Impact of Learning in the COVID-19 Era on Academic Outcomes of Undergraduate Psychology Students
, Sergio Castaño Castaño 1, Alba Hernández Santana 1, Mariacarla Martí González 1 and Julién Brito Ballester 1,2Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This study compares the academic performance of students between 13 face-to-face and online modalities in relation to the exceptional situation between the months of 14 March and June 2020. The study is relevant and significant because during the confinement there were several variables and different cases that need to be analyzed.
The topic itself is not original, but the focus they give it (students' vision) of subjects taught in the Psychology Degree 16 at the European University of the Atlantic (Santander, Spain). In addition, various areas have been analyzed in other studies, such as education, but not so much the subject of Psychology.
The paper is well written and it's easy to read. In general the paper is very correct. The conclusions are consistent and answer the objective of the investigation. However, I miss an article published in the same issue that the authors send the manuscript, which would serve to give consistency to the theoretical framework and the discussion. It would help them to relate the paper to teaching quality in times of crisis. I consider it important that they mention it to give more consistency. I attach the link of the mentioned paper: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/5/2945
Author Response
Review 1:
This study compares the academic performance of students between 13 face-to-face and online modalities in relation to the exceptional situation between the months of 14 March and June 2020. The study is relevant and significant because during the confinement there were several variables and different cases that need to be analyzed.
The topic itself is not original, but the focus they give it (students' vision) of subjects taught in the Psychology Degree 16 at the European University of the Atlantic (Santander, Spain). In addition, various areas have been analyzed in other studies, such as education, but not so much the subject of Psychology.
The paper is well written and it's easy to read. In general the paper is very correct. The conclusions are consistent and answer the objective of the investigation. However, I miss an article published in the same issue that the authors send the manuscript, which would serve to give consistency to the theoretical framework and the discussion. It would help them to relate the paper to teaching quality in times of crisis. I consider it important that they mention it to give more consistency. I attach the link of the mentioned paper: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/5/2945
Answer :
Thank you very much for your comments and considerations, following your suggestion, mention has been made of the publication mentioned correctly referenced in the introduction of the article
Reviewer 2 Report
Title: New learning environments: academic results in virtual modality during pandemic times versus face-to-face modality. Analysis of subjects in an undergraduate program in psychology.
In general, the manuscript aims to evaluate psychology education in the COVID -19 era by comparing it to students' personal learning before the pandemic. The manuscript is well written and readable, but there are some weaknesses here that should be considered when revising the manuscript:
Title: too long and even misleading in some places...It could be a bit shorter (and still convey initial information): e.g.,
- Comparison of face-to-face learning and learning in the COVID -19 era among psychology students.
- Impact of learning in the COVID -19 era on academic outcomes of undergraduate psychology students- …
or any other relevant…
Keywords: one of which should reflect the method used.
Introduction:
- Line 112: Instructional or educational strategies?...Instruction is more associated with passive (traditional, teacher-directed) learning, while a term educational involves both active and passive approach to learning...
- Line 155: SARS CoV-2 is a virus, while COVID -19 is a disease
- After the paragraph with the aim of the study l.153-156, simply state some clear research questions (2-3) to guide the study and they relate to the variables of the study.
Results
- When reporting K-W and ANOVA results, please also include the measure of an effect size.
- Line 360: revise p-value!
Discussion:
- Line 490: revise p-value.
- A subsection on limitations and implications of the study should be added as 4.1 (those from the Conclusions section should be moved here)
- Selection, characteristics, and experience of course instructors/conductors should be mentioned as limitations of the study and generalisation of the results. This is because selected course instructors/lecturers have years of experience in online/distance education/learning, while the majority of university lecturers (especially the older ones) are not in this field (e.g., lack of digital literacy and ICT skills). Therefore, the results may be biased and generalization of findings may be affected.
Conclusion
- Two paragraphs on limitations and implications should be moved to the discussion section.
Author Response
Review 2:
In general, the manuscript aims to evaluate psychology education in the COVID -19 era by comparing it to students' personal learning before the pandemic. The manuscript is well written and readable, but there are some weaknesses here that should be considered when revising the manuscript:
Answer: Thank you very much for your comments and considerations, below we detail the changes that have been carried out following your recommendations
Title: too long and even misleading in some places...It could be a bit shorter (and still convey initial information): e.g.,
Answer: The title has been changed to a shorter one following your recommendations.
Keywords: one of which should reflect the method used.
Answer: Within the keywords the word Academic results analysis has been introduced
Introduction:
- Line 112: Instructional or educational strategies?...Instruction is more associated with passive (traditional, teacher-directed) learning, while a term educational involves both active and passive approach to learning...
Answer: The word instructional has been replaced by the word educational, as we refer to educational strategies
- Line 155: SARS CoV-2 is a virus, while COVID -19 is a disease
Answer: The word SARS –CoV-2 has been removed and the word COVID-19 has been introduced since we refer to disease and not the virus
- After the paragraph with the aim of the study l.153-156, simply state some clear research questions (2-3) to guide the study and they relate to the variables of the study.
Answer: Suggested questions have been introduced in the indicated section
Results
- When reporting K-W and ANOVA results, please also include the measure of an effect size.
Answer: The analysis of the intra-subjects effect as well as its power have been introduced in each of the significant results.
- Line 360: revise p-value!
Answer: P-value has been revised
Discussion:
- Line 490: revise p-value.
Answer: P-value has been revised
- A subsection on limitations and implications of the study should be added as 4.1 (those from the Conclusions section should be moved here)
Answer: The paragraph has been moved following the reviewer's suggestions
- Selection, characteristics, and experience of course instructors/conductors should be mentioned as limitations of the study and generalisation of the results. This is because selected course instructors/lecturers have years of experience in online/distance education/learning, while the majority of university lecturers (especially the older ones) are not in this field (e.g., lack of digital literacy and ICT skills). Therefore, the results may be biased and generalization of findings may be affected.
Answer : Given the suggestion that it be considered a limitation that the teachers have no experience in the online modality, it must be said that it is not fulfilled in this case since all the teachers responsible for the subjects analyzed have more than five years of experience in this the modality on-line.
Conclusion
- Two paragraphs on limitations and implications should be moved to the discussion section.
Answer: The paragraph has been moved following the reviewer's suggestions
Reviewer 3 Report
Dear authors, thank you for your interesting paper. I have one main suggestion that could be useful: you could compare your results with students' performance and attitude in online universities and then reason on differences.
This may provide interesting insight.
Author Response
Dear authors, thank you for your interesting paper. I have one main suggestion that could be useful: you could compare your results with students' performance and attitude in online universities and then reason on differences.
This may provide interesting insight.
Answer: Thank you very much for your comments and suggestions
Your suggestion would undoubtedly help to greatly complement our work.
However, concerning what it raises, we must mention that to compare our results with the performance and attitude of students in online universities and then the reason the differences, we would need data that is not currently available (in-depth). . It is true that there are recent studies that address issues such as that of Fernandez, Hernandez, and Pulido (2018), which aimed to identify the attitudinal factors that influence online learning of university students. However, these studies do not provide the data that we would need to establish the comparisons suggested.
However, we consider that it is indeed a topic that would be of great interest and whose approach could offer very relevant data, which is why we have included it as a line of future research.
