Reduce Academic Fatigue and Enhance Retention for the Determined Ones (TDOs) in Online Learning

Conference: The European Conference on Education (ECE2022)
Title: Reduce Academic Fatigue and Enhance Retention for the Determined Ones (TDOs) in Online Learning
Stream: Education & Difference: Gifted Education, Special Education, Learning Difficulties & Disability
Presentation Type: Virtual Presentation
Authors:
Jacqui Lottin, The Higher Colleges of Technology, United Arab Emirates

Abstract:

COVID-19 Pandemic has had a remarkable influence on the day to day activities around the world. In the spring of 2020, with the abrupt and essential transition from on-campus learning to distance learning, students and educators had limited time to prepare for such a massive shift in teaching and learning. Students with disabilities were greatly impacted because their normal routines were abandoned, leading to anxiety and stress resulting from the unknown. The move to online learning was a reactive than a proactive approach, because no one foresaw the impact on lifestyles. By summer 2020, as a result of online learning, key issues of academic fatigue and retention in students were widely identified through surveys and other data. This study emanated from these concerns to provide opportunities to address the issues in a proactive manner, using methods that will enhance student retention. Virtual teaching, using video conferencing programs like Zoom and Microsoft Teams engaged students in isolation at home. ‘Zoom academic fatigue’ as dubbed by Duong, T. (2020) set in. Consequently, combating this new form of exhaustion directly impacting the learning for students with disabilities is the basis for this study. In the United Arab Emirates, The Determined Ones (TDOs) is the official appellation given to people with disabilities. This study, conducted at The Higher Colleges of Technology, in Abu Dhabi, seeks to determine effective strategies to support TDOs in online learning, create a support program and TDO Hub that will meet their needs and combat the effects of academic fatigue.