Undergraduate Student Adaptation to Unplanned and Unexpected Online Learning in Post-Secondary Education

Abstract

The Corona Virus Disease- 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak that occurred during the spring 2020 academic semester forced colleges and universities worldwide to suddenly switch their teaching and learning processes to remotely delivered and online environments. This unexpected and unplanned transition to online course delivery, known as emergency remote teaching (ERT), disrupted normal modes of instruction and learning for students as well as teachers and faculty. Using an inductive qualitative research approach, this study investigated how undergraduate postsecondary students adapted to ERT. Specifically, this study examined the breadth of strategies that students used to adapt to ERT and identified the adaptive strategies students perceived as being effective by helping them to successfully complete their courses. Researchers analyzed qualitative data generated by twelve hundred and thirty-seven (1237) undergraduate student participants studying twenty-seven (27) different undergraduate courses across seven different U.S. institutions of higher education. Data were generated using a self-report, face-validated survey with open-ended questions. Findings revealed that participants exercised their self-regulation in action by focusing more heavily on external induced adjustments than internal induced adjustments. Participants perceived the most effective strategies to be behavioral engagements, followed closely by cognitive and, to a lesser extent, affective engagements.