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How do virtual classes impact the performance of University Canada West students during

the Covid 19 pandemic?

Kathia Vences (2025748)

University Canada West

RSCH 600: Graduate Research Methods

Hedru, Paul

September 19, 2021

“I agree that the work in this research proposal project is my own work and that I have

given credit to all sources of information used in my paper by including citations and

references. I acknowledge that I am expected to exercise the utmost academic integrity

in this assignment.” Kathia Vences

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Introduction

As a result of the restrictive measures imposed in reaction to COVID-19, traditional

education was disrupted, with schools and universities closed throughout the countries.

Educational institutions, including instructors and students, were compelled to go online because

of the epidemic. Furthermore, since most of them had previously only attended face-to-face

classes, they battle in the transition; in addition, most students were not psychologically prepared

for such a dramatic shift. Likewise, higher education as Universities were severely impacted by

the COVID-19 epidemic when institutions shuttered their buildings and nations closed their

borders in response to lockdown measures. This also affects learning continuity and delivery of

instructional materials, international students' safety and legal status in their home country, and

students' perceptions of their careers' worth. Higher education institutions rapidly replaced face-

to-face courses with online learning. They frequently failed to develop new forms for delivering

instruction and assignments due to a lack of expertise and time. The students were the more

affected by this new way of learning, struggling in their studies.

For this reason, the main objective of this research is to evaluate how do virtual classes

impact the performance of University Canada West students during the Covid 19 pandemic and

which factors influence in a positively way the performance of the University Canada West

students in their online classes during pandemic Covid 19. Therefore, this research has defined

the hypothesis that four elements positively impact student performance: Instructor's ability,

course design, student motivation, and good internet connection. It is hoped that this study's

results will contribute to educators and universities improving student performance in online

courses.
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Literature Review

Evaluating the factors:

There have been several studies related to factors that impact positively on the

performance of the student. Still, there have been few conducted in extraordinary circumstances,

such as a pandemic. For instance, in the context of university students, Maqableh et al. (2020)

examine the effect of critical variables on academic achievement. The researcher used a survey

questionnaire to gather data from 476 volunteers at a Jordanian university. The findings indicate

that the variables continuance intention, satisfaction, and information value have a beneficial

impact on academic achievement.

Furthermore, Eom et al. (2016) researched students enrolled in online courses at a US

University and established with a Grounded constructivist theory, an equation modeling to

investigate the factors that impact the student satisfaction and perceived learning, resulting in

that course design, instructor, and dialogue are the strongest predictors of user learning

outcomes.

Considering the main research question to solve in this investigation is related to which

factors influence the student performance in their online classes during a pandemic, Baber

(2020), reveals in his study made to undergraduate students in both South Korea and India during

a pandemic that the primary drivers of perceived learning outcome and student satisfaction are

classroom interaction, student motivation, course structure, teacher knowledge, and facilitation.

He emphasized the critical importance of studying the variables that influence student

satisfaction. The parallels between this study and that of the Eom author are that course design
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and the instructor are essential variables influencing student satisfaction. Still, neither study

addresses the effect on student performance.

Going deeper, Gopal et al. (2021), gathered from 544 MBA and BBA students at an

Indian University, this research demonstrates the variables that are directly related to students'

satisfaction and performance in online courses throughout Covid- 19 are: Quality of the

instructor, course design, prompt feedback, and expectation of students being the instructor's

quality the most significant variable of all. Something to highlight in this research is that the

previous empirical investigations did not include the impact of factors on the students'

performance during Covid 19. This study's disadvantage is that it only focuses on theoretical

online courses and does not deal with practice classes.

The similarities encountered in the selected four literature sources are that they have used

quantitative methods to obtain the relation between the factors and the satisfaction or

performance. Furthermore, three of them establish that course design and the instructor are

essential factors to consider regarding how they influence satisfaction and performance. Still,

none of them includes the internet connection, a critical variable that affects the equation's

students' performance as this current research does. Another aspect to highlight about this

research is that there is no previous research addressing Canada's country as this study does.

For this research, the four factors that affect students' successful performance online

during the pandemic in University Canada West are Course design, instructor abilities,

satisfaction, internet connection.

Instructor ability:
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Although the pandemic has changed the way students study today, it has also changed the

way instructors teach now, with many instructors delivering courses online for the first time.

Aldowah et al. (2019) investigated the difficulties that instructors have while utilizing e-learning

technologies. For that purpose, a total of 107 university instructors answered an online survey on

the significant challenges they see in adopting e-learning at their institutions, using the structural

equation model (PLS-SEM). The findings revealed that difficulties connected to the course

design, assistance is given, societal/cultural factors and technology significantly affected the

instructors' usage of e-learning systems. The issue with this research is that it is conducted only

in developed nations.

Furthermore, Gopal et al. (2021) argues that instructors responsible for online classes

during the epidemic had an additional duty to fulfill. They would have to adjust to a changing

atmosphere, refine their technical abilities throughout the process, and promote the technical

expertise of new pupils in this setting, among other things. Huynh (2005) argues that the

instructor's responsibility in an online environment is to promote, lead, and provoke critical

thinking in students while providing autonomy and accountability.

Lastly, according to Gopal et al. (2021), the quality of the teacher is the essential element

that influences student satisfaction during online courses. This necessitates a high level of

efficiency from the teacher throughout the lectures. To present the course material effectively,

one must first grasp the psychology of the pupils. It concludes that the teacher's ability to explain

the course material correctly affects students' satisfaction and performance.

These three first studies have certain parallels in terms of the difficulties teachers encounter in

virtual courses, although not all have been conducted in a pandemic scenario. Otherwise, the last
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two types of research emphasize the importance of instructor quality and how this factor

significantly impacts the students' performance.

H1: Instructor ability positively impacts the performance of the students.

Course design:

"The planning and design of the course structure, as well as the process, engagement,

interaction, and assessment elements of the course, are all covered by course design" Eom et al.

(2016, p. 19). According to Mtebe and Raisamo (2014), well-designed courses that achieve the

desired learning result are a strong predictor of learners' success in courses delivered through

eLearning technology. They establish the quality of the course will have a beneficial effect on

the learners' performance. In addition, Mohammed et al. (2020) state that the course design has a

favorable impact on e-performance learning's expectation and helps to improve the student's

performance. The study results provide critical information for universities, administrators, and

academics about students' preferences regarding course design. In addition, Eom et al. (2016)

argue that course design and structure will be highly associated with user satisfaction,

particularly when course content is arranged into logical and understandable components that are

engaging and encourage learners' desire to learn. However, Almaiah and Almulhem (2018)

investigated the state of e-learning at Saudi institutions; they discovered that poorly structured

courses were to blame for students' low use of the e-learning system. Nevertheless, if the course

is structured properly, it will result in greater adoption of the e-learning system by the students

and an increase in their overall performance (Mtebe & Raisamo, 2014). The common thread

running across all the studies was that course design may be generated and exploited to enhance

student performance.
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H2: Course design positively impacts the performance of the students.

Student motivation

Student motivation has been described as students' ability, inventiveness, and readiness to

study and engage in classroom learning (Cole et al., 2004). By contrast, Harmon-Jones et al.

(2013) define approach motivation as the impulse to move toward, without defining the valence

of the stimuli toward which the impulse is directed, and indeed, without any inciting stimulus

requirement. One of the most significant factors limiting the development of online learning is a

lack of interest or motivation, increasing the number of students who drop out of online courses

(Aragon et al., 2008). Students are more motivated to study in such a setting because of

contemporary teaching techniques and the internet environment (Baber, 2020).

In addition, according to Hsu et al. (2019), exceptionally motivated students will achieve more

success in the online environment than students who are not highly motivated.

Contrasly, Chen et al. (2010) found no evidence of a statistically significant relationship

between self-determined motivation and students' learning results.

H3: Student´s motivation positively impacts the performance of the students.

Internet Connection

When it comes to the adoption of e-learning, factors such as access to technology,

availability of technology, and cost may all play a role. In the context of education and learning,

technological difficulties may be described as any technical issues that a person may encounter

while using technology in the classroom. This involves insufficient access, poor internet speed,

lack of specialized equipment, and other computing problems (Oye et al., 2011). Furthermore,
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Rotas et al. (2020), explore in their qualitative research the challenges of distance learning for

university students in the Philippines during COVID-19. They established by an electronic

survey method that an unstable internet connection is one of the most common problems students

face while studying remotely. The geographical location mostly brings on this issue; the weather

adds to the problem in other instances. They recommended that the Government authorities

advocate for improved technology and access to the internet, particularly in rural areas. One

thing that sets this study apart from others is that it establishes a qualitative inquiry.

One of the most exciting contributions of this study is that no prior research has been

done to correlate the effect of internet access on student performance. Therefore, one of

hypothesis of this research is that a good internet connection positively impacts university

students' performance.

H4: A good internet connection positively impacts the performance of the students.

Statement of the problem

COVID19 has had an irreversible effect on various activities throughout the globe, including

learning and education (Baber, 2020). Educational institutions, including instructors and

students, were compelled to migrate online because of the epidemic. Furthermore, most of the

students were not psychologically prepared for such a dramatic shift, struggling in their studies.

This study aims to examine how do virtual classes impact the performance of University Canada

West students during the Covid 19 pandemic? For that purpose, it will be chosen 70 MBA

students who have been studying virtually in a pandemic Covid 19 in University Canada West in

Vancouver. For this aim, it will be a quantitative technique utilizing an online survey. The

principals' differences between this current research and the previous investigations are:
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 The past studies have examined the factors affecting the student's performance in the

conventional schooling framework and not online methodology during a pandemic such a

Covid 19.

 Previous research has been developed in different countries like India, the USA, Jordania,

and South Corea among others, still, none of them address the University of Canada West

in the nation of Canada.

 Prior empirical results have emphasized the significance of analyzing the variables

influencing student satisfaction, but few investigations contemplate the impact on student

performance.

 Previous research has not evaluated how instructor abilities, course design, student

motivation, and good internet connection impact students' performance during the

pandemic.

The findings of this research will assist educators and Universities in improving student's

performance in online courses. In addition, the present study aids educators in comprehending

the many elements that are needed for online instruction. It is hoped that this small sample can be

replicated later in a more extensive selection. It also contributes to the literature by

demonstrating that multiple factors are responsible for student performance. It is anticipated that

the findings will reveal the variables that have a favorable impact on MBA students' academic

performance at University Canada West.

Research questions

The research question to solve are:

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 Which factors influence the performance of the University Canada West students in their

online classes during pandemic Covid 19?

 Do the instructor's ability, course design, student motivation, and good internet

connection positively impact the students' performance?

Additionally, the following hypothesis are raised:

H1: Instructor ability positively impacts the performance of the students.

H2: Course design positively impacts the performance of the students.

H3: Student´s motivation positively impacts the performance of the students.

H4: Good internet connection positively impacts the performance of the students.

Literature Map

How do virtual classes impact the performance

of University Canada West students during the
Covid 19 pandemic? Evaluating Factors:
- Maqableh et al. (2020)
- Eom et al. (2016)
- Baber (2020)
Which factors influence the performance of the
University Canada West students in their online
classes during pandemic Covid 19?

Instructor ability Course design Good internet

Student´s motivation
connection

- Eom et al. (2016, p.

19).
- Aldowah et al. - Mtebe and Raisamo - Cole et al., 2004
(2019). (2014) - Oye et al., 2011
- Aragon et al., 2008
- Gopal et al. (2021) - Mohammed et al. - Rotas et al. (2020),
- Hsu et al. (2019).
(2020)
- Huynh (2005) - Chen et al. (2010)
- Almaiah and Almulhem
(2018)
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Data Collection

Type of Data

This study's main objective is to respond to the two following research questions: Firstly:

Which factors influence the performance of the University Canada West students in their online

classes during pandemic Covid 19? Secondly: Do the instructor's ability, course design, student

motivation, and good internet connection positively impact the students' performance? For that

purpose, secondary data will be used to examine data that others have already gathered

(Donnellan et al., 2023).

Considering that the data required is related to the students at the University Canada West

and the University gathered all the needed data, the information will be requested and obtained

from the registration department. It will suppose the University counts with details like the

students' online experience, age, sex, the first day of online classes, the number of courses, and

other data required.

A quantitative survey design approach will be used in this research; this will help the

testing association. Furthermore, this approach will allow us to analyze the relationship between

two variables: the independents as instructor's ability, course design, student motivation, and a

good internet connection, and the dependent variable as the students' performance. Because of

the cost and time constraints, it was decided to adopt this method rather than the experimental

one.

In addition, the surveys will only be carried out once to gather the necessary information.

As a result, only discrete data will be used in the research, conducted using a cross-sectional

design. The data will be collected during the COVID-19 epidemic period since it is considered

the ideal time to collect data relevant to the present study subject.
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Data alternatives

Information will be gathered by email, and only those selected to be part of the study's sample

pool will be asked to complete surveys. These online questionaries will be created through

google forms. In case of poor acceptance, this research could gather data using other techniques

such as online video recordings and interviews through zoom sessions. Likewise, the

participation of students will be encouraged by offering three online workshops for those

students who participate.

Participants

The sample for this study will be drawn from the student population enrolled during the

year 2021 in 2 programs (MBA Foundations or MBA) at University Canada West. These

students were or are studying online during Covid 19 pandemic. Email addresses of 1200

students will be identified from student's data files. In addition, the selection of the sample will

be randomly selected. The probability type of sampling will be used because the intention is that

all the population can have the same opportunity to participate. Finally, for this research, a

sample of 70 people will be needed. Researchers, instructors, and students will benefit

significantly from the findings of this study. It also adds to the literature by showing that various

variables contribute to students' performance and success in online courses during the COVID-

19 epidemic.

Develop in time.

Because it must be developed in the context of a global pandemic like Covid 19, this

study employs a descriptive research approach. In contrast to longitudinal studies, which look at

people across time, cross-sectional studies describe what is happening right now (Cherry, 2019).

In addition, the data in time could change; if that occurs, the data should be obtained in the
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specific time we would do the research. For that reason, it is essential to limit the time of

recollecting the data. For instance, the University of Canada West allows offering online classes

in this moment of the pandemic, but next year could or could not change the methodology.

Ethical issues

An ethical problem with this research is that the sensitive information provided could be

leaked or disclosed. It is critical to apply the best practices of confidentiality and privacy of the

information that guarantees good protection for that purpose. Some good practices will be:

Clearness with methods used to collect data, delete emails obtained after moving the data to the

shared file, and lastly, the participants could be coded not to expose their personal information.

In addition, different biases could be present in collecting the data from the survey, for example,

if the sample is not chosen entirely random, or acquiescence bias when the research has a

friendship with some participants. Or, when you are given a scale-type questionnaire, the

respondents could be influenced to choose just the most extreme choices on a scale. Some good

ways to address this bias could be to recruit volunteer assistants like researchers' practitioners

who don't belong to the University Canada West who help you choose the sample systematically

and randomly so that all participants have the same chance to participate. Another practice is like

a researcher to request other colleagues to review the process of collecting your data and your

findings.

Analysis of Stationary Data

The PSS and AMOS software will be used to examine the data. According to Orcan

(2018), factor analysis is a multivariate statistical technique that takes the interpretive approach

chosen for the self-report survey into account and is commonly utilized in education. For that

reason, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) will initially be performed on our sample of 70

people using the VARIMAX rotation to extract the unique components. It is hoped that the
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results of the exploratory analysis render the factors associated with the students' performance. In

addition, it will be use AMOS to conduct confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to verify the

components retrieved via EFA. Finally, the predicted connections will be tested using structural

equation modeling (SEM).

Researchers such as Gopal et al. (2021) measured the model with Indian university

students during Covid 19, using EFA and CFA. The results with EFA showed six different

factors: satisfaction, quality, design, feedback, expectations, and performance, and EFA

validated these data. Table 1 further demonstrated that the suggested measurement model had

excellent convergent validity (Aggarwal et al., 2018).

Table 1

Note: The confirmatory factor analysis findings revealed that the values of standardized

factor loadings were statistically significant at the 0.05 level in the research.

The benefits of exploratory research include the researcher's flexibility and ability to

adjust to adjustments as the study proceeds and the fact that it is often minimum cost. Because

exploratory analysis usually consists of a smaller sample, the findings cannot be understood

adequately for a generalized population. If the data is obtained via secondary research, it may be

outdated, but in this case, the present study considers information from 2021.
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Testing Hypotheses
The hypothesis will be tested using the Bayesian approach because it the more accurate

for this study: Firstly, to the fact that population parameters are random and not fixed, secondly,

because it takes into consideration past knowledge of similar experiments considering new

evidence, and I think there are immensely enriching earlier research and lastly because in this

approach a probability is assigned to a hypothesis (Birkett, 2020). Furthermore, the hypothesis

related to the research questions are:

Investigation hypothesis

H1: Instructor ability positively impacts the performance of the students.

H2: Course design positively impacts the performance of the students.

H3: Student motivation positively impacts the performance of the students.

H4: Good internet connection positively impacts the performance of the students

Null hypothesis:

Ho1: The Instructor's ability does not positively impact the performance of the students.

Ho2: Course design does not positively impact the performance of the students.

Ho3: Student motivation does not positively impact the performance of the students.

Ho4: Good internet connection does not positively impact the performance of the students

Concerning previous research, Gopal et al. (2021) utilized the structural equation

modeling method to evaluate the hypothesis because it helped figure out how measurable

variables and latent constructs were related structurally.

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Table 2

Note: Shows the model fitness indices for the structural model when all variables are added

together, and CMIN/DF = 2.479, and all model fit values are within the specified range. This

indicates that the model has a good model fit. Gopal et al. (2021).

Table 3

Note: This shows that the hypothesis related to the variables as the quality of the instructor,

course design, prompt feedback, the expectation of students, and satisfaction affect students'

performance. Gopal et al. (2021).

Timetable and Budget Plan

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Months October 2021 November 2021 December 2021

Week 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
1.Data Collection
Task 1.1. Identify participants
Task 1.2. Pilot testing
Task 1.3 Distribution of questionnaires
Task 1.4 Recollection of Information
2. Data Analysis
Task 2.1 Analysis of the information
Task 2.2 Hypothesis testing
3 Report Writing
3.1 First Version
3.2 Final Version to delivery to the University

Because of the proposal's nature, it won't be highly expenditures. The researcher

conducting the study and two research practitioners who will volunteer to work on the project

will conduct and evaluate the online surveys; thus, compensation costs will not be considered. In

addition, it will be using the personal computers of all research. The unique cost will be the three

workshops that University Canada West will provide to the chosen participants.

Description Cost of each one Total of Workshop Total Cost

3 Hours online Workshops 800 3 $2400

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