Students' initial perspectives on online learning experience in China during the COVID-19 outbreak: expanding online education for future doctors on a national scale

Effects of insomnia on symptomatic dry eye during COVID-19 in China: An online survey

Sleep is an essential determinant of health and quality of life. This study aimed to evaluate sleep disorders and symptomatic dry eye (DE) occurrence. This study was a cross-sectional survey of 1393 participants in China. The insomnia severity index (ISI) Questionnaire was used to evaluate sleep quality, and the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaire was used to assess DE symptoms. Subjects were divided into 2 groups based on subjects with and without symptomatic DE. The patients who had DE (10.48 ± 7.27) had substantially lower ISI scores compared to those without DE (3.57 ± 5.10) (P = .003). Furthermore, each ISI item and total ISI score was significantly correlated with OSDI dry eye severity and total OSDI dry eye score. Higher prevalence of insomnia was found in participants with symptomatic DE, and insomnia correlated significantly with DE symptoms. The present results suggest that clinicians and healthcare workers need to remember that DE and insomnia are highly co-existing health issues.

Differences in perception of online anesthesiology between Thai medical students and teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic

PURPOSE

Traditional anesthesiology learning was disrupted by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and replaced by online learning. Students and teachers did not prepare well for this change. Determining the differences in perceptions can close the gap and develop more effective curricula. Our study aims to compare students' and teachers' perceptions of online anesthesiology learning.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective descriptive study, a cross-sectional survey between July 2020 and January 2021 in the Anesthesiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Thailand. Our participants were fifth-year medical students and teachers participating in online anesthesiology. We compared the perception of the teaching process, support system, learning outcomes, satisfaction, and preference. Using an online structured questionnaire survey with a 4-point Likert scale to measure the degree of agreement with each item. We analyzed the difference between students' and teachers' perceptions by topic.

RESULTS

We received responses from 174 students and 24 teachers. Students had a significantly higher proportion of positive perceptions than teachers on the teaching process (theoretical teaching, problem-based learning, feedback, and response system), on a support system (technological support, connectivity, and learning materials), on learning outcomes (clinical practice readiness, critical thinking, long-term memory, and enthusiasm), satisfaction score, and online learning preference (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Differences in perception were high in many aspects of online anesthesiology learning. This perception gap was particularly evident in the teaching process, support system, and learning outcomes. And Thai students had more preference for online learning than teachers. Strategies to reduce the gap should focus on teachers' training and supporting online learning should be concerned.

Hawler Medical University students' perceptions of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

Protective measures like social distancing and staying home when possible were imposed by the public health authorities to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Educational institutions which had previously experienced only face-to-face traditional methods of service delivery suffered from huge difficulties in maintaining an effective teaching process. This cross-sectional study investigates the experiences of students of Hawler Medical University (Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan), exploring their e-learning experience and satisfaction when conventional classroom learning was suspended due to lockdown.

METHODS

A self-administered online questionnaire designed on Google Forms was administered from 14 to 31 March 2020. The main section of the questionnaire asked participants to rate their agreement with statements concerning e-learning satisfaction using a five-point Likert scale, with answers ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

RESULTS

From an initial 1550 participants, 808 ultimately completed the processual stage. The majority of respondents were female, from the College of Medicine, of urban residence, and of an average economic situation. Three-quarters of the respondents had not participated in any online course before, 27.7% did not have the required electronic devices, 43.3% did not have the sufficient computer skills for the e-learning, and 38% thought that the University did not support the use of the e-learning system. During the processual stage, only 24.4% thought that the internet connection was good and helpful, 14.6% easily attended the online sessions, 35.6% thought that teachers have enough time to answer students' questions and concerns, and 18% that the teaching materials contributed to the course objectives and overall learning outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Hawler Medical students were not well prepared to engage in the e-learning process. The majority experienced internet access and other technical problems in accessing the online sessions. They did not feel that the e-learning process has contributed to the achievement of course objectives and overall learning outcomes.

The effect of students' online learning experience on their satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of preference

Introduction

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly all educational institutions globally had to eventually embrace the maneuver of transferring to nearly 100% online learning as a new routine for different curricula. Although many students in developing countries such as Kenya are only experiencing the exclusive online learning approach for the first time, research on students' experience and satisfaction with COVID-19-imposed online learning is largely lacking. Thus, this study examined the effect of online-learning experiences on satisfaction in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya. The mediating role of students' preference on the relationship between online-learning experience and satisfaction was also examined.

Methods

A web-based survey involving 501 respondents was analyzed using IBM® SPSS® and AMOS software platforms. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to analyze the relationships.

Results and Discussion

Results showed that 80% of participants indicated their preference for in-person learning as against 20% for online learning. Students' satisfaction-SS had a significant positive correlation with online classroom perceived quality-OCPQ, acquisition of self-confidence-ASC, teaching performance and engagement-TPE, and preference for online learning-POL but a negative correlation with internet access and cost-IAC. Moreover, while POL positively correlated with OCPQ, ASC, and TPE, it negatively correlated with IAC. Both the structural model for the main effect and the mediation model provided a good fit and confirmed these relationships. Student preference had a significant effect on satisfaction and played a significant mediating role in the relationship between online-learning experience and satisfaction. These findings shed light on the underlying factors that explain students' online learning satisfaction and provide guidelines for universities and policymakers to make better decisions that enhance students' online-learning experience and satisfaction.

Climate of Online e-Learning During COVID-19 Pandemic in a Saudi Medical School: Students' Perspective

INTRODUCTION

The circumstances of the COVID-19 lockdown offered an opportunity to develop remote educational strategies in medical education.

OBJECTIVES

To assess medical students' experiences with online e-learning (OeL) satisfaction, intellectual environment, and communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted at the College of Medicine, University of Bisha, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire (21 items) was used to evaluate OeL in three domains of satisfaction (nine items), intellectual environment (seven items), and communication (five items). Students from years one to six were invited to fill out the questionnaire form with five-point Likert scale responses. Descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and independent t-test were used to evaluate the association between variables.

RESULTS

Out of 237 participants, 96.6% (158 male and 71 female) responded to the questionnaire. Most students (86.5%) preferred the blackboard for their e-learning. The mean total scores were 30.18 ± 6.9 out of 45 for satisfaction, 19.67 ± 5.4 out of 25 for communication 25.43 ± 5.1 out of 35 for the intellectual environment. Over 50% of the students rated moderate scores on satisfaction and intellectual environment domains. About 85% of the students rated moderate scores in the communication domain. Male students rated higher significant scores than female students for satisfaction (31.3 ± 6.3 vs 27.6 ± 7; P < .001) and intellectual environment (26.3 ± 4.32 vs 3.5 ± 6.1; P < .001). There were no significant differences in students' responses to the tested domains related to GPA level. Significantly higher levels of scores for satisfaction (33.3 ± 5.6 vs 28.8 ± 6.9; P < .001) and communication (21.2 ± 4.5 vs 18.9 ± 5.7; P = .019) were obtained by clerkship students than pre-clerkship.

CONCLUSIONS

Medical students' experiences with e-learning are encouraging, which might be more effective with continuous training programs for students and tutors. Although OeL is an acceptable methodology, further studies are needed to analyze its impact on the target learning outcomes and students' academic achievement.

The mediating role of general academic emotions in burnout and procrastination among Chinese medical undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

Background

Academic procrastination has become more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic due to teaching/learning changes. This phenomenon induces academic burnout, which is already serious among medical students. However, the academic emotion, which is the factor most vulnerable to changes in the academic environment, is still unknown. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the mediating role of general academic emotions in procrastination and burnout among Chinese medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

This cross-sectional study enrolled 995 medical students from China Medical University. We applied the Chinese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey (MBI-SS), the Aitken Procrastination Inventory (API) and the General Academic Emotion Questionnaire for College Students (GAEQ) to evaluate the variables of interest. We examined the mediation effects of GAEs by hierarchical linear regression analysis.

Results

Correlation analyses showed a significant positive correlation between procrastination and burnout. Procrastination and burnout positively and negatively correlated with negative academic emotions, respectively. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that procrastination had positive associations with negative academic emotions, while it had negative associations with positive academic emotions. The contributions (as mediators) of GAEs to burnout and procrastination were 21.16% (NAEs), 29.75% (PAEs), 54.25% (NDEs) and 23.69% (PDEs).

Conclusions

The results indicate that academic emotions had mediating effects on procrastination and burnout. Medical students' worries about the uncertainty of the learning environment may have exacerbated academic burnout. Targeted improvements in the teaching environment to communicate encouragement and reduce anxiety and helplessness among medical undergraduates for implementing medical education while preventing and controlling the infection.

The association between medical student research engagement with learning outcomes

Medical student research engagement has been considered as a critical component of undergraduate medical education. However, evidence on the association between medical student research engagement with learning outcomes is lacking. The objectives of our study are: (1) to outline the landscape of medical student research engagement in China; (2) to explore the association between medical student research engagement and learning outcomes, and whether this association is different among students with different characteristics. A paper questionnaire was developed, piloted, and administered to medical students at 33 medical schools in China. Research engagement was measured by the times students engaged in research projects while learning outcomes referred to learning outcomes contained in the Standards for Basic Medical Education in China. Chi-square tests were used to measure statistical significance between research engagement and the characteristics of participants. We analysed relationships between research engagement and learning outcomes using multivariate linear regression with medical school fixed effects. The overall response rate was 86.7%. 10,062 medical students completed the questionnaire, 55.5% of which had participated in one or more research projects. Research engagement differed by the length of the program, gender, and academic performance. Research engagement was also positively associated with students' overall learning outcomes, especially in the Science and Scholarship domain (once, β = 0.20, P < 0.001; twice or more, β = 0.43, P < 0.001) and the Professionalism domain (once, β = 0.12, P < 0.05; twice or more, β = 0.25, P < 0.01). The relationships between research engagement and learning outcomes differed significantly by gender. Medical student research engagement is significantly positively associated with medical students' learning outcomes, especially in the Science and Scholarship domain and the Professionalism domain. Besides, men benefit more from engaging in research projects, particularly in the Science and scholarship domain.

Online Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Albania

The spread of COVID-19 has caused the interruption of education in all levels of schools, forcing them to seek urgent solutions to reconfigure traditional education programs for distance learning. The emergency restrictions related to social distancing, gathering, etc., have generated a disruption, resulting in a massive quick shift to distance and online teaching. The disruption of teaching has been highly critical and complex, especially for developing countries due to the lack of technological infrastructure, low Internet access, low level of preparation of teachers and parents to use technology, and lack of learning motivation. This paper aimed at identifying the main teaching practices, challenges, and contextual characteristics that impacted the adoption and use of online teaching solutions, during the COVID-19 outbreak, in a developing country, Albania. The paper reached this goal by providing the results of a survey involving 100 educators from different levels of public education institutions in Albania (high schools and universities). The results revealed that despite a set of challenges faced, the online teaching experience during the pandemic time brought improvements in computer teaching skills and communication with students by using several applications for interactivity.

E-Learning during COVID-19: perspectives and experiences of the faculty and students

BACKGROUND

Aimed to corroborate students' and faculty's experiences with e-learning during the current pandemic.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted from February to June 2020. Seven surveys were distributed electronically to all undergraduate students and the faculty (4 to students and 3 to teachers) at the Southern Medical University (China). Descriptive statistics and t-tests were used to analyze the data. Statistical significance was set at p < .05.

RESULTS

Most students had some exposure to e-learning prior to the all e-learning regiment, contrasted with close to 90% of teachers having no or very limited experience. Students' perceptions of the most helpful e-learning activities did not change significantly overall (Week 3 vs. Week 9). Approaching 60% of students (Week 9) did find online discussion/Q&A/forum helpful, an increase from less than 30% (Week 3). Among teachers, gaps emerged (Week 9) between e-teaching activities used and their perceived effectiveness. Despite pre-recorded lectures being the most frequently used method, the least gap was associated with live-stream lectures-the least used. Over time, teacher's perceived effectiveness of e-teaching vs. in-person teaching did not differ significantly overall. When the results among students (Week 7) and teachers (Week 9) were corroborated, a slightly higher percentage of teachers viewed online teaching to be less effective than in-person teaching and a slightly higher percentage of teachers viewed online teaching as far less effective. For preferred learning modes after the resumption of in-person learning, students' preferences did not differ significantly overall (Week 3 vs. week 9). Surveys conducted in Week 9 found that a slightly higher percentage of students (~ 70%) than teachers (~ 60%) preferred some forms of hybrid learning and a lower percentage of students preferred face-to-face learning only. Approximately three quarters of teachers responded that at least 50% of course materials could be mastered by students on their own.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the perceived effectiveness of e-learning among students and teachers has not changed significantly over time. Nor have students' preferences shifted significantly for various learning modes after the in-person learning resumed. However, informative directional trends have emerged. Our research illustrates empirically the need to corroborate students' and instructors' experiences over time to inform more holistic improvements of e-learning.