A Tale of Two Time Zones: Exploring Emergency Remote Learning Experience of Chinese International Students during COVID-19

• In Event: Education Abroad Impact on Learning

Proposal

A Tale of Two Time Zones: Exploring Emergency Remote Learning Experience of Chinese International Students during COVID-19

Introduction
International students encountered unprecedented challenges during the pandemic. The changing conditions in international students' host countries require them to adjust their study strategies. However, students' choices are often constrained and are heavily reliant on the changing economic, socio-cultural, and political conditions of home and host countries (Geddie, 2013). Because of the travel bans and VISA restrictions posed by the Trump administration and changes in the F-1 study regulations, many Chinese international students had to return to, or stay in, China for emergency remote learning (ERL). The disturbance of the sleeping schedule caused by the considerable time differences, intertwined with other stressors, exacerbating detrimental impacts on students’ different dimensions of wellbeing. However, due to the unprecedented situation, our understanding of students' ERL experience in higher education is still limited (Johnson et al., 2020).
This study aims to explore the ERL experience of Chinese international students who studied in different time zones by examining the following research questions:
1. How did Chinese international students describe their ERL experience?
2. How did they cope with stress during their ERL?

Conceptual Framework
Drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model (1997) and care-oriented human-centered pandemic pedagogy (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2021), this study developed a conceptual framework to examine how Chinese international students experienced ERL and coped with stressors. Students' ERL environment is influenced by different levels of context, including global pandemic context, home country and host country contexts, institutional, family-level, and peer-level contexts. On the one hand, various stressors from the learning environment may negatively influence students' wellbeing. On the other hand, students also develop coping strategies to buffer the harmful effects of stress. Here, the human-centered approach provides an essential perspective in examining Chinese international students' ERL experience.

Methods
This study adopts a narrative approach to understand better the dynamics and nuances of Chinese international students' ERL experience.
The seven participants in this study were from a research university in California and recruited through personal social networks. I used three research methods to generate data: (1) document collection of policies on Chinese international students/scholars' VISA and international travel regulations; (2) artifacts collection, including social media posts on Wechat and Weibo about their ERL experience, and a documentary on produced by China Central Television on Chinese international students' ERL experience; and (3) individual semi-structured interviews in Chinese via Zoom.
I adopted both inductive and deductive approaches in data analysis. I began with open coding (Miles et al., 2014) by highlighting words and sentences that stood out or were directly related to research questions. I then moved to axial coding (Miles et al., 2014), where I compared and related these codes into different categories related to my research questions and conceptual framework. Finally, I situated these constructs with each other by developing tree diagrams and synopsis charts to develop findings. Member checks, dialogical engagement, and triangulation based on multiple and different sources of information were utilized to support validity (Ravitch & Carl, 2016).

Findings
Challenges to Different Dimensions of Wellbeing
The disrupted sleep and studying schedule have detrimental effects on Chinese international students' physical, mental, social, and academic wellbeing. The negative physical symptoms include severe insomnia, headache, hypertension, inflammation, etc. Participants also suffered from mental distress because of the frequent anxiety about their low study efficiency, lack of academic progress, and personal health. In terms of social wellbeing, although the new study environment has mitigated homesickness, the messed-up working schedule disrupted their everyday social interactions. Lastly, both physical and mental distress has led to low academic motivation and engagement, undesirable learning outcomes, and ineffective learning outside the class.

Interrelations of Various Stressors
Some of the stressors that Chinese international students face are inherent from common stressors most international students will face, such as English-Language proficiency, cultural barriers, and academic stress (Choy & Alon, 2019). Other stressors, such as messed-up sleeping and class schedule, VPN and internet connections due to the Great Firewall in China, and travel restrictions and VISA regulations posed by the trump-administration, are emerging from the pandemic context and the ERL modes in two time zones. These new stressors, coupled with the traditional stressors, have intensified the negative learning experience of these Chinese international students.

Opportunities for Online Learning
Despite various challenges, new online learning opportunities that elevated Chinese international students' class experience can also be identified from the interviews. Compared with the traditional in-person class, the 'camera off' option and 'virtual presence' from the Zoom learning format freed them from the physical appearance and gave them more time to think and respond to the questions and discussion. This is particularly true for the students whose first language is not English (Yi & Majima, 1993) and whose previous classroom behaviors are strictly disciplined by the teachers and norms.

Ways of Coping
Chinese international students developed survival tactics that helped them cope with various stressors during their ERL. These coping strategies resulted from a process of balancing, constructing, and negotiating the options and resources they recognized as available and suitable. Many of their coping strategies were out of self-health-care and from emotion-related support from families, friends, and communities. However, they also engaged in negative coping because of the lack of support from the instructors and institutions.

Significance
This study has three important implications. As the emerging global and local contexts have drastically changed the teaching and learning landscape, this study sheds light on a reimagination of international education based on care-oriented human-centered pedagogy to best support the needs of international students. Secondly, it calls for full commitment and physical and mental support from the faculties, departments, universities, and the host countries to provide a welcoming learning environment for international students. Thirdly, although this study described stories of Chinese international students, other international students may also share similar challenges as they learn in two time zones. Building an inclusive and supportive community is essential for enhancing international students' experience and personal development in the post-pandemic era.

Author

• Hui Huang, UCLA