Adaptability to a sudden transition to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: Understanding the challenges for students.

This cross-sectional study investigated the associations among adaptability to the pandemic, personality, and levels of learning experiences (affective, cognitive, and behavioral) among higher education students required to adapt to an abrupt transition to synchronous online learning due to the global COVID-19 pandemic A sample of 1,217 college students from Israel completed an online questionnaire after transitioning to synchronous online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic Comparisons of reactions to the online condition versus more typical face-to-face learning conditions confirmed that students had pervasive negative reactions to the online condition that became necessary due to the pandemic Moreover, adaptability to the pandemic was associated broadly with more positive reactions across multiple indicators Support was also found for an indirect associations model such that personality traits were associated with specific reactions to online learning via their associations with adaptability Supplemental analyses highlighted the more positive reactions and learning adaptability of students who reported greater feelings of belonging and mattering The current findings attest to the role of adaptability and the significant challenges experienced by college students who experienced changes in their learning and life conditions due to the need to rapidly adjust to the changes and uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)