gms | German Medical Science

GMS Journal for Medical Education

Gesellschaft für Medizinische Ausbildung (GMA)

ISSN 2366-5017

Academic-associated emotions before and during the COVID-19-related online semester – a longitudinal investigation of first-year medical students

short report Mentoring

  • corresponding author Sabine Polujanski - Universität Augsburg, Medizinische Fakultät, Lehrstuhl für Medizindidaktik und Ausbildungsforschung, DEMEDA, Augsburg, Germany
  • author Ann-Kathrin Schindler - Universität Augsburg, Medizinische Fakultät, Lehrstuhl für Medizindidaktik und Ausbildungsforschung, DEMEDA, Augsburg, Germany
  • author Thomas Rotthoff - Universität Augsburg, Medizinische Fakultät, Lehrstuhl für Medizindidaktik und Ausbildungsforschung, DEMEDA, Augsburg, Germany

GMS J Med Educ 2020;37(7):Doc77

doi: 10.3205/zma001370, urn:nbn:de:0183-zma0013701

This is the English version of the article.
The German version can be found at: http://www.egms.de/de/journals/zma/2020-37/zma001370.shtml

Received: July 31, 2020
Revised: October 20, 2020
Accepted: October 23, 2020
Published: December 3, 2020

© 2020 Polujanski et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Abstract

Background: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students have been confronted with an online semester. Because of the special requirements, online teaching can trigger negative emotions, which can have an unfavourable impact on the learning process and which therefore need to be regulated. This study investigates academic-associated emotions and the regulation of those emotions both before (December 2019) and during (June 2020) the online semester for first-year medical students.

Methods: Questionnaire data (t1=Dec 2019; t2=Jun 2020) regarding academic-associated emotions and emotion regulation, taken from a longitudinal research project (Experienced Learning Medicine Augsburg; ELMA) at the University of Augsburg, was used. At t2, the students were also asked, as future physicians, to name their three most significant emotions regarding their studies, taking into account the COVID-19 situation.

Results: Longitudinal analyses (Wilcoxon tests) showed few changes in academic-associated emotions. The emotions happy (r=.32) and proud (r=.33) increased significantly with moderate effects at the online semester. There also was an increased, but still low suppression of emotions (r=.22) at t2. The future physicians were most often curious, grateful and afraid about their medical studies with regard to the COVID-19 situation. Overall, medical studies were more often associated with positive than negative emotions during the online semester.

Conclusions: The results show that the online semester did not have any worrying impacts on academic-associated emotions and emotion regulation. There was even some indication that students might benefit from online teaching formats.

Keywords: academic-associated emotions, emotion regulation, online semester, COVID-19


1. Background

The COVID-19-related online semester has placed unusual demands on students (e.g. less social integration and higher self-regulation of the learning process than in face-to-face teaching), which could trigger negative emotions (e.g. frustration) [1], [2]. This can be problematic, because a successful learning process, including high academic performance [3] and favourable motivational situation [4], [5], is ideally accompanied by positive emotions. Emotion regulation strategies enable individuals to consciously influence the intensity, duration and quality of the experience and expression of emotions [6], [7]. The strategy suppression involves repressing emotional expression, while cognitive reappraisal is the active cognitive reinterpretation of emotional situations [8]. In the latter, the meaning of an emotionally triggering situation is reinterpreted [6], which should lead to a more positive emotional reaction [8]. For example, frustration caused by the complexity of learning materials might be avoided or mitigated by viewing the situation not as a threat, but as an opportunity to acquire knowledge. Higher performing students have been found to more often apply cognitive reappraisal [9], which simultaneously reduces negative emotions [10].

This study examines academic-associated emotions and their regulation in first-year medical students before and during the COVID-19-related online semester.


2. Method

2.1. Design

The study used longitudinal data, which had been voluntarily provided via questionnaire, that was collected by the Experienced Learning Medicine Augsburg (ELMA) research project as part of a newly founded model study programme. The questionnaires were ethically approved. The data was collected in December 2019 (t1) and June 2020 (t2). Online teaching (Moodle platform) was already established in the attendance semester (WS2019/20). The design processes for the online learning units and synchronous teaching via Zoom are accompanied by medical didactics.

2.2. Sample

At t1, 71 students provided responses; at t2, there were 75. Longitudinal matching allowed 65 complete datasets to be integrated. For sociodemographic data, see table 1 [Tab. 1].

2.3. Measures

21 representative academic-associated emotions (10 positive, 11 negative) from the Medical Emotion Scale (MES; 5-point Likert scale from 0-not at all to 4-very strong) [11] were questioned.

The emotion regulation strategies suppression (4 items, α=.74) and cognitive reappraisal (6 items, α=.76) were recorded by the mean values of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; 7-point Likert scale ranging from 0-not at all to 6-absolutely) [8], [12].

In their role as future physicians, the students were also asked in the June survey to complete the following statement: “The COVID-19 situation makes me feel… about my medical studies. Please select the three most appropriate emotions.”

2.4. Analyses

The data was analysed descriptively and using Wilcoxon tests (ordinal scale level and restricted normal distribution).


3. Results

The longitudinal analyses of academic-associated emotions are shown in table 2 [Tab. 2].

The emotions happy and proud increased with a moderate effect size, and disappointed increased with a small effect size. The emotion regulation strategy suppression increased significantly (r=.22, MdnDec=2.00, MdnJune=2.75, z=-2.56, p=.01), but there were no significant changes for cognitive reappraisal (MdnDec=3.67, MdnJune=3.50, z=-.66, p=.51).

Curiosity, gratitude and being afraid were the emotions most frequently described by the future physicians in regard to the COVID-19 situation. Overall, despite the COVID-19 situation, medical studies were more often associated with positive than negative emotions (see figure 1 [Fig. 1]).


4. Discussion

While most academic-associated emotions did not change longitudinally, happy and proud did increase significantly during the COVID-19-related online semester. This might be because of the free allocation of time, individual adaptation to the pace of learning and the time saved by not commuting [13], [14]. This latter reason was mentioned as a form of relief in an additional scale in the questionnaire that assessed burdens and reliefs. Semester-related teaching evaluation results across all courses also showed a high level of satisfaction with online teaching. The increase in pride could be related to the completion of a systemically relevant training, although there is no explanatory data available to support this hypothesis.

Disappointment also increased significantly during the online semester, but with only a small effect size. This could be due to the elimination of practical teaching units and reduced peer contact, both were reported as burdens. Presumably, the COVID-19 online semester led to a severely different student life, which might also be a reason for increased disappointment.

The emotion regulation strategy suppression saw a significant increase, but with a small effect size, which might be related to the home learning environment during the online semester, which was perceived as a burden.

When asked which three emotions towards medical studies were most triggered by the COVID-19 situation, curiosity, gratitude and being afraid were most frequently mentioned. Curiosity might refer to the many unknown variables associated with the pandemic [15] and the possibility of acquiring new knowledge [16], while gratitude might relate to the benefits of the online semester described above [13], [14]. However, examinations without prior class attendance were seen by a majority of students as a burden and thus possibly an indicator of being afraid, but the data does not allow for a causal explanation and so these hypotheses should be treated as a cautious interpretation.

The results suggest that the exclusive online teaching – at least, after a short period of time – had no worrying impact on the students’ emotions. However, it should be noted that the data is from a model study programme currently being developed with a small student cohort.


5. Future research

With regard to the ongoing significant reduction in face-to-face teaching, the student cohort will continue to be monitored longitudinally, with a view to a (gradual) reintegration process [17]. There will also be additional investigation of study–life balance to better clarify emotional developments.


Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.


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