Impact of remote tutoring on the performance of Medical students during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract:

Introduction:

During the Covid-19 pandemic, most countries of the world decreed the closure of various sectors of society, including medical schools, which started to rely on virtual classes. CESUPA, therefore, adopted the remote tutoring strategy to continue the school semester. These changes brought to light the limitations of distance learning, which can be presented in different ways.

Objective:

To identify the impact on students’ perception of remote tutoring compared to face-to-face tutoring regarding their academic performance during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Method:

A cross-sectional, descriptive and observational study was conducted with 250 students through virtual questionnaires completed by students from the fourth to the eighth semester of the CESUPA Medicine course from February to December 2021. The results found were considered significant if the p-value was less than 0.05.

Results:

It can be noted that remote tutoring showed some disadvantages in relation to face-to-face tutoring, such as more difficulty in maintaining concentration, the feeling of being less prepared for the end of module test, more difficulty in resolving doubts, less dedication and less motivation during remote tutoring. Among the factors that can be characterized by the association with worse academic performance during remote tutoring compared to face-to-face tutoring are being aged up to 20 years, having no other additional training and being in the fourth or fifth semester of the course. Furthermore, it was noted that gender did not influence academic performance during remote tutoring.

Conclusion:

It was concluded that students reported a worse academic performance during remote tutoring when compared to face-to-face tutoring according to the perception of the participants.

Keywords:
Medical Education; Mentoring; Covid-19; Academic Performance