Remote learning experiences of girls, boys and non-binary students

Self-regulated learning (SRL) may determine adapting to online environments. This study is an evaluation of students' (N = 33 912) SRL and integration in remote learning in Finnish lower secondary schools when educational institutions all over the world were urgently closed and teaching was arranged in remote settings due to COVID-19. Neither the teachers nor the students had time to prepare themselves for the transition, resulting in variations in coping. To learn from experiences during the pandemic, we evaluated students' remote learning experiences by using a nationally representative survey. Results of SEM reveal that students’ better preparedness for SRL and positive experiences related to clear guidelines and encouraging feedback from teachers predict more time invested in studying. Surprisingly, regulation of peer learning during remote learning period had the strongest correlation with positive experiences, indicating the need for social interaction when schools were closed. Moreover, results show that girls and non-binary students were slightly more concerned about the amount and quality of support for learning during remote learning compared to boys. Overall, when teaching is implemented via technology, students should not be left to cope with the skills they have, but instead, strategies to regulate their learning should be taught consistently. Opportunities for peer learning need to be kept in mind as they can easily be forgotten when students study online. Technology that is easy to deploy by teachers and enabling gender sensitive peer learning should be developed. An instrument measuring SRL should be updated to study learning in technology-enhanced environments.

The Way of Distance Teaching Is Related to Adolescent Students' Health and Loneliness during the School Closure in Finland.

The COVID-19 pandemic enforced countries to close schools and rapidly transfer to distance teaching without preparation. Little is known about how different distance teaching practices influenced students' wellbeing. We studied this during the period of school closures in Finland. Wellbeing was measured by health complaints and perceived loneliness, and distance learning was measured in terms of structure and dialogue of teaching, functioning of internet and digital equipment, difficulty of given tasks, and support for studies. All lower secondary schools were invited, and 29,898 students from 340 schools (grades 7-9) participated. A digital survey was distributed through schools just when these were reopened in May 2020. The main results were that the distance learning practices were related to adolescent health complaints and loneliness, so that less structure and dialogue in teaching, more problems with digital devices and internet, more difficult tasks and less support for studies were associated with higher health complaints and loneliness. From the point of view of students' wellbeing, it matters how the distance learning is organised, how digital communication works, and if enough support for studies is available. These results of our research on distance learning practices during the present pandemic may guide schools in future crises and pandemic situations when distance learning is needed.