Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, Vol 10(2), Jun 2024, 163-178; doi:10.1037/stl0000264
This study examined how undergraduate students (N = 153, Mage = 19.3 years, 58.8% female) in an Introductory Psychology course experienced the transition to fully online instruction during the COVID-19 outbreak in New York City during spring 2020. We examined predictors of online submission of assignments throughout the semester and students’ attitudes toward online learning at the end of the semester. Students tended to report the transition to remote instruction as disruptive to their learning. Students with more positive attitudes toward unmitigated in-class use of personal technologies at the start of the semester reported higher rates of digital multitasking while working from home and more negative attitudes about the course transition. Underrepresented minority (URM) students held more negative attitudes about the transition, while gender and URM status were associated with variation in students’ submission of online assignments at specific times. Responses to an end-of-semester question about challenges faced while learning online suggested that students experienced multiple challenges, especially staying motivated and focused and maintaining adequate access to the internet and internet-enabled devices. Students’ self-efficacy for learning online predicted numbers of assignments submitted. Students in a larger section submitted fewer assignments and had lower exam grades than those in a smaller section. Few other factors explained variation in assignment submissions or exam grades. The findings elucidate differences in how students experienced the abrupt transition to remote instruction, thus informing efforts toward more equitable access to education in the midst of an ongoing crisis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)