Life During COVID-19: The Student Experience

Study Overview

This study was approved by the institutional review board at our university, which waived the need for a written consent form. However, each participant provided explicit verbal consent for their photographs and quotes to be included in potential exhibits and publications. This consent was reaffirmed and documented by the research team following each interview. Photo-elicitation, first coined by a researcher named John Collier in 1957, is a qualitative research technique that utilizes photographs captured by the participant to guide subsequent interviews (Wang & Burris, 1997; Wang & Redwood-Jones, 2001). This method promotes rich and collaborative discussions between the researchers and the study participants (Bugos et al., 2014; Frasso et al., 2018; Glaw et al., 2017). These collaborative discussions allowed for an in-depth directed content analysis of the issues affecting students during COVID-19.

Research Team

In an effort to better understand the student experience during a pandemic, a team of student researchers (n = 8) and interdisciplinary faculty members was assembled to conduct a photo-elicitation study. The student team members were trained in the use of photo-elicitation for research, asked first to conduct a photo-elicitation interview with a member of the research team, and then additional interviews with members of the larger student body (n = 35). Before each interview, the interviewer obtained verbal consent, which included permission to utilize all photographs in potential exhibits and publications.

Setting

The study was conducted with students enrolled at a large, mid atlantic university with two urban campuses. The team invited students to participate in the photo-elicitation study via recruitment flyers, email listservs, and word of mouth.

Data Collection

Participants were instructed to take photographs that helped them describe life during the pandemic. Participants were given up to 10 days to take photos using their personal camera or smartphone. Students participated in an interview with a member of the research team over a video conferencing platform with a screen share feature to view the photographs during the interview.

Three questions guided the semistructured interview: “Tell me about this photograph?”; “How does this photograph help me understand what this time has been like for you as a student?”; and “How can your institution better assist you during this time?” Interviewers asked additional questions based on participant responses.

Analysis

A directed content analysis approach was utilized—that is, codes were developed in two ways: a priori (informed by the literature and interview guide) and through line-by-line reading of a subsample of interview transcripts, which were open coded by six members of the research team (Assarroudi et al., 2018). Each code was given an explicit definition to ensure coding accuracy and improve intercoder reliability (Assarroudi et al., 2018). The team met virtually to discuss potential codes and draft a codebook. The codebook was piloted on a subsample of interview transcripts by the same six members of the research team. The team met to make final revisions to the codebook.

Explanatory Model Development

Following analysis, the team met, sorted the data into thematic categories, and agreed on an explanatory model (Figure 1).

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Figure 1.

Explanatory model.

Individual Level

Interviews revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic affected participants at an individual level. Participants grappled with a multitude of feelings, including fear, isolation, guilt, sadness, frustration, and exhaustion.

It is kind of isolating not being able to really walk and talk with other people. . . . I don’t know if it’s really rude or not, but if someone’s not wearing a mask and I see a crosswalk coming up, I cross the street.

A student interviewed in May of 2020 shared the following:

I felt kind of guilty doing something like this. I haven’t really seen anybody except for my roommate in months. It felt like a bigger step to go see another person. . . . I think something I’ve been trying to grapple with is what is okay and what is not okay, so that’s where the uneasiness came from.

This was after that shift from above and at that point I was . . . a little exhausted and burnt out. It showed how I was angry at the circumstances that led to all of these people getting sick. There are definitely ways that it could have been prevented.

In addition to managing emotions, students shared their experiences with mental and physical health.

When it’s completely independently me learning, it’s not awesome. It’s fair to say, I’m a high-anxiety person. So, it’s harder for me to spend this much time alone without seeing someone in person.

Suddenly taking a half an hour walk felt like time I could be studying. It wasn’t something I had to do. I don’t know, it was hard to prioritize it.

The transition to virtual and online learning shifted routines.

Those days when you wake up early, just feel so, so much longer for some reason to me. So, I would actively try and kill the morning by sleeping through it basically.

With the increased time on their hands, some participants experimented with new activities, such as cooking, reading, or painting.

This was a painting I started a year and a half ago. I never got time to finish it. One day, I wanted to do something different than just our regular, mundane activities. . . . I just sat down and finished the painting.

Interpersonal Level

Participants shared how the COVID-19 pandemic altered the ways they interacted with colleagues, professors, community members, partners, friends, and family. For example, new living arrangements changed household dynamics.

We have good moments and bad moments. It’s always stressful being confined to the apartment with one person. You’ll get on each other’s nerves at certain points.

In the midst of the pandemic, student responses described how social support remained an essential component of the human experience.

This is the past three weeks that I have been visiting my dad and sisters. It’s been a highlight. If there’s one person that is struggling, it would be my dad. He doesn’t have much work, and he has to take care of those little girls. My oldest sister there is helping out, and it’s very stressful for her. She’s not very good at it, so I’m trying to help him out in any way. It’s just so nice to see them.

It’s been really nice because we [my partner and I] support each other and if one of us is getting overwhelmed, we’re really helpful at calming each other down.

Organizational Level

Participants reflected on the intersection of the pandemic with major societal events, including the fight for social justice and the upcoming elections. In addition to managing the complexities of the pandemic, students expressed feeling stuck between a rock and hard place. Several students felt conflicted, as they wanted to protest police brutality in the United States but did not want to contribute to the spread of COVID-19.

With all of the [George] Floyd marches, I’ve had such a hard time. I believe in the cause, but I don’t believe in looting and I don’t believe in mass gatherings right now. . . . That mental turmoil has been a lot for me to deal with because I want to be able to march in support of the cause, but I also want the world to go back to a pre-pandemic state.

There are so many extreme issues happening that are being pushed under the rug. . . . Right now we have a lot more time to reflect and be introspective around issues of oppression and racism. The system is really out to get people that aren’t white.

In the midst of conducting interviews, the U.S. general elections were on the horizon. Several participants described their experience with voting.

I think one of the interesting things about this whole quarantine is I feel like I’ve been getting so much more exposure to what’s going on in the world particularly since I finished school. . . . I feel like I’ve been hyper focused on what is going on around the world, so I wanted to make sure I could get my vote in this year.

Additionally, some students discussed the impact of COVID-19 on their financial situation.

The Financial Aid Office hasn’t mentioned this to us before. It’s much harder to budget over a chunk of time because we’re not paid weekly or monthly. We’re given loan disbursements over months, so we have to stretch it across months.

Overlap

While there are several codes specific to the individual, interpersonal, and organizational levels, some codes overlapped categories.

Individual/Interpersonal Levels

Students described how their coping processes and productivity were influenced by or involved other people.

Some complaining is cathartic. . . . If you do have something you need to get off your chest, you say it and I kind of did to my boyfriend over the phone and just talked about how it was rough sometimes. (Figure 2)

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Figure 2.

Student self-portrait taken after working a shift as an emergency medical technician.

Individual/Interpersonal/Organizational

The new normal, time, technology, education, purpose, and grief/loss overlapped each level of the explanatory model. The new normal shifted daily routines, living arrangements, and methods of socialization. Participants described the adjustment to the new normal as complicated and stressful.

I think this whole thing has been pretty stressful, adjusting to this new normal.

Technology quickly became the primary mode of communication for schools, workplaces, health care offices, and other organizations. Students shared their experiences with the increased technology usage.

We used to hang out often with our friends, either at other people’s apartments or restaurants or bars or things like that, but now, we’re hanging out on Zoom and catching up that way and it’s starting to feel like the new normal way to hang out.

Students shared challenges related to virtual and online learning, including finding a conducive study space and managing the distractions that accompany working from home.

I studied in the bathroom basically every day. . . . For the exam, I made this makeshift cozy seat and the irony is that I was taking the GI exam, so that gave everyone a good laugh. (Figure 3)

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Figure 3.

Photograph taken by a student who transformed their bathroom to a study and test taking space.

I’m in a [seated] position for such a long time. Also, for some reason, I find virtual classes more tiring than the in-person classes. And it’s funny because I used to complain so much about our three hour in-person classes being so long and stuff, but I kind of wish that we had that back.

I think something that was hard for me during online classes and meetings, because I had to be on my computer, it was really hard not to do other stuff during it. . . . It was really hard to not try and answer emails during a 10-person class on zoom, where in-person, I probably would have been much more engaged because it would be easier to just put away my electronics.

Some students expressed their desire to find a purpose during COVID-19.

My mom dropped off my sewing machine that I’ve had since the eighth grade. . . . I’ve been bored lately and feeling crafty, so I started sewing a mask the other day. . . . Hopefully I can find someone to give them to because it is weird not doing anything helpful.

(EMT speaking about a COVID-19 relief mission) I think it’s a lot better than sitting at home for me personally. I think that going out and actually being able to do something was really, really helpful, at least for my own mental health.

While the death toll from COVID-19 continues to rise in the United States and globally, several students shared their experiences with grief and loss.

My grandfather passed away yesterday from COVID. . . . A lot of people probably feel this way too . . . it’s been pretty easy to feel sad and depressed, and it’s been pretty hard to feel a lot of joy.

You compartmentalize, you try and disassociate in whatever way you can, and you chalk it up to other people’s rules and not your own. . . . Most of my patients were elderly, so the chance that they would survive and have a good neurological outcome would be pretty poor.

Strengths and Limitations

The strengths of this study lie in the methodological approach, which fostered rich conversations between students about a shared experience. Students interviewing students established an environment where individuals were able to process their experiences with one another. The research team recognized the value and benefits of this reflective process. Additionally, the analysis was led by student researchers on our multidisciplinary team.

These findings should be considered in light of the study’s limitations. The photo-elicitation interviews were conducted with participants through a video conferencing platform. With this online format, there were connectivity issues, and some participants were intermittently disconnected from the interview, which had the potential to interrupt thoughts about questions posed by the interviewer. The majority of participants were graduate students, and undergraduate students were underrepresented. However, at the onset of the pandemic, the undergraduate student’s experiences were consistent with graduate students.

Public Health Implications

Our goals were to explore the student experience during COVID-19 and provide students an opportunity to process with one another. While students shared difficulties with remote learning, they more often spoke about emotional, mental, physical, and other challenges that affect their ability to learn and quality of life. The transition to virtual and online learning coincided with a societal awakening to long-standing social injustices. Students discussed the moral conflict this convergence introduced into their lives. Navigating the pandemic, social injustices, and the heightened political climate, highlighted the need for educators to prioritize safety, connection, and wellness in their pedagogical practices. The students who participated in this study made a clear statement to the faculty about their learning and well-being needs. Learning cannot be prioritized over the loss of safety amidst the pandemic, health concerns, or social injustices.

Our hope is for administrators and faculty at academic institutions to utilize this information to improve student experiences and support systems. In addition to being mindful of student experiences in course planning, faculty should consistently incorporate check-ins at the beginning of class to assess their students’ emotional temperature to ensure flexibility in pedagogy and promote student-centered learning. It is important to remember that we are not free to move or connect in typical forms in a virtual space. There are no brief encounters with students as they shuffle in and out of the classroom. It simply may take more time to become acquainted with others. To promote connections and support wellness, we must integrate movement and creativity in the online learning environment.

In the future, universities and colleges may face COVID-19 resurgences or other crises that may force them to pivot to virtual learning. This article provides information that could be utilized to support future students who face similar educational challenges. Additionally, this work may help faculty prepare to welcome students back to the classroom with the support necessary to recover from the educational and emotional losses suffered as a result of the pandemic.