Abstract
The current COVID-19 pandemic has largely impacted the academic performance of several college students. The present study is concerned with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on students pursuing a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) degree. We collected weekly survey data (w=9) of students (n=53) taking calculus courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the self-reported survey data, we investigated the temporal variations in the levels of anxiety, motivation, and confidence of STEM students. Studies on temporal changes to math anxiety are scarce. The present work aims to fill this gap by analyzing longitudinal survey data associated with math anxiety. Furthermore, using descriptive and inferential statistical methods such as one-way ANOVA, we analyzed the data with respect to gender and academic level. Our results indicated that male and freshman/sophomore (F/Sp) STEM students had higher levels of increased anxiety due to COVID-19. Female and F/Sp STEM students had higher levels of motivation, whereas junior/senior (J/S) and male students exhibited higher levels of confidence. Time series analysis of the data indicated that the levels of motivation and confidence significantly dropped toward the end of the semester, whereas the level of anxiety increased in all groups. Also, the use of math resources (such as tutoring and supplemental instruction) has significantly reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
Math anxiety has been defined by Tobias and Weissbrod (1980) as “the panic, helplessness, paralysis, and mental disorganization that arises among some people when they are required to solve a mathematical problem” (p. 65) that affects a large percentage of the population
Descriptive statistical analysis suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to increased levels of math anxiety
Researchers have argued that mathematically anxious students tend to move away from studying STEM subjects (Warwick, 2008)
Summary
Math anxiety has been defined by Tobias and Weissbrod (1980) as “the panic, helplessness, paralysis, and mental disorganization that arises among some people when they are required to solve a mathematical problem” (p. 65) that affects a large percentage of the population. Several factors may contribute to math anxiety including a fear of making mistakes, insufficient mathematical background, teacher and parent comments, attitudes, behaviors, and parental education levels (Sevindir et al, 2014). As the world continues to come to terms with the COVID-19 pandemic, the main challenge many schools are facing is teaching advanced subjects such as calculus online. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone, including university students. With the increase in the number of COVID-19 infections, most university lessons take place virtually, which is especially challenging for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students who are used to hands-on, interactive learning (Hensley et al, 2020). Students are affected because their classes were interrupted, and they were expected to rapidly adapt to the unique expectations of online learning. The challenges of COVID-19 impacted the university students’ graduations (Saw et al, 2020). Saw et al (2020) found that nearly 10% of STEM students had not decided or would not enroll in Fall 2020 due to the pandemic, while 35.5% of doctoral STEM students, 18% of master’s students, and 7.6% of undergraduate students delayed their graduation
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