Challenges encountered by students in Face-to-Face Classes during

pandemic

When the back-to-school of the tradition learning modality, face-to-face classes,

has begun, a lot of students and teachers have encountered various challenges that

they shared after the five-weeks implementation of the said modality (Malipot, 2022).

Due to this implementation, a lot of students have shared their concerns and

expectations toward the challenges that they might encounter during the Face-to-Face

Classes. Some of these are presented by the Assistant Secretary of National Academy of

Sports (NAS) and Field Operations, Malcolm Garma. According to Garma (2022), some

students cannot hear properly the teacher due to masks and barriers; some cannot

clearly see the writings on the board because of the distancing measurements; some

students do not have enough time to ask for clarifications; the tendency to remove their

face masks during break time that concerns health protocols; and some learners do not

have enough learning materials (Malipot, 2022). Not only has Garma shared the

challenges of students they encounter in Face-to-Face classes, but also the students

themselves.

Now, only elected schools are allowed to implement the Face-to-Face Class

Modality, but in the future, it will also be implanted on more schools as soon as the

case of Covid-19 is nearly solved. Because of this, students are either anxious or excited

about the returning of the traditional modality, face-to-face classes. Based on Rappler

(2022), there are a lot of challenges that they are expecting to experience, especially

that their last face-to-face classes was already two (2) years ago. Some of the students
shared that they are anxious of what to prioritize because some of them are working

students; concerned with the traffic; afraid of the price hike; has social anxiety; and the

still existence of COVID-19 (2022).

When in school, various activities are done in order to practice the students’ skills

in different aspects and to make their teaching more effective. One of these activities is

the group work activities in which students are assigned to do a word while working

with each other, their co-members specifically. But, there are also challenges that

students experience during group work activities during Face-to-Face Classes. Some of

the reported problems are as follows: group member’s lack of participation, lack of

collaboration among members, lack of communication, and lack of initiatives (Bakir, et

al., 2020).
Personal Challenges that students encounter during face-to-face modality

A. Personal issues (academic stress, attention span, emotional well-being)

Time management has always been one of the challenges that most students

face especially when it comes to school works. However, it somehow becomes worse

during face-to-face as students have to attend the schools personally which means that

a lot of their time allotted to their studying hours are converted into other matters such

as commuting, attending practices, and completing given tasks. David (2011), found

out that undergraduate students are experiencing stress every semester because of

poor academic commitment and lack of time management skills.

B. Distraction caused by the classroom’s environment

Face-to-face modality motivates students to go to their schools physically and

blend with their classmates inside one classroom wherein they should learn and work

together. On the other hand, there are students who experience challenges due to the

classroom’s environment, and one of this is being distracted by different factors.

According to Harper (2019), “Noisy classrooms can also add to the student stress,

research indicates.” This claim is supported by Sparks (2015) who stated, “Low or

barely perceptible sound… can increase stress and interfere with memory and learning.”

Not only inside the classroom but students are also affected by the noise outside their

room as there are only thin walls dividing them from one another. Noise is not the only

distraction that student often encounter but also other people’s, specifically students’

behavior. As the limited face-to-face modality is now implemented, students together in

a classroom, which means that when someone does other things far from studying, it

has a chance to affect other students. According to Leustig (2019), “When students talk

unnecessarily during times when the class needs to be quite, it disrupts what students

are doing and takes focus away from the task at hand.” Another possible reason for

distraction inside the classrooms is tardiness (Leustig, 2019). One of the possible

obstacles that the face-to-face modality has for the students is tardiness from

commuting which the result of this tends to be more shown when the student arrived in

school. “Unexpected things like traffic on the way to school, talking to a teacher after

their prior class, or extracurricular activities can occur which can make students

occasionally tardy.”

A. Personal issues

According to Mukwevho (2018), “Poor time management is associated with

stress, and work overload that enhances greater chances of drop-out.” There are

factors that affect the time management skills of a student that they can think about a

lot especially during class hours.

B. Distraction

According to Baranao, et al. (2022), “The switching back and forth between

tasks, your brain will produce more cortisol, a stress hormone that often leads to

irritability, aggression, and impulse behavior which is considered a manifestation of

distraction.” This supports the researcher’s claim that distractions challenge the
students. As the limited face-to-face modality is now implemented, students together in

a classroom, which means that when someone does other things far from studying, it

has a chance to affect other students. Based on the survey done, 49% of the students

relayed that seeing screens, 22% of the students answered that hearing the typing

sounds, and 9% of students seeing course-related material from the other students’

screen using off-task technologies are “somewhat” and “very” distracting (Zaza &

Neiterman, 2018). Other than the technologies used by other students, students are

also distracted just by being with other students during the class. According to the

results, “I cannot focus in a noisy environment.”, and “I shift my focus to talking with

my friends during class.”, the weighted mean of these statements has both weighted

mean of more than 3 which can be interpreted as “sometimes” encountered by the

students (Baranao, et al., 2022).

REFERENCES:

Malipot, Marlina H. (2022). Students, teachers encounter various challenges during pilot

face-to-face classes. Manila Bulletin

(2022). Filipino students share anxieties, joys, expectations on return of face-to-face

classes. Rappler

Bakir, Nesrin., Humpherys, Sean., Dana, Kareem. (2022). Students’ Perceptions of

Challenges and Solutions to Face-to-Face and Online Group Work. Information Systems

Education Journal (ISEDJ). 18(5). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1258226.pdf

Mukwevho, Harry. (2018). Time management challenges on students’ academic

performance: A case study of a rural university in Limpopo Province, South Africa -

research. AFFRIKA Journal of Politics, Economics and Society. 8. 81-99.

https://doi.org/10.31920/2050-4284/2018/s1n1a12

Sparks, S. (2015). Low-Level Classroom Noise Distracts, Experts Say. Education Week.

Harper, A. (2019). Study: Classroom background noise especially distracting to young

students. K-12 Dive.

Leustig, T. (2019). 6 of the most common classroom distractions. Dyknow.

Baranao, E. Mariano, A.A. Nanit, J.N. Samson, K.C. (2022). Distractions and Coping

Mechanisms in Blended Learning of Grade 10 Students in Philippine School Doha, S.Y.

2021-2022. 97(1). https://100971320222988.pdf

Neiterman, E., & Zaza, C. (2019). A mixed blessing? Students’ and instructors’

perspectives about off-task technology use in the academic classroom. The Canadian

Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 10(1).

https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2019.1.8002
Theoretical Framework

Sanford’s theory of Challenge and Support

Sanford’s theory of Challenge and Support emphasizes the connection between

the challenges that students encounter and the support that practitioners can give

them. According to Sanford (1967), supports are cushions that help the students to

encounter challenges in order for them to be successful. This theory entails that the

challenges that students encounter are often unavoidable and instead of getting rid of

them, practitioners must support them in going through those challenges. It

emphasizes that when the support received by the students are as high as the

challenges they encounter, there is a more positive outcome for them such as

development, growth, continuum learning, and innovation.

As aligned to the study, Sanford’s theory of challenge and support supports the

wanted outcome of the researchers to inform the school personnel as well as the

parents of the students that the challenges they are experiencing in face-to-face

modality during the pandemic should not be neglected and ignored, but should be

addressed together with their support. Just like what the theory stated, when the

students have the support addressing the challenges, there is a more positive outcome

to them that will eventually improve their development, growth, continuum learning,

and helps in forming innovation.

 Conceptual Framework

Face-to-Face Modality Challenges

Coping Mechanism of
during Pandemic encountered by
Students
students

Personal Aspect

Social Aspect

Institutional Aspect

Health Risks/Concerns