Article Preview
TopIntroduction
The development of digital technologies could not but affect the education sector, providing new opportunities for distance learning, using 3D images as visual aids, making educational literature more accessible through online libraries. However, the introduction of distance education took place gradually and unevenly, and training in specialties requiring direct communication with people (for example, in medicine) continued to be carried out in the traditional way, in university classrooms and organizations (internship). The sudden change in the educational process paradigm with the transition to predominantly distance learning was due to quarantine restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the skepticism of conservative educators, students, and the public, curricula have been hastily adapted for use in an online format, and special distance learning programs have been introduced in all faculties and specialties. It turned out that there are many positive aspects in online learning, such as accessibility, psychological comfort, and convenient time management, but serious problems have also emerged, such as monitoring student attendance and the assessment process. In addition, during classes in a classroom, students communicate with each other, form common interests, and create a learning environment in which complex topics are discussed and mutual assistance is provided. In the online format, student groups are also created, however, communication in them takes on a different character, it is more superficial and concise - there is not so much the formation of groups according to new rules, but the individualization of the learning process. On the one hand, this contributes to a more purposeful interaction between a student and a teacher. On the other hand, it is more difficult for students to form professional communication skills and compare performance in a group, which can indirectly affect students' motivation to learn and complicate career guidance work, especially in the freshman year. Therefore, the study of the transition to distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic is an urgent topic that can be studied from different perspectives and, in the future, may lead to the emergence of new, innovative models of the educational process. Thus, the research purpose is to study the psychological motivational aspects of the transition to predominantly distance learning. Research objectives: 1) to analyze the scientific literature on distance learning in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2) to determine the level of motivation of students during distance learning, 3) to study the impact of distance learning on students' motivation to study. The research hypothesis is the assumption that the motivational aspect influences the effectiveness of students' distance learning.