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How Do We Motivate Students When They Are Being Taught Virtually, in Isolation? Berkis  Contreras and Dr. Edith  Ries Department of Graduate Students, Caldwell University, Caldwell, NJ 07006

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Introduction Objective Procedures Data Analysis Conclusion References Acknowledgements

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Schools, nationwide, underwent unexpected changes as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since March of 2020, students across the country have moved to remote learning.   As a result of this new instructional format, some believe that the academic development of our children has been suffering and,  additionally, that their social and emotional well-being has been compromised (Lee, 2020). This study will shed some light on the different areas that have been impacted as a result of the remote teaching format and how teachers are working to keep students motivated with regard to learning new material.    Through the use of a researcher-created questionnaire teachers in an urban district were asked to describe how they address these issues.

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The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a virtual teaching format on the motivation and social and emotional well-being of elementary students in a particular urban school setting. In addition, a researcher-created questionnaire gave participating teachers an opportunity to share modifications that they had to make to their lessons in order to appeal to students and to keep the students within their respective classes motivated and interested in the material being covered in all subjects .

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Through the use of a researcher-created survey that included closed, and open ended questions, the researcher gathered data from 24 elementary school teachers in a particular urban school in New Jersey. The survey asked the 24 teacher participants to address a series of questions having to do with:  	- Student motivation in a virtual environment  	-Social and emotional issues that they observed in the students  	-The teaching strategies and modifications that the  	participants applied to lessons while teaching remotely.

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83 % of the teacher participants agreed (or strongly agreed) that the Covid-19 pandemic had a very significant impact on students’ academic growth. 87% of the teachers participants agreed that the social and emotional well-being of the students had been affected by the pandemic.  54% of the participants agreed that students’ desire/motivation to learn had been affected by the remote instruction format, while 33% of participants were undecided.  100% of the teachers participants agreed that they had to change or modify their teaching strategies

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Question #1   - The pandemic has affected the academic growth of students in my class. 83% of the participants agreed or strongly agreed with this statement while 12.5% disagreed and 4.20% were undecided.

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Question #2   - Students in my class have been affected socially and emotionally by the pandemic.  87.30% agree or strongly agree, while 4.20% disagree and 8.30% were undecided.

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Students have been affected socially
and emotionally by the pandemic
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Question #5  – The online teaching structure has impacted my students’ desire/motivation to learn in a negative way 54% agree/strongly agree that the virtual delivery impacted students’ desire/motivation to learn. Only 12.5% disagree, while 33.3% were undecided.

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Question #6  -I had to change teaching strategies in order to help students to learn online.    All participating teachers (100%) agreed or strongly agreed that they had to change strategies to help students during online instruction.

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Most of the teacher participants agreed that students’ academic growth had been affected by the change to remote learning. Students showed less motivation to do work, were missing classes or attending classes late.    Participants also reported that students have been socially and emotionally affected by the pandemic. Students expressed isolation feelings at home and the needed to communicate with classmates. They also missed the school environment.   Some of students had family members who had lost their jobs. Some students suffered the loss of a family member because of the pandemic and were afraid that they themselves would contract the virus.  All of the participating teachers expressed that they had to change teaching strategies to keep students focused and motivated to learn. Most of the hands-on activities that teachers used to do while in school could not be done in the same way now. Teachers had to create new material.

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According to the responses of 24 teachers working in an urban school setting, online learning, which came about nationwide as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, appeared to have impacted elementary students negatively in the areas of academic growth and social and emotional well being. Teachers also have been affected by the changes. The participants in this study felt that they were working harder than before the pandemic to motivate students and keep them on task.  The information that the researcher was able to glean from the questionnaire administered to the teacher participants is essential in giving teachers and administrators greater direction in case of future similar calamities.  Now we know some of the important things that can be done to help students with their academics as well as their social and emotional well-being when they are forced to learn from home.

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Caldwell University Union City Board of Education Thomas Edison School Administration Dr. Edith  Ries

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Lee, J. (2020, April 14). Mental health effects of school closures during 	COVID-19.  Volume 4 Issue 6  Nagpal, S. (2020). Raising students motivation during the pandemic https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/raising-student-        motivation-du García, E., & Weiss, E. (2020). The coronavirus pandemic poses major challenges to U.S. students and their teachers—and exacerbates existing education inequities.


Impact of Virtual Teaching Format

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 Lee, J. (2020, April 14). Mental health effects of school closures during 	COVID-19.  Volume 4 Issue 6  Nagpal, S. (2020). Raising students motivation during the pandemic https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/raising-student-        motivation-du García, E., & Weiss, E. (2020). The coronavirus pandemic poses major challenges to U.S. students and their teachers—and exacerbates existing education inequities. 