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. 2022 Mar 23;23(1):e00261-21.
doi: 10.1128/jmbe.00261-21. eCollection 2022 Apr.

Student Anxiety and Engagement with Online Instruction across Two Semesters of COVID-19 Disruptions

Eric Pennino  1 , Catherine Ishikawa  2 , Sayonita Ghosh Hajra  3 , Navneet Singh  4 , Kelly McDonald  1
Affiliations

Student Anxiety and Engagement with Online Instruction across Two Semesters of COVID-19 Disruptions

Eric Pennino et al. J Microbiol Biol Educ. .

Abstract

The sudden shift to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic left many instructors wondering how to minimize anxiety while keeping students engaged in their virtual courses. In this study, we explored (i) specific online instructional tasks that caused students to experience anxiety, (ii) factors that hindered student engagement with online instruction, and (iii) changes in student anxiety and engagement between spring 2020 and fall 2020. Students enrolled in STEM classes were surveyed at the end of spring 2020 (N = 425) and fall 2020 (N = 347) semesters. Our results show that the majority of student respondents had more anxiety in fall 2020 than in spring 2020 with online learning in general, and less anonymous class activities tended to cause the greatest anxiety. Distractions from the environment and personal technologies commonly prevented engagement in both semesters, but no significant differences were observed between the spring and fall. In contrast, more students reported that health-related stress, work-related stress, and issues with technology prevented participation in fall 2020 than in spring 2020. As institutions consider expanding their online course offerings post-pandemic, these data provide valuable insight into the challenges students experienced with online instruction that can inform future pedagogical choices.

Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; engagement; instructional practices; online learning.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIG 1
FIG 1
Self-reported comparison of anxiety levels between fall 2020 and spring 2020. Students responded to the question “How anxious were you about learning online this semester [fall 2020] compared to spring 2020?” The N/A category was included for new students, who were unable to compare their fall 2020 experience to their spring 2020 experience.
FIG 2
FIG 2
Fall 2020 and spring 2020 comparison of the amount of anxiety students felt from specific online tasks.
FIG 3
FIG 3
Additional anxiety items asked to students in fall 2020.
FIG 4
FIG 4
Fall 2020 and spring 2020 comparison of agreement that specific factors prevented students’ abilities to participate or perform in online courses.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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