The Impact of Disadvantage on Higher Education Engagement during Different Delivery Modes: A Pre- versus Peri-Pandemic Comparison of Learning Analytics Data

The pandemic forced many education providers to pivot rapidly their models of education to increased online provision, raising concerns that this may accentuate effects of digital poverty on education. Digital footprints created by learning analytics systems contain a wealth of information about student engagement. Combining these data with student demographics can provide significant insights into the behaviours of different groups. Here we present a comparison of students' data from disadvantaged versus non-disadvantaged backgrounds on four different engagement measures. Our results showed some indications of effects of disadvantage on student engagement in a UK university, but with differential effects for asynchronously versus synchronously delivered digital material. Pre-pandemic, students from disadvantaged backgrounds attended more live teaching, watched more pre-recorded lectures, and checked out more library books than students from non-disadvantaged backgrounds. Peri-pandemic, where teaching was almost entirely online, these differences either disappeared (attendance and library book checkouts), or even reversed such that disadvantaged students viewed significantly fewer pre-recorded lectures. These findings have important implications for future research on student engagement and for institutions wishing to provide equitable opportunities to their students, both peri- and post-pandemic.

Good adaptability of freshmen in medical universities under the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic: a questionnaire-based single center study in China.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the adaptability of freshmen in medical universities to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to understand the relevant factors affecting their adaptation in medical university. METHODS: Freshmen in a medical university in Guangdong Province were selected and surveyed using a self-administered general questionnaire and a college student adjustment scale prepared by Fang Xiaoyi et al. The results were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: A total of 741 questionnaires were collected and 736 valid questionnaires were recovered. The adaptation level of freshmen in the medical university was moderately high. There were no differences in gender, age, family geographical location, or higher education level, but there were significant differences in major, type of household, only children (yes/no), and voluntary enrollment in medicine (yes/no). The survey showed that 30.3% of the students had discomfort at the beginning of the semester, 92.5% chose medical university voluntarily, and 83.4% expressed their enhanced motivation to study medicine after the COVID-19 outbreak, but 65.1% exhibited influence in study and life caused by COVID-19, which were statistically significant factors affecting the adaptation score. CONCLUSIONS: Freshmen in the medical university are generally well-adjusted with many influencing factors. Medical schools should strengthen adaptability management in order to timely identify the adaptation challenges of the students.

Sleep quality as a mediator of the relationship between screen time and negative emotions among Chinese college freshmen.

College freshmen are special populations facing great challenges in adapting to the brand new environment, and their lifestyle and emotional states are worthy of attention. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, their screen time and prevalence of negative emotions were significantly increased, but few studies have focused on such situation of college freshmen and illustrated relevant mechanisms. Thus, based on a sample of Chinese college freshmen during the COVID-19 pandemic, the current study aimed to investigate the association between their screen time and negative emotions (depression, anxiety and stress), and further explore the mediating effects of sleep quality. Data from 2,014 college freshmen was analyzed. The screen time was self-reported by participants using predesigned questionnaires. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Chinese Version of Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) were used to assess sleep quality and emotional states, respectively. The mediation analysis was conducted to examine the meditation effect. Results indicated that participants with negative emotions tended to have longer daily screen time and worse sleep quality, sleep quality partially mediated the association between screen time and negative emotions.The critical role of sleep quality and related intervention measures should be recognized and implemented.

University Exams at the Time of COVID-19 the Reactions of Students between Emotionality and Cognition

This research aims to explore the reactions of students in the face of the pandemic emergency in progress, also in relation to the need and novelty of distance learning, a form in which there is no physical coexistence, in the classroom of teachers and students, and which mainly uses online tools. We asked ourselves the following questions: What is the emotional impact in facing the exam tests? What awareness do students have of the role that emotions play so much in learning and testing processes in exams? The information that we have obtained is useful in the reformulation of our didactic proposal for its consolidation in a metacognitive sense. This is the result that we expect from the research as well as that of offering a contribution to the international debate regarding the changes that the onset of COVID will bring in the ways of addressing the verification of learning in the university environment. The perspective is constructivist-cognitivist, but does not forget the hermeneutic epistemic framework that has always accompanied our studies. The methodological approach is, therefore, quantitative because it is based on the administration of a questionnaire and on the comparative analysis of the data that emerged, but it can also be defined as qualitative due to the relevance that the analysis of their qualities assumes, or rather of the relationships that exist between the data itself as between the latter and the context.

What Happened When COVID-19 Shut Down In-Person Higher Education? Parents Speak Out

This study was designed to understand the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the family's role in their students' college experiences. Specifically, the authors examined parents' attitudes towards institutions' COVID-19 decision-making, parents' perceptions of communication quality between families and institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the short-term impact of the pandemic on students' education and personal well-being in addition to family well-being.

The Effects of the Technology-Integrated Writing Lessons: CIPP Model of Evaluation

This paper is about the evaluation of a technology integrated writing course at the English Language Teaching Faculty of a private non-profit foundation university in Turkey. The course has been evaluated by using CIPP Model (Stufflebeam, Daniel L., 2003). The evaluator of the programme has conducted a programme by using the 5E Model (BSCS, 1987) as an instructional design, evaluated the course and given suggestions for the future plans and studies. The study displayed a positive effect on students' writing skills especially on female students' work. In the reflection they made on their own learning process, they mentioned that the 'Write & Improve' tool was beneficial and the comprehensive knowledge of using some other web tools helped them to adapt themselves into new situations in the transition to online education during Corona virus (COVID-19) Pandemic. However, some students stated that they missed face-to-face lessons and got bored of online lessons.

Effect of Online Quizzes on Music Theory Achievement of Freshman Music Teaching Students

This research examined the effects of online quizzes on the music theory achievement of freshman music teaching students. For this purpose, the students who took the Western Music Theory and Practice I course were determined as the study group and experimental research was conducted. A pre-assessment test was given to determine students' knowledge level about music theory and the median value of the test was determined as the cut-off point. The cut-off point was established as the experimental group, while the cut-off point was established as the control group. In the semester, four online quizzes were given to the experimental group apart from the midterm and final exams. Finally, a final test was applied to whether there was a significant difference between the groups. Consequently, there was no significant difference between the two groups. However, it was seen that the experimental group scores are slightly higher than the control group scores, thus the experimental group achieved the success of the control group. When it was compared to the pre-assessment test scores, it shows that the students in the experimental group achieved a remarkable positive difference in the process. The discussion includes recommendations about the use of online quizzes.

The Development and Use of Online Information Literacy Activities to Engage First Year Health Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The article discusses the development of online tutorials to support the Academic Librarians' information literacy instruction during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. The content and development of the activities are presented in relation to information literacy (IL) standards. At the University of Northampton, the first-year students each receive two IL sessions from an Academic Librarian that support their information skills development. The first session focuses on identifying an information need and how to search for relevant information. The second session supports students to understand the referencing process and how to use information ethically. The IL sessions are based on the principles of Active Blended Learning and focus on providing interactive and engaging workshops for students. The activities were designed to support the students on health programmes who began their studies in April 2020 and the students who were receiving their final IL session. The reflections on the IL sessions highlight lessons learnt during the online delivery.

Centering the Marginalized: The Impact of the Pandemic on Online Student Retention

During the pandemic, much of the focus of administrators and scholars has been on its impact on residential students and the sudden shift to online instruction. While justified, researchers have yet to focus on online students--who often represent marginalized communities in higher education--to ask whether they were impacted by factors related to the pandemic other than the modality shift. In this study, we examined how the first-year retention of online students was affected during the pandemic, and whether it differed from first-year residential students who transitioned online. We examined records of two student cohorts (Fall 2017 and Fall 2019) from a university to determine each cohort's retention rate by modality. Holding other relevant factors constant, we found the COVID cohort of students were less likely to persist to the following Fall regardless of modality, although residential students were still much more likely to be retained overall. However, Black and Hispanic students were less likely to be retained across both modalities, and even Black residential students were more vulnerable to not returning than their White counterparts, suggesting that racial inequalities persist across learning modalities. We conclude by suggesting how one retention tool--financial aid--could be used to address the particular needs of online students to improve their retention.

Characteristics of the school adaptation of college freshmen during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Few studies have actually explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in college students, although many studies have suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic poses a great threat to people's mental health in many cohorts. Furthermore, college students may be a particularly vulnerable cohort that needs more attention and access to psychological services due to the psychological changes involved in the transition to college and the characteristics of college students' study habits and lifestyle. Therefore, investigating the basic characteristics of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on college freshmen is of great practical importance and has theoretical implications for the identification and provisioning of services to vulnerable cohorts. A total of 5,818 college freshmen completed the College Student Adaptability Inventory. The results suggest that the mean detection rate of the seven dimensions of undergraduate maladjustment to university is 27.13%. Specifically, livelihood self-management adaptability has the highest detection rate (48.93%), while environmental general evaluation has the lowest detection rate (9.81%). Moreover, the school adaptation of college freshmen is impacted by gender, number of siblings, and family socioeconomic status (SES). Specifically, students who are female, an only child, and have a lower SES have lower levels of school adaptation. However, the school adaptation of college freshmen is not influenced by minority status or left-behind status. The findings of the present study suggest that the maladaptation of college freshmen has been a common phenomenon in China during the COVID-19 epidemic. Prevention programs may be most helpful if they pay more attention to effective intervention efforts for students who are female, an only child, and have a lower SES.

Association between multiple sleep dimensions and functional bowel disorders among Chinese college freshmen.

BACKGROUND: Although sleep disorder is thought as a risk factor for functional bowel disorders, its impact role in adolescents remains unknown and the contribution of different sleep dimensions may deserve further attention. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between multiple sleep dimensions and functional bowel disorders among Chinese college freshmen. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in college freshmen from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China in September 2019 with random cluster sampling method. All participants completed questionnaires about living habits, sleep and digestive symptoms. Diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome and functional constipation were based on the Rome IV criteria. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were applied to assess the association of sleep dimensions with irritable bowel syndrome or functional constipation. RESULTS: Based on the 3335 individuals who completed the questionnaire, the overall prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome and functional constipation in college freshmen were 2.5% and 1.7%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that compared with individuals reporting good sleep quality, those reporting poor (OR = 7.269, 95%CI: 2.876-18.370) were associated with increased risk of irritable bowel syndrome. Similarly, those reporting fair (OR = 2.068, 95%CI: 1.010-4.236) and poor (OR = 5.664, 95%CI: 1.864-17.205) were associated with increased risk of functional constipation. There was no statistically significant association between other sleep dimensions (sleep duration, sleep timing, or sleep latency) and irritable bowel syndrome or functional constipation. CONCLUSION: Self-reported poor sleep quality was a stronger independent predictor of functional bowel disorders than other sleep dimensions among Chinese college freshmen. Future intervention studies should consider the role of sleep quality for the prevention of FBDs in adolescents.

An Evidence-Based Study on Teaching Computer Aided Design in Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The pandemic has had a major effect on engineering education, transforming both current and future teaching practice. The physical meetings between student and teacher have during the pandemic been replaced by online contact and recordings of lectures and demonstrations. In this paper, the focus is on computer aided design (CAD) teaching for first-year engineering students. CAD is a topic usually characterized by a close contact by student and teacher, with hands-on instruction at the computer using the CAD software. In the paper, the experiences and learnings from the rapid shift to on-line teaching in CAD are summarized and discussed, and learnings and takeaways for a redesign of future CAD teaching are discussed. Both the students' learning and their mental wellbeing are evaluated. It is found that on a general level, the students were satisfied with the online teaching and rated it as better or equal to traditional teaching. However, there is still room for improvement, since some students found the situation stressful and pointed out the difficulty to ask questions online. The findings are based on a student survey, existing literature, and the authors own teaching practices during the pandemic.

Hopes and Fears of First-Year Freshman College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic made the experience of being a first-year freshman college student unique. This study aims to analyze the hopes and fears of these students concerning their current life and future goals. Participating students completed the Hopes & Fears questionnaire. Results showed that students' hopes and fears were mainly connected with domains of education and the global/collective dimension, followed by personal and family members' health. Two new categories emerged, self-fulfillment and solidarity, reflecting the importance of the contextual dimension that these students were navigating. The findings of the current study contribute to the research of college students' hopes and fears towards their future and accounts for the analyses of this topic as we progress to a post-pandemic phase.

Seen and Unseen: First-Year College Students' Sense of Belonging during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This qualitative research study examines the sense of belonging among first year students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the study focuses on how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced a sense of belonging among first year students as they transition to college. Focus group data collected at a small, liberal arts institution was analyzed using thematic analysis, and three main themes are explored: Navigating uncertainty, seeking in-person connection, and developing resilience. Findings and implications from this study illuminate a need to rethink approaches to students whose sense of belonging has been impacted by disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Molecular Orbital Theory--Teaching a Difficult Chemistry Topic Using a CSCL Approach in a First-Year University Course

Collaboration is regarded as one of the core competences of the 21st century when it comes to complex problem solving. In response to high dropout rates among STEM students, we developed a digital-collaborative intervention on a difficult topic, MO theory, for first-year chemistry students. First, students work independently in a Digital Learning Environment (DLE). Afterwards, they collaborate in small groups and create Concept Maps on MO theory. We evaluate this intervention through knowledge tests, tests of attractiveness, cognitive load, and usability during the DLE and concept mapping process, as well as audio and screen recordings during the collaborative group processes. This paper presents the detailed study design together with results from a first study in January 2021, focusing on the practicability of the intervention and students' feedback. Overall, each small group succeeded in creating a Concept Map. Students rated all phases of the intervention as attractive, with high usability and low cognitive load, although the interactive videos scored better for attractiveness and usability than the concept mapping process. On that basis, first adjustments for a second cycle of the intervention, which will be conducted in January 2022, were derived.