STEP-UP students' reflections about online learning - changes in the learning experience

[Melissa Chessler]

STEP-UP program participants -- Please respond to the question below.

Teachers and other NJ-PTAG Google group members -- We welcome your responses to the STEP-UP participants' posts!

How (beyond the obvious) did your learning experience change when instruction went online during the spring semester?

[Tyler Balas]

I didn't enjoy the learning experience nearly as much as when I was at school. I easily lost motivation to attend my lectures and take thorough notes as I had done while at school. I found I easily lost my focus while trying to work and couldn't commit to tasks as easily as I had previously been able to. Learning felt more of a chore at home than it did a positive experience to better myself. 

[Sami Khayyat]

It was definitely an unexpected transition that prompted me to change a lot of my habits. There was good and bad aspects of the transition but personally I would like to go back to the classroom. The biggest issues for me was the lack of communication and involvement in my classes. This really lead to a major lack in motivation to do my work. I found it hard to focus on assignments or being able to sit down and do schoolwork for a couple hours. On the positive side, I would say I enjoyed being able to get more sleep because I had more freedom to adjust my schedule. 

On Wednesday, June 3, 2020 at 9:51:38 AM UTC-4, Melissa Chessler wrote:

[Elizabeth Parisi]

In the beginning, I found it very overwhelming to make that quick transition from school to at home learning. It was really stressful for me in the beginning to find a new routine for myself, so I could be productive at home. After a while, I was able to find a routine, but I was really hard to complete work and homework. I do a lot of my homework (especially physics) with and around friends. It was really hard to be completing lots of work alone. However, I did have a nice, quiet space to complete my assignments. 

[Pierce Wickenden]

It was certainly a big transition, but overall I believe the transition to online classes has helped me grow into a better learner. I think it's very valuable to develop the skills so that you can learn independently and these online classes have helped me grow in that area as an independent learner. 

[Nathan Moncayo]

My learning experience became less motivating as the in-person teaching wasn't there, and it felt as if we were on vacation or on a long spring break. In essence, online remote classes became or felt like a satirical joke on the students themselves. As well as saying that even the professors were also struggling with the transition and having a hard time managing their home-life with their work-life.