Proceedings of The 7th International Conference on Advanced Research in Teaching and Education
Year: 2023
DOI:
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The Impact of Online Transition on Student Performance: An Analysis of Human Physiology Course (PSL300) At the University of Toronto Before and During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Nohjin Kee, Dr. Chris Perumalla
ABSTRACT:
The sudden emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic took us by surprise, forcing us to quickly pivot from our traditional in-person course delivery to online formats. This rapid transition sparked worry about its potential impact on our students’ performance. This study examines the impact of this transition on student outcomes in a large (over 1000 students) Human Physiology course (PSL300) at the Department of Physiology at University of Toronto. Before the pandemic, the PSL300 was taught in-person, with assessments consisting of two in-person midterms and one in-person cumulative final exam consisting of multiple choice questions. The pandemic necessitated a pivot to an online format thus we have developed highly-produced, high-quality, pre-recorded lectures, and a revised final exam format that included short answer questions. Surprisingly, an analysis of student grades revealed no significant change between the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. We hypothesize that the use of well-produced, engaging online lectures, in contrast to hastily recorded content, played a crucial role in maintaining student performance. These findings suggest that high-quality online instruction can be an effective substitute for in-person teaching in terms of learning outcomes.
keywords: Online Learning, COVID-19, Physiology Education, Student Performance