The impact of changing environment on undergraduate mathematics students’ status

Abstract

This paper focuses on the impact of changing environment on undergraduate mathematics students’ status, described through their engagement, participation, and motivation levels. These parameters were computed through a fuzzy cognitive map, which gathered data from a situation-aware e-learning platform. The main goal is to analyze the students’ reaction to a long-term emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed-methods case study was conducted at University of Salerno to evaluate how completely remote teaching for the second year influenced the student’s status. The results show that distance learning and other social factors decrease university mathematics students’ motivation, engagement, participation, and overall performance in the long term, despite the countless teaching strategies implemented, the consolidated combination of mathematics and technology, and the use of a situation-aware e-learning platform.