Flipping the digital switch: Affective responses of STEM undergraduates to emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

The Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) catalyzed a global shift to distance education known as an emergency transition to remote teaching (ERT). While prior research investigates students' experiences during traditional online learning, fewer studies examine students' affective responses (i.e., feelings, emotions) to those experiences, particularly when remote learning is unexpected and unplanned. To understand how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduates responded affectively to the COVID-19 ERT, researchers generated open-ended survey data with 1340 undergraduates (253 female) in 27 courses across seven U.S. institutions. Using an inductive qualitative approach, researchers developed a three-tier thematic model to synthesize the self-reported reasons underlying participants’ affective responses to the COVID-19 ERT. Findings reveal a complex mix of positive and negative emotional responses among participants that included frequent occurrences of feelings of stress and uncertainty traced to a variety of external, internal, and contextual factors. Implications for STEM teaching practice are discussed.