet facilities constituted a major factor to online teaching and learning including issues such as frequent power outage, poor internet service, and shortage of technical support. Educators who were able to access the campus took advantage of the internet services available there. As suggested by one participant: ’The internet facility provided by the university was very strong and stable without extra cost. This enabled me to conduct classes smoothly‘ (P14). However, the same participant also observed that power outage sometimes made the internet unstable. Frequent power outage and incessant disruptions in internet connection was a major challenge. For example, ‘ Sometimes you may be set for a lecture and light will go off which will also affect the internet connectivity’ (P6). Participant 9 provided more detail and said that ’Frequent power outages interfered with internet services. Lecture periods were interrupted and sometimes unnecessarily prolonged, thereby making the students lose concentration. Classes that were badly interrupted had to be rescheduled‘. Participant 4 described: ’During one of the sessions, I was with the students on zoom and sharing some slides, there was power outage, … I tried to connect with my phone, but the service was poor, and I could no longer communicate effectively with the students. The class had to be cancelled.’ The teaching process and time were severely impacted due to loss of connectivity limiting the teaching process. Participant 7 noted that ‘There were challenges of network failure during lectures. One day, I had a lecture at 9am but I could not link up until 9.30am’. Another participant said that ‘Internet facility was cut off during a lecture due to power outage, thereby disrupting the lecture. I had to restart lecture several times, although I managed to finish up’ (P14).

This was aggravated by perceptions that they had to work things out for themselves as noted by one participant: ‘… did not provide adequate technical support to both teachers and students to make learning easy’ (P18).’. This issue is reflected in comments made by others. For example, participant 2 highlighted ‘hardship and discouragement as a result of internet fluctuations from network provider’. Participant 12 described a similar incident where ‘There was this time I was having an online class and I ran out of data. The class had to end abruptly. There are times students will complain of not having network to connect to the class or not being able to charge their devices due to power outage.’ Thus, educators were restricted to the use of high immediacy and low bandwidth applications such as whatsApp and telegram, which are restrictive and not specifically designed for educational purposes. As noted by participant 12, ‘ We attempted to use google classroom but there were always internet fluctuations. We had to shelve the idea and settle for WhatsApp platform’.

Theme 4: learners’ behaviors

This theme is defined by situations in which the behaviors of learners impacted the teaching and learning experiences. Positive behaviors encouraged and motivated teachers to put more effort into their online teaching, whereby negative behaviors had the opposite effect. This reinforces the reciprocal nature of the learning experience. For example, non-attendance and lack of proper comportment created a sense of frustration and discouragement for the educator. For example, participant 1 noted: ‘Students either joined the class late or left without notice. Low turnout was very discouraging’. Another participant noted that he ‘started a class with full attendance and then students started to leave. This got me demotivated and frustrated. I later took time to express my feelings to them and their attitude changed’ (P13).

On occasions, negative behaviors during online sessions resulted in termination of classes. ‘On a particular day, students were just so uncontrollable that I had to exit the class. There was so much noise making and this obstructed the smooth flow of the class for the day. Generally, there were too many interruptions from the students, noise making, intermittent disturbances and they could not be controlled, probably because they lacked experience (P5)’. Participant 8 made a similar comment ‘Some students made rude remarks on the chat page. I was discouraged and had to suspend the class. The class representative later apologized on behalf of the class’.

When teachers felt that their teaching ‘ worked well’ (P12) , and when they received positive feedback from learners, they became more motivated to teach. Comments such as ‘students showed preference for online teaching‘ (P7) , and ’Students responded promptly to questions and submitted assignments on time‘ (P11). For some, motivation came from students’ requests and desire to be engaged online as they were getting fed up with staying idle. As noted by participant 8, ‘ Students requested for it based on their inability to convey in their physical classrooms’. For others, receiving positive feedback from students was a motivating factor, which encouraged them to put more efforts into preparing for the classes. As noted by participant 13, ‘s tudents informed me that they were benefitting a lot from the online classes as it inspired them to learn more on their own. This made me decide to put in more efforts’.

Theme 5: socio-economic constraints

This theme reflects comments made by educators related to theirs as well as learners’ financial constraints and lack of access to data and technology. Many educators received complaints from learners that they could not afford to participate in zoom lectures or access uploaded videos because of the large volume of data required. Some educators also complained about out-of-pocket spending to purchase data or repair their faulty devices. As pointed out by participant 2, ‘ There was a lot of out-of-pocket spending as I tried to find an alternative source of internet service’ and ‘many could not afford using their personal mobile data for zoom or Google meet and many educators merely dumped materials on google classroom for students to read (P18). Having to look for alternative internet services impacted the teaching and learning experience. ‘ Some students are unable to buy data. This reduced number of participants in class. Many students and teachers could not afford to use their personal data for zoom or google meet teachings’ (P15). The impact on teaching was also noted by participant 3 who said that he ‘missed one or two classes because my device misbehaved. It was not a palatable experience. I had to apologize to the students. Lecturers and especially students who do not have electronic devices due to economic factor cannot participate in online class’.

The aim of the study was to examine educators’ experiences of teaching online during- and post-pandemic to inform future institutional directions regarding the teaching of pre-clinical subjects. Findings revealed that educationalists who teach pre-clinical subjects would like for didactic based content to be available online, but for practical classes to be conducted in-person. Educators highlighted that both them and students benefit from the flexibility and convenience of online learning and that greater clarity of the institutional strategy regarding online teaching would be beneficial [ 17 ]. To this end, findings suggest that OAU would benefit from reflecting on lessons learned with particular focus on skills and training of teachers; teachers’ motivation and attitudes; internet and connectivity, learners’ behaviors, and socio-economic constraints.

Findings provide further evidence indicating that if internet services are inadequate and the technology available for teachers and learners is limited, they are unable to use advanced education-oriented platforms [ 18 , 19 ]. When teaching is described as unpleasant by the teacher, it carries with it inevitable consequences as learners can become unruly and disorganized when they are not satisfied with the conditions of learning [ 18 ]. Poor attitudes of learners have been identified as a challenge to online teaching in this study and was likely to have demotivated the teacher and reduced teaching effectiveness, as was evidenced in previous researches [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. This implies that addressing the technological challenges is imperative and must be considered within the socio-economic constraints that are unique to resource constrained institutions. The introduction of a Learning Management System is an important first step and learning from the experiences of other LMICs, sharing resources with other institutions for example, can go some way towards overcoming financial constraints [ 22 ].

Findings add to an increasing body of literature evidencing that online teaching poses a challenge to teachers primarily trained to teach face-to-face. More specifically, educators with prior experience and knowledge of ICT found it easier to migrate to online teaching during the pandemic [ 19 ]. This highlights teachers’ need to upskill and adapt to new pedagogical concepts and modes of teaching delivery [ 20 ]. Increasing feelings of confidence and motivation amongst teachers will likely have a positive impact on students’ online learning experience and students will be more likely to embrace this mode of learning [ 19 , 23 ]. A review conducted by Pettersson highlighted that ‘students need competent and confident teachers to make use of rich digital learning environments’ [ 24 ]. Studies have shown that training and perception of proficiency helps educators to develop confidence to engage learners and this impacts on performance, satisfaction and outcome [ 23 ]. However, in comparison to institutions based in High-Income countries, higher education institutions such as OAU are likely to have less resources and funds available for training and development of their teaching staff [ 5 ]. In addition, the unstable and inconsistent access to the internet suggests that synchronous based teaching activities may be a disadvantage to learners. Indeed, remote teaching and learning in resource- constrained countries is primarily supplemental to provide content offline so it can be accessed at a time and place convenient to learners [ 25 , 26 ]. With this in mind, it is important that training and development of teachers takes such constraints into consideration and provides teachers with the tools and skills that enable them to operate successfully in a blended learning teaching environment suitable for their context. Cost- effectiveness should be a guiding principle, for example, focusing on digital teaching methods that do not require a substantial amount of data to download, with a focus on asynchronous activities [ 25 ].

It is important to note that although the study provided useful insights for the institution and contributes to the emerging body of literature on lessons learned from teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is not without limitations. To begin with, the study was context specific and only considered the experiences of teachers of pre-clinical subjects. Further research may be conducted to ascertain whether the findings are applicable to other academic subjects. The relatively small sample size and the imbalance of male to female ratio are also a potential limitation. However, the sample did include a good representation from the different pre-clinical subjects taught at this specific setting and most educators of pre-clinical subjects in this institution are male. Worthy of note is also the potential limitation of the CIT methodology that relies heavily on people’s memory of incidents [ 14 ] and the potential risk to credibility of data in qualitative research [ 27 ]. It can be argued however that qualitative researchers ‘are an integral part of the process and final product, and separation from this is neither possible nor desirable’ [ 28 ].

The overarching purpose of the present study was to examine educators’ experiences of teaching online during and post-pandemic to inform the development of a blended learning approach for teaching pre-clinical subjects. Findings provide further evidence that the pandemic opened opportunities for innovations and that the successful implementation of a blended strategy requires careful consideration of financial, institutional support, technological and individual factors [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. Institutional commitment and clarity of an educational strategy is at the heart of such change and the use of a Learning Management System is required to host teaching and learning activities. In addition, faculty and students should be equipped with the necessary skills and provided with the resources they need to operate in this environment is imperative. Further evaluation may be conducted as a follow-up to examine whether the blended learning strategy achieved its objectives and whether the recommendations made were implemented successfully.

Data availability

All data are stored at Cardiff University in compliance with the University Research Records Retention Regulations and can be made available upon request to the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of Obafemi Awolowo University, especially the co-operation of the Departments of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical Biochemistry and Physiological Sciences.

This work was a research project conducted by BE’s for her Masters in Medical Education at Cardiff University, which was sponsored by the Federal Government of Nigeria under the 2013 Needs Assessment Academic staff training and development programme.

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BE contributed to the conceptualization of the research, data collection and analysis, and the writing of the manuscript. MT contributed to the conceptualization of the paper, to data interpretation and analysis, and to the writing of the manuscript. RA and OA collected and analyzed the data and contributed to manuscript writing.

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Emma-Okon, B., Tombs, M., Akomolafe, R. et al. Teaching pre-clinical medical students remotely in Nigeria post Covid-19 pandemic: can past experiences shape future directions?. BMC Med Educ 24 , 515 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05508-w

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Ohio State grad taking public health research gap year

Public health major graduated in may and plans to apply to medical school.

Shivani Patel has been interested in public health and health care for years, long before she enrolled at The Ohio State University.

“In high school, I had done a lot of advocacy work related to vaccines and vaccine hesitancy,” she said.

Earlier this month, Patel was one of more than 12,000 students who graduated from Ohio State. She leaves with a bachelor’s degree in public health. She won’t be going far, though.

Patel plans to apply to medical school, but not before she takes a gap year as a clinical research assistant in otolaryngology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

“I’ve had to practice the name a few times,” Patel admitted. “When I’d go for training, I’d sit in my car and say it to myself.”

“I wanted a gap year for the clinical research component,” she said. “I had participated in research throughout undergrad so I know I like it. I had a couple of different experiences, so I know which components of research I like: I like interacting with patients. I like participating in research that will improve people’s health.”

Before she begins her research position, though, Patel is spending her summer as an intern for the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board’s Tribal Health Experiential Student Internship Seminar, which is funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“I’m really excited about it,” she said. “It’s my dream to work for the CDC in some capacity.”

The eight-week program provides students and recent graduates with public health mentors who guide them through coursework and research, both of which focus on Native American health. At the end of the seminar, students present their research at the CDC Showcase in Atlanta.

“As an Ohio State student, my public health education really prepared me,” she said. “I’ve also had a lot of opportunities to grow as a person. I was a resident adviser; I’ve worked in the Office of Student Life since I was a sophomore. I feel like all those extra components, that may not seem like they’re related to my degree, they really helped me, too.”

Those opportunities are what Patel suggests incoming Buckeyes pursue, even if they are unsure.

“Try everything you feel OK about trying, even if you’re not in love with it,” she said. “See what sticks and what doesn’t. I didn’t pigeonhole myself into one activity. I did a lot of random things, but it all came together in the end. Try everything.”

Through trying different activities, Patel developed friendships across campus. She’ll miss those the most, she said.

Another thing she’ll miss about Ohio State? The school spirit. When Patel was younger, she knew she wanted to study at Ohio State because of how passionate the community is, she said.

“I was a big school spirit person in high school,” she said. “That’s why Ohio State appealed to me so much, that focus on students and school pride and excitement. That whole vibe was something I was really attracted to. I just wanted to go to Ohio State.”

May 6-10 is In-Demand Jobs Week , an annual statewide celebration of the jobs, industries and skills that are in demand in Ohio. Ohio State News highlights students as they transition from graduation into the workforce.

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From COVID-19 isolation to nationwide campus protests: Student journalists reflect on past 4 years

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Jane Clayson
Ashley Locke

Alana Hackman, a senior at Cal Poly Humboldt, and Irie Sentner, a senior at Columbia University. (Courtesy)

The last four years have been unlike any other period in modern American history, especially for graduating college seniors.

In 2020, students ended their high school careers isolated from loved ones because of the pandemic. Then, they started their freshman year of college with remote learning. Now, they’re getting ready to graduate as protests against the war in Gaza roil college campuses.

Irie Sentner from Durango, Colorado, is a graduating senior at Columbia University in New York City. Alana Hackman from Sacramento is finishing up at Cal Poly Humboldt in rural Northern California. The two student journalists — both first-generation college students — share their experiences.

7 questions with 2024 college graduates

What was your high school graduation like?

Irie Sentner : “I graduated in my car in the parking lot. I worked really hard in high school and so part of me was a little bit disappointed that I didn't get to have the full graduation experience, but I think the administrators there really did everything they could to make it special still.”

Alana Hackman : “I was in my best friend's car. We all had gotten off of our part-time jobs. We drove through with our textbooks [and] handed them to one of our administrators. They handed us our diplomas, and we just drove away. And then a few weeks later, they had a live stream photo collage slideshow on YouTube for us to watch. And I just watched it in separate rooms from my family and friends.”

Paint a picture of starting college in 2020.

Sentner : “I was in New York City where everything was extremely locked down. I remember even the dining halls weren't open and so there was an app that we had on our phones where we would choose what meal we wanted for the day and then it would be delivered to our lounge on whatever dorm room floor we were. And then we would walk with a mask from our room to the lounge to even eat.

“It was very strange being on this campus that I dreamed about being on for so long with only about 500 other people who had housing and being completely online for all of my courses.”

Hackman : “I was in a double dorm by myself. Similar situation, all of our meals were to go. And it's already quite a rural town, so only having about 300 to 500 students living on campus that left halfway through the year, it was definitely eerie sometimes.”

What has it been like for you as a journalist and as a student to see the pro-Palestinian protests unfold on your own campus during this pivotal time?

Sentner : “It's been bizarre. As a student journalist with Columbia's paper, the Columbia Daily Spectator, we've been following this since Oct. 7. So when people ask me if it's been surprising to see the escalation, my answer is always no. Because if you look back on what was happening in the administrative response, I don't think that this escalation is surprising whatsoever.

“What has been surprising is seeing the response on other campuses across the globe. I think it was really absolutely not what I thought I would be spending the last few weeks of my college recovering. But it's been insane.”

Irie, you were covering the protests from inside Columbia. You were there when the NYPD moved in after students occupied Hamilton Hall.

Sentner : “I was there reporting for Politico, which was my school internship. I thought it was just going to be a part-time thing, but it has skyrocketed to more than a full-time job in the past couple of weeks.”

Alana, you're across the country at Cal Poly Humboldt, a much smaller school, and you were getting ready to hand over the reins of your student newspaper “The Lumberjack” to a new staff when protests also took off on your campus.

Hackman : “This is something that you never expect to cover as a student journalist, and I know just like always being prepared is something that your journalism professors tell you, but just the fact that we were basically coming together and like duct taping bike helmets with ‘press’ on it so we knew our reporters would somewhat be safe is something I'll really remember in these times.

“Witnessing the amount of police that they were able to bring to the school is crazy. And sending them in on our field trip buses is just so shocking and something that I think will stick with me forever because it's just like mad. It's crazy. I can't believe that our school put that much effort and time into it when we have so many other things that we need addressing like housing and food and homeless student populations.”

As part of the fallout from the protests, both Columbia and Cal Poly Humboldt have decided to scale back their main commencement and have a few smaller ceremonies. Take your journalist hats off for a moment and tell us your reaction. What's the emotion right now?

Sentner : “I am the first person in my family to graduate from college. My parents, my grandparents, they're all coming in and they were really excited to see that moment. They still get to see me walk across the stage. It's going to be, In an athletic stadium and not on campus, like it has been. They're not going to get a full commencement, which I know is disappointing to them and a little bit disappointing to me as well.

“But at the end of the day, I think that administrators and protesters and everyone involved is really trying to do what they believe is best for the world and best for the students and their stakeholders. And so I can't be too bothered by it.”

Hackman : “I'm a little sad. I also am a first-generation student. And there's various different locations that they're gonna have people graduating at but I'm at Blue Lake Casino and that already I know is kind of an issue because that was the casino and the hotel that housed all of the riot police.

“So it's kind of dystopian in a way and it just feels a little strange. I mean, I'm excited. I have wonderful friends and people that I can still look forward to and make the best out of the situation, but it just feels kind of morally strange and weird to do so.”

What’s next for you?

Sentner : “I just signed the lease on my first apartment ever. I'm moving to Washington, D. C. to report for Politico full-time. I'm living with my best friend, who I met at the Columbia Daily Spectator, who's reporting at USA Today. And we're just gonna be two young journalists reporting in the nation's capital and it's a dream come true.”

Hackman : “I do have a few more classes left to finish for my degree over the summer, but hopefully get some freelance experience for the local publications here for a bit and then find my way out of Humboldt. It was wonderful, but I'm ready to flee the nest and go somewhere a bit more populated. I'm excited for what the future holds.”

This interview was edited for clarity.

Ashley Locke produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Michael Scotto. Allison Hagan adapted it for the web.

This segment aired on May 10, 2024.

Jane Clayson Guest Host, Here & Now Jane Clayson is Here & Now's guest host.

Ashley Locke Senior Producer, Here & Now Ashley Locke is a senior producer for Here & Now. She was formerly with Southern California Public Radio, where she started as a news intern, before moving to the Boston suburbs in 2016.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound and sudden impact on many areas of life; work, leisure time and family alike. These changes have also affected educational processes in formal and informal learning environments. Public institutions such as childcare settings, schools, universities and further education providers ceased onsite teaching and moved to distance learning - or closed down ...
COVID-19 impact on research, lessons learned from COVID-19 research
The impact on research in progress prior to COVID-19 was rapid, dramatic, and no doubt will be long term. The pandemic curtailed most academic, industry, and government basic science and clinical ...
Looking back to move forward: comparison of instructors' and ...
This study delves into the retrospections of undergraduate students concerning their online learning experiences after the COVID-19 pandemic, using the nine key influencing factors: behavioral ...
9 Big Questions Education Leaders Should Ask to Address Covid-19
3. Summer: Covid-19 is no doubt going to be a summer slide multiplier. While there are plenty of programs that work to close opportunity gaps by leveraging summer and other out-of-school time, we have to also explore in-house interventions. We might even want to make summer school a permanent feature of schooling.
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Quality of Educational
Abstract. The paper presents the results of a students' survey carried out at "Vasile Alecsandri" University of Bacau, Romania, on the quality of educational process on online platforms in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was addressed to students from the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports.
Questions About COVID-19 and Your Research
Research study personnel should let participants decide if they would like to wear a mask if the study procedures allow it. Researchers may wish to inform their study population of the current COVID-19 status on campus, or in the study location if elsewhere, including level of community transmission of COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination coverage ...
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Based on this analysis, higher education institutions should be prepared for future pandemics like COVID-19 and strive to create a safer and more convenient learning environment for students, particularly by encouraging more students to live in the student hostel and providing training for faculty members to help ease students' stress during ...
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In these times of rapid change, with high levels of uncertainty, anxiety, social isolation, and financial pressure, mental health worldwide is likely to be at risk. Researchers are rightly ensuring that mental health research is included in the response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.1 Here, we reflect on ethical issues to consider when conducting research on self-harm ...
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Whether you visit a university virtually or in-person, attending an open day can sometimes be quite overwhelming. With so much to take in, from course content, to accommodation, to societies, it's easy to forget the questions you planned to ask, such as how COVID-19 might impact your university experience. We've come up with 15 COVID ...
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We're now three academic years beyond the pandemic. A lot of families think things are back to normal. Thomas Kane disagrees. "A lot of parents misperceive how much students have lost," said the faculty director for the Center for Education Policy Research.. "That has been one of the biggest things hampering the recovery, parents thinking things are fine now that kids are back in ...
Teaching pre-clinical medical students remotely in Nigeria post Covid
Purpose Online teaching has gained popularity in recent years, but changes have been slower to implement in Lower or Medium Income Countries (LMIC). The aim of this research was to build upon educators' experiences of remote teaching during Covid-19 to inform the development of a blended learning approach for teaching pre-clinical subjects at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at Obafemi ...
Students academic and social concerns during COVID-19 pandemic
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Higher Education Institutions (HEI) replaced regular face-to-face teaching with online teaching and learning. However, the shift caused several academic and social concerns for students, such as lack of academic support, lack of adequate resources to support online teaching, lack of socialization, stress, anxiety, and lack of motivation in attending classes.
Ohio State grad taking public health research gap year
At the end of the seminar, students present their research at the CDC Showcase in Atlanta. "As an Ohio State student, my public health education really prepared me," she said. "I've also had a lot of opportunities to grow as a person. I was a resident adviser; I've worked in the Office of Student Life since I was a sophomore.
From COVID-19 isolation to nationwide campus protests: Student ...
As a student journalist with Columbia's paper, the Columbia Daily Spectator, we've been following this since Oct. 7. So when people ask me if it's been surprising to see the escalation, my answer ...
Students' experience of online learning during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A
Research questions. By building upon the aforementioned relevant works, this study aimed to contribute to the online learning literature with a comprehensive understanding of the online learning experience that K‐12 students had during the COVID‐19 pandemic period in China.
2024 AP Exam Dates
AP Seminar end-of-course exams are only available to students taking AP Seminar at a school participating in the AP Capstone Diploma Program. April 30, 2024 (11:59 p.m. ET) is the deadline for: AP Seminar and AP Research students to submit performance tasks as final and their presentations to be scored by their AP Seminar or AP Research teachers.
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Police remain on Columbia University's campus, even after clearing out student protesters and their encampment. But questions remain about how the university and the students move forward. Tina ...
Effects of COVID-19 on College Students' Mental Health in the United
The effect of COVID-19 on class workload among the college students was not conclusive. Although slightly over half of participants (106/195, 54%) indicated their academic workload has increased due to COVID-19, the rest stated the workload has remained the same (70/195, 36%) or rather decreased (19/195, 10%).

11 Questions to Ask About COVID-19 Research

1. Did the study appear in a peer-reviewed journal?

2. Who conducted the study, and where did it appear?

3. Who was studied, and where?

4. How big was the sample?

5. Did the researchers control for key differences, and do those differences apply to you?

The Science of Happiness

6. Was there a control group?

7. Did the researchers establish causality, correlation, dependence, or some other kind of relationship?

8. Are journalists and politicians, or even scientists, overstating the result?

9. Is there any conflict of interest suggested by the funding or the researchers’ affiliations?

10. Do the authors reference preceding findings and original sources?

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11. Do researchers, journalists, and politicians acknowledge limitations and entertain alternative explanations?

About the Authors

Jeremy Adam Smith

Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas

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Collaboration, Networking, and Professional Societies

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The impact of COVID-19 on student achievement and what it may mean for educators

Center for School and Student Progress

Learning during COVID-19: An update on student achievement and growth at the start of the 2021-22 school year

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Learning in times of COVID-19: Students’, Families’, and Educators’ Perspectives

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Looking back to move forward: comparison of instructors’ and undergraduates’ retrospection on the effectiveness of online learning using the nine-outcome influencing factors

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Exploring the influence of teachers’ motivating styles on college students’ agentic engagement in online learning: The mediating and suppressing effects of self-regulated learning ability

Nudge or not, university teachers have mixed feelings about online teaching

A longitudinal Q-study to assess changes in students’ perceptions at the time of pandemic

Literature review

Determinants of online learning outcomes

Students’ perceptions of online learning

Teachers’ perceptions of online learning

Theoretical framework

Sample and sampling

Data collection

Data analysis

Behavioral intention towards online learning post-pandemic

Challenges and opportunities in online instruction post-pandemic

Factors influencing student engagement in online learning

Challenges in teacher-student interaction in online learning

Determinants of self-efficacy in online learning

Influences on student performance in online learning

Student satisfaction and teaching effectiveness in online learning

The role of self-regulation in online learning success

Discussions

Conclusion and future research

Data availability

Acknowledgements

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