A moderate amount of stress has a positive impact on learning. Researchers tried to identify if stress occurs to the same degree during online teaching as during in-person coaching. Students who took an anatomy course in person or online had their various physiological indicators measured. Although this course required a comparable amount of mental effort, the online group displayed a considerably lower level of physiological stimulation. A team led by Morris Gellisch and Professor Beate Brand-Saberi describes the findings in the online edition of the journal Anatomical Sciences Education, released in July 2022.
Can Learning Process be Affected by Stress?
Physiological stress symptoms include elevated cortisol levels, reduced heart rate variability and increased heart rate.
‘People exhibited various physiological changes depending on whether they took a course in person or online.’
“We know that stress strongly affects learning and memory processes, as well as sustaining attention. And not just in a negative way. A moderate physiological state of excitation has a positive effect if it occurs temporally in the context of the learning task. To date, the differences between in-person and online teaching have often been assessed using questionnaires in which subjective parameters such as motivation or perceived stress were surveyed. But since learning has a definite physiological component, this raised the question of whether there are any differences in this regard as well,” said Morris Gellisch.
Outcomes of Online vs In-person Learning
Researchers examined the heart rate variability and salivary cortisol levels of 82 students who enrolled for an anatomy course. The students were divided into two groups- online and classroom sessions. This course was taught in a hybrid manner. While one group attended the lecture in the histology room, the other students followed the same class online. The researchers used specialized sensors to monitor heart rate variability across the entire 120-minute duration of the session on a typical course day. Additionally, they collected saliva samples at the start, 60 minutes into the course, and at the conclusion. The health parameters of the students who attended online classes were measured using identical equipment and detailed instructions.
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Online sessions considerably reduced physiological excitation. Lower cortisol levels decreased sympathetic activity and greater parasympathetic activity were all indicators of this. The last two parameters suggestive of tension levels are calculated from heart rate variability. The students were more at ease when they attended the seminar online.
The researchers designed questionnaires to assess subjectively perceived characteristics, such as how much fun it was to take the course. One outcome was a correlation between higher sympathetic nervous system activity and satisfaction with in-person learning. The online group did not discover this association.
Source: Medindia
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APA
Dr. Trupti Shirole. (2022, August 22). Online Classes or In-person Learning- Which is Better?. Medindia. Retrieved on Aug 22, 2022 from https://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/online-classes-or-in-person-learning-which-is-better-208354-1.htm.
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MLA
Dr. Trupti Shirole. ” Online Classes or In-person Learning- Which is Better?”. Medindia. Aug 22, 2022. <https://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/online-classes-or-in-person-learning-which-is-better-208354-1.htm>.
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Chicago
Dr. Trupti Shirole. ” Online Classes or In-person Learning- Which is Better?”. Medindia. https://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/online-classes-or-in-person-learning-which-is-better-208354-1.htm. (accessed Aug 22, 2022).
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Harvard
Dr. Trupti Shirole. 2021. Online Classes or In-person Learning- Which is Better?. Medindia, viewed Aug 22, 2022, https://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/online-classes-or-in-person-learning-which-is-better-208354-1.htm.
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