Background: COVID-19 has brought many hurdles, and people have had to adjust to new ways. The online class was one such adjustment. Students in health science and engineering streams have more practical learning than theory. The online classes halted the normal teaching-learning processes and brought in unique set of difficulties which was a challenge to both the teacher and the student.
Purpose: This study was undertaken to understand the effect of online learning on achievement motivation among health sciences and engineering students during the COVID-19 pandemic and to find out if there is a significant difference across gender, age, type of internet connectivity, and rural/urban areas.
Methods: This was a survey-based comparative study. The sample size was 440 and consisted of health science and engineering undergraduate college students, both male and female, in the age group of 17-24 years. Data were collected through the Achievement Motivation Scale given online. A descriptive, z-test, and ANOVA were used to analyze the data.
Results: The average need for motivation was shown by 50% of engineering students and 54.55% of health science students. High motivation was shown by only 1.36% of engineering students and 0% of health science students. Females showed better achievement motivation than males, and those having good connectivity and staying in urban areas showed higher achievement motivation.
Conclusion: Lockdowns cannot be predicted, but the government needs to be effective in its planning for the rural population with regards to internet connectivity. Policymakers concerned with education should come up with modified teaching strategies for better student engagement. Even during regular off-line teaching, one day a week should be devoted to online classes so that this becomes part of the regular curriculum.
Keywords: Student engagement; engineering students; human motivation; innovative platforms; robust interactive technology; teaching strategies.
© The Author(s) 2023.