Mindset: The Effect on College Student Adjustment to Remote Learning

Introduction

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), a disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, was discovered in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The disease is very contagious and quickly spread around the world (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed the first U.S. case on Jan. 21, 2020 and by the end of January, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) had declared a world-wide public health emergency (cdc.gov). In early March, 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic; on March 13, 2020, U.S. President Trump declared COVID-19 a national emergency and on March 19, 2020, California became the first U.S. state to issue a stay-at-home order, rapidly followed by similar orders in other states, cities, and counties, although some parts of the country refused to follow suit.

At the time of the current study (April 2021), vaccines for COVID-19 had received emergency use authorization in the United States. Administration of the vaccines had begun in late December 2020, however, availability was limited, and eligibility was restricted to evolving lists of recipients, depending on age, occupation, and medical condition.

Throughout the country, most areas had closed schools, businesses, and public places. Transportation options were limited; many employees were working from home or had been terminated from employment; health care facilities were overwhelmed with cases of COVID-19, and the death rate and caseload remained high. The NY Times (nytimes.com) reported that new cases in the U.S. in mid-April totaled over 75,000. Effects of the long-lasting pandemic (and accompanying restrictions) included health challenges, economic challenges, loss of loved ones, isolation from the community, and considerable psychological stress.

Researchers (e.g., AlAzzam, 2021) noted the devastating effects on mental health. College students were among those facing numerous and overwhelming difficulties. Apart from their serious concern with physical health, many students had been forced to adjust to sudden and unanticipated changes in their lives. These included shifts in residence (parental homes replacing college dormitories), new modes of instruction (virtual/online instruction replacing in-person classes), loss of employment for parents and themselves, leading to financial hardships, and the social isolation of lockdown.

Shamblaw (2021) noted that the Coronavirus pandemic had “caused widespread detrimental effects on mental health and quality of life, yet little research (had) examined effective coping strategies to mitigate these negative effects'' (Shamblaw, 2021, p.1). The present study focused on one pandemic challenge, namely the shift to online instruction, and one potential predictor of response to the challenge, namely mindset. As described by Bernecker and Job (2019), Dweck’s Mindset Theory proposes that “people hold different beliefs about the malleability of human attributes, such as intelligence and personality” (p. 1). The mindset continuum ranges from a growth mindset (growth and development are possible throughout the lifespan) to a fixed mindset (basic characteristics do not change).

Bernecker and Job (2019) proposed that a growth mindset is typically more “adaptive” (p. 1) than a fixed mindset. Other authors (e.g., Rege et al., 2020) have concurred. Based on this reasoning, the present author hypothesized that those with a stronger growth mindset would make a more successful transition to online learning. The author reasoned that those with a growth mindset would be positively affected by the belief that it is possible to adjust to difficult changes - adapting to circumstances and overcoming challenges.

Method

The participants included 50 college students from 13 different institutions across the East coast of the United States. They were students from freshman through senior year and all of the participants had taken one or more online classes during the pandemic.