The Impact of Long-Term Online Learning During the Pandemic on The Decline of Students' Cognitive Performance

Abstract

The trend toward online learning and assessment is seen as having greatly benefited higher education, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, its effectiveness is seen to have a large impact on the students' performance. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the factors that affect students’ cognitive performance during an extended period of online learning. The data were collected from one course (Electronics 2) offered to second-year students of the Diploma in Electrical Engineering (Electronics) for a period of four semesters: March–July 2019, March–July 2020, March–July 2021, and March–July 2022. Statistical data analysis was carried out using Single Factor ANOVA and a Tukey HSD post-hoc test in Microsoft Excel. The findings of the study have shown that the cognitive achievement of students is greatly affected by online learning and assessment compared to face-to-face methods. Students need more time during online learning to learn and understand lessons, in the long run, this is the main factor that causes students' motivation to decrease. As a result, it has a negative impact on the cognitive development and achievement of students. Based on the findings, academic institutions need to review the learning and assessment methods from online to hybrid or face-to-face which can be beneficial for both lecturers and students.