Helplessness among university students: an empirical study based on a modified framework of implicit personality theories

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and within a very short period of time, teaching in the 2020 summer term changed from predominantly on-site to online instruction. Students suddenly faced having to adapt their learning process to new demands for which they may have had both insufficient digital skills and a lack of learning resources. Such a situation carries the risk that a substantial number of students become helpless. The aim of our empirical study was to test a hybrid framework of helplessness that includes both objective causes of helplessness and students’ subjective interpretations of them. Before lectures or courses began, students of a full-scale university were invited to participate in an online survey. The final sample consists of 1690 students. Results indicate that objective factors as well as their subjective interpretations contributed to the formation of helplessness

Verfügen Studierende über die Mittel und Wege, um während der Coronaviruspandemie zu lernen? Bedarfe für Online-Lehre in einer plötzlich digitalisierten Landschaft

Across the globe, 2020 terms began under conditions incited by the corona pandemic. Within a relatively short amount of time, universities started to develop and implement online courses for distance learning. The current study is about an online survey at a German university investigating the unique circumstances under which students began the digital 2020 summer term. Of approximately 38 500 students, N = 5563 students from across all institutional faculties took part in the survey. Results indicate how well students are equipped with devices for digital learning, what kind of experiences they have already made with online learning, and how competent they reported feeling regarding digital learning. The study provides important insights into digital higher education during the exceptional pandemic situation. The results are intended to feed into student counselling systems via support by way of access to devices or courses regarding digital skills, or through counselling for students with special social burdens. (DIPF/Orig.)Weltweit begann das Jahr 2020 unter dem Einfluss der Coronapandemie. Innerhalb sehr kurzer Zeit begannen Universitäten, Online-Kurse für den Fernunterricht zu entwickeln und implementieren. Die vorliegende Studie untersuchte anhand einer Online-Umfrage an einer deutschen Universität die besonderen Umstände, unter denen Studierende das digitale Sommersemester 2020 begannen. Von etwa 38 500 Studierenden nahmen N = 5563 Studierende aller Fakultäten an der Umfrage teil. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, wie gut die Studierenden mit Geräten für das digitale Lernen ausgestattet sind, welche Erfahrungen sie zuvor bereits mit dem Online-Lernen gemacht hatten und wie kompetent sie sich in Bezug auf das digitale Lernen fühlen. Die Studie liefert wichtige Einblicke in die digitale Hochschulbildung während der außergewöhnlichen Pandemiesituation. Die Ergebnisse können in studentische Beratungssysteme einfließen, sei es durch Unterstützung beim Zugang zu Geräten, durch Kurse zu digitalen Schlüsselkompetenzen oder durch Beratung von Studierenden mit besonderen sozialen Belastungen. (DIPF/Orig.

The webcam and student engagement in synchronous online learning: visually or verbally?

Given that video conferencing serves as a crucial means for remote teaching, the current study investigated higher education students’ (non)use of webcams and engagement in synchronous online courses. Three phases were studied: (1) A state of engagement; (2) antecedents that influence it; and (3) consequences of engagement. The cross-sectional online survey encompassed 3,610 students. Results indicated that visual and verbal engagement were only slightly related to each other. Structural equation modelling revealed different direct and indirect influences on either visual or verbal engagement in synchronous online higher education courses. Due to the novelty of the research scope, results of this study provide a foundation for further investigation

Self-regulated resource management in emergency remote higher education: status quo and predictors

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring term 2020, students faced a sudden change from on-campus learning to online learning with synchronous and asynchronous online courses (emergency remote teaching). To study successfully, students not only needed to be prepared in terms of digital readiness (workspace, IT equipment, previous online learning experiences, and sharing information online), they also faced challenges that pertained to the self-regulated management of external resources (environment structuring, time management, and help-seeking). In the current study, we investigated students’ digital readiness for the sudden switch to online learning; differences between students’ intended and actual use of external resource management strategies; and the influence of students’ digital readiness on their actual use of resource management strategies. Students enrolled in a full-scale, German university (N = 662) answered two online questionnaires (before and in the middle of the term). Descriptive statistics indicated that students seemed to be ready to study online. However, repeated measures ANOVA showed that students were not able to manage their resources during the term as frequently as intended. Finally, separate regression analyses revealed that availability of workspace and IT equipment predicted the use of environment structuring strategies. Additionally, IT equipment and information sharing behavior predicted students’ help-seeking. Based on the current results, we discuss implications for the promotion of student self-regulated learning (SRL) in online emergency remote teaching based on both external resources and digital readiness

"Generation invisible?. Higher education students' (non)use of webcams in synchronous online learning

The pandemic situation continues to influence teaching and learning in higher education, with students oftentimes participating in synchronous videoconferencing sessions as a means to interact with peers and instructors. The frequently noted non-use of webcams by students incited the current study, investigating usage behavior as well as potentially related course variables and individual characteristics. N = 3,527 students from a German university took part in an online survey at the end of the regular summer term 2020 (August 2020). Findings indicate that students’ webcam usage behavior was related to personal thoughts and feelings (e.g., privacy), to course characteristics (e.g., group cohesion), and it differed due to specific groups (gender, study level). With the ongoing importance of videoconferencing in higher education, this study provides a foundation for further investigation into this synchronous learning context

Preservice teachers' online self-regulated learning: does digital readiness matter?

(1) Background: Teaching in today’s schools asks teachers to foster self-regulated learning and digital competences in children and young people. In order to do so, teachers first need to acquire and use these competences themselves. (2) Methods: Based on a mixed-methods approach, the study investigates self-regulated learning in online courses of N = 129 preservice teachers at a German university. (3) Results and conclusions: Perceiving their digital readiness as generally high, preservice teachers appear to not overly self-regulate their learning in the online environment. Finally, preservice teachers’ digital readiness was related only weakly to their online self-regulated learning. A discussion is offered which shows teacher education as a broader phenomenon and implies the need for professional development for teacher educators. Additionally, it is argued to link research on self-regulated learning more closely to research on online learning environments in teacher education

The structure of social networks and its link to higher education students' socio-emotional loneliness during COVID-19

Lonely students typically underperform academically. According to several studies, the COVID-19 pandemic is an important risk factor for increases in loneliness, as the contact restrictions and the switch to mainly online classes potentially burden the students. The previously familiar academic environment (campus), as well as the exchange with peers and lecturers on site, were no longer made available. In our cross-sectional study, we examine factors that could potentially counteract the development of higher education student loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic from a social network perspective. During the semester, N = 283 students from across all institutional faculties of a German comprehensive university took part in an online survey. We surveyed their social and emotional experiences of loneliness, their self-reported digital information-sharing behavior, and their current egocentric networks. Here, we distinguished between close online contacts (i.e., mainly online exchanges) and close offline contacts (i.e., mainly in-person face-to-face exchanges). In addition, we derived the interconnectedness (i.e., the densities of the egocentric networks) and heterogeneity (operationalized with the entropy) of students’ contacts. To obtain the latter, we used a novel two-step method combining t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) and cluster analysis. We explored the associations of the aforementioned predictors (i.e., information-sharing behavior, number of online and offline contacts, as well as interconnectedness and heterogeneity of the close contacts network) on social and emotional loneliness separately using two hierarchical multiple linear regression models. Our results suggest that social loneliness is strongly related to digital information-sharing behavior and the network structure of close contacts. In particular, high information-sharing behavior, high number of close contacts (whether offline or online), a highly interconnected network, and a homogeneous structure of close contacts were associated with low social loneliness. Emotional loneliness, on the other hand, was mainly related to network homogeneity, in the sense that students with homogeneous close contacts networks experienced low emotional loneliness. Overall, our study highlights the central role of students’ close social network on feelings of loneliness in the context of COVID-19 restrictions. Limitations and implications are discussed

Akademische Mediennutzung Studierender im Corona-Semester 2020: Digitalisierungsschub oder weiter wie bisher?

Unter dem Eindruck der CoViD-19 Pandemie erfolgte im Sommersemester 2020 an deutschen Hochschulen flächendeckende Online-Lehre im Notbetrieb. Die vorliegende längsschnittliche Fragebogenstudie untersucht die akademische Mediennutzung, -kompetenz und -ausstattung Studierender (N = 2.037) an einer deutschen Volluniversität zu Beginn und zur Mitte des betreffenden Semesters. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die akademische Mediennutzung intensiviert wird, wahrgenommene digitale Kompetenzen der Studierenden zunehmen und E-Learning Angebote fakultätsspezifisch eingesetzt und genutzt werden. Sichtbar wird jedoch auch, dass Studierende mit heterogenen Voraussetzungen in das Semester starteten, die sich auch im Semesterverlauf auf die Studiensituation auswirkten. Die Ergebnisse werden vor dem Hintergrund bildungspolitischer Bestrebungen hinsichtlich der Digitalisierung der Hochschullehre, mediendidaktischer Fragestellungen und studentischem Eigensinn der Mediennutzung eingeordnet und diskutiert.Against the backdrop of the CoViD-19 pandemic, German higher education switched to full online teaching in the summer term 2020. The current longitudinal study based on a questionnaire investigates students’ (N = 2,037) academic media usage, competence and equipment at one German comprehensive university prior and during that specific term. Results show that academic media usage intensifies, perceived digital competencies increase and that provision and usage of e-learning tools occurs differently across faculties. It is also indicated that students start into the term with heterogeneous prerequisites, also affecting their study situation as the summer term evolves. The study results are discussed against the background of education policy on digitization of higher education teaching and learning, questions of designing technology-enhanced learning and students’ own sense making of media usage in higher education