OUR LADY OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY

#1 Esperanza St., Hilltop Mansion Heights, Lagro, Quezon City

College of Nursing

1st Semester SY: 2020-2021

The Efficacy of Online Asynchronous Education to the Competency of 

Second Year Nursing Students 
In Academic Year 2020-2021

A research study presented to the faculty

of OLFU QC, College of Nursing

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

In NCMB 311

Presented by:

Consuelo, Rhovic
Buenaventura, Rachelle
Cayme, Clariza Denice
Estocquia, Giselle
Gapultos, Nikkie
Landero, Felyn Joy

Group 1 BSN 3A1-4

Presented to:

Carmela V. Perez, RN, MAN

Research Adviser

2020
1.0 INTRODUCTION

During the advent of pandemic, government officials raise awareness of their people by
lessening crowding in certain areas. This action is a way of preventing further cross infection
among individuals and to protect those who are in the vulnerable group of their nation. These
preventive measures cause a huge effect in the economy and especially to the education sector of
the nation. As this pandemic shapes the life of the Filipino citizen, Philippines’ local sectors tried
to adjust their capability as they planned to continue the postponed school year of the students.
College students are required to comply with their professors regarding the requirements that
they need to be accomplished and to be passed through electronic mail. Other colleges decided to
just postpone the semester and relied on the activities and records that they have before the class
was suspended due to confirmed COVID 19 cases.

         The postponed semester has been resolved but the present crisis can cause delay on the
college education and solution for the pandemic is still in its process. CHED Chairman J.
Prospero De Vera III emphasizes the operative law that covers the opening of classes in Higher
Education Institutions which is the CHED law or the Republic Act No. 7722 that allows colleges
and universities to exercise their academic freedom, such as the opening of classes that gives
differentiation to the newly existing he Republic Act No. 11480, which states that the deferment
of school opening that only applies to all basic education schools, including K-12 program(San
Juan 2020). Since face-to-face classes are still prohibited because of the threat of COVID 19,
classes are going to be held with the use of online platforms aided with online learning resources
provided by their own universities and colleges. Colleges and Universities presented two modes
of learning which is the Online learning and the Modular learning. The online learning is divided
into two which is the synchronous learning where there is an actual interaction with the proctor
via online meeting platform, and asynchronous learning where there is an absence of proctor but
require students to use online channels with viewable or downloadable handouts to continue their
study. Since these changes will be implemented to different colleges, every student must be first
adapted, and adaptation is different from different programs. The researchers foresee the possible
effect of this new format of education to the profession requires extensive and progressive
learning especially the program Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Nursing is a profession that
requires its members to have a significant amount of education and it requires consistency in
level of education which is necessary for RN licensure. One of the professional responsibilities
of a nurse is to be an educator of the patient, providing explanation about client’s health,
demonstrating procedures, and client evaluation about client’s response from the nurse
conducting intervention. That is why it is important for the nurses to be competent enough to
handle and provide care for the community or for a specific patient as it is the one that measures
on how well the nurses on his/her practices(Potter and Perry, 2018). Nursing students are facing
a test as they are entering a new type of environment of learning, leaving their accomplished type
of learning behind due to the pandemic. Since nursing is a profession that requires a significant
amount of education and consistency, modular learning is not a good choice for nursing students
and online learning is the best method of teaching for the meantime. The synchronous learning is
composed of scheduled meetings with their professors, each meeting takes a maximum of two
hours but still depends on the subject to be covered. Meanwhile, asynchronous learning is
composed of learning materials like videos, modules and e-books that are easily found on
applications or web services that can be utilized by professors to distribute online materials.
Activities that are related on the subject are also part of the asynchronous learning. With this new
environment for the nursing students it is a challenge for them to adapt the new implemented
learning experience while the academe must be equipped enough to provide skills and learnings
through the means of the internet.

The Philippines is entering into a new change as the students enter online classes. The
laptop, mobile phones, and tablets are in demand to the students and internet connection is a
viable resource in order to log-in in their online classes, but not all the students had a good
connectivity and sometimes had limitations in accessing internet connection (Casal, 2020; Luz,
2020). Problems like lack of resources makes online learning impossible to everyone, and it can
also affect student performance. Students express their frustration through online platforms and
demanding an academic freeze; according to several students they pronounced difficulty in
learning in online classes, as their focus has shifted on completing tasks rather than to learn (Ong
Ki, 2020). An interview was done to a college student explaining the benefits and the downside
of online education. One benefit of online learning to a college student is that they have control
on their pace of learning, as they can study fast or slow in order to understand what they are
studying. On the other hand, the negative of it is that handouts that are posted or sent are
considered ‘discuss’, ones that are already declared to be part of the asynchronous time of the
students. It means a proctor can give the students all the handouts for the whole semester and
consider it as part of asynchronous. Another downside of online learning is the environment, as
the focus of students is directly affected by the environment where they are living in comparison
to classroom set-up where attention is completely focused on the speaking proctor. This is also a
hindrance for those who study complex subjects  through online classes as it requires provision
physically, one engineering student expressed the same sentiment and explained that there is a
great gap of learning materials on your own having the luxury of someone teaching you face to
face (Sy Cua, 2020). Complex subjects require time and guidance as it is important to their
profession to have mastery from these subjects. This leads the researchers to study the
effectiveness of online education specifically the asynchronous learning to the Nursing Students.
Nursing students are required to have a related learning experience that is usually obtained
through field exposure in the hospital or in the community, because it is impossible to implement
it in an online setting. But online learning is flexible enough to address this problem by
providing scenarios and online discussions, although actual interaction to a patient and to the
environment is different from what the students read and see through online classes. This
suggests that online learning has a relationship to the nursing student’s capability to learn that
might affect their competency while they are along the path of finishing the Nursing Program.
This gives the inspiration to the researchers to conduct a study about the effectiveness of online
asynchronous education to the competency of nursing students.
          The study aims to measure the effectiveness of asynchronous online learning to
the student’s competency by identifying students’ learning status or problems for delivering
adaptive learning, analyzing their learning behaviors or interactive content and providing
personalized learning content, user interfaces, or practices. This will provide evidence to explain
students’ learning performance in educational settings.  Also another objective is to enhance the
user-accessibility to engage learners in their learning process, to know the recommendations that
are needed for the improvement of online education, and to describe the different factors of
asynchronous online learning that may affect the second-year nursing student.

         This study will support the academic performance of the nursing student in their
online class on how they can apply and balance their competence in having asynchronous online
classes, especially for their nursing major subjects. This study will also provide the readers and
future researchers with meaningful information and insight about the nursing student's skills
during an asynchronous online class, giving them an idea of how they can respond and improve
themselves while they are in the online class. Not only for students and readers but also for
nursing educators who suffer in online classes as well. Nursing educators can become aware and
conscious of the condition of their students with the help of this study. This will allow them to
realize the wrong ways or behavior and to build a way to improve themselves and become a
successful instructor to make students ' online classes successful.
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Theoretical Framework

Asynchronous online learning is defined variously due to some components, its nature
and facilities that are common in some characteristics. On the other hand, one of the popular
definitions that focus on the components of asynchronous e-learning introduced it as “an
interactive learning community that is not limited by time, place or the constraints of a
classroom” (Mayadas, 1997). Asynchronous e-learning is the basis of Jean Piaget and John
Dewey’s constructivist theory, a learner-centered approach that emphasizes on the importance of
peer-to-peer interactions. This approach combines self-study with asynchronous interactions to
promote learning, and it can be used to facilitate learning in traditional on-campus or regular
education, distance education and continuing education. This combined network of learners and
the electronic network in which they communicate are referred to as an asynchronous e-learning
network.

          Also by applying a Social Development Theory, According to Leo Vygotsky (1978)
socialization affects the learning process in an individual. It tries to explain consciousness or
awareness as the result of socialization. This means that when we talk to our peers or adults, we
talk to them for the sake of communication The Social Development Theory includes three major
concepts. These are comprised of the Role of Social Interaction in Cognitive Development with
this concept; Vygotsky's theory opposes that of Jean Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory
because Piaget explains that a person undergoes development first before he achieves learning,
whereas Vygotsky argues that social learning comes first before development (Vygotsky 1978).
The More Knowledgeable Other, the MKO is any person who has a higher level of ability or
understanding than the learner in terms of the task, process or concept at hand. Normally, when
we think of an MKO we refer to an older adult, a teacher or an expert. And the Zone of Proximal
Development.  Is the distance between what is known and what is unknown by the learner. It is
the difference between the ability of a learner to perform a specific task under the guidance of his
MKO and the learner`s ability to do that task independently. Basically, the theory explains that
learning occurs in ZPD.

2.1.1 Competency

Competency is an approach to teaching and skills based learning. It is not abstract

learning rather it is concrete skills. It is also described as a type of education that creates
competencies needed for improved productivity and focuses on outcomes as well as the learners'
real-world performance. Competency theory suggests (Kruger and Dunning 1999) that students’
skills in any given domain may be associated with their ability to self-assess their skill set, and
furthermore, that students who have low-level skills may not, in fact, recognize that they have
such a deficit.

According to Dunning (2011) people with substantial, measurable deficits in their

knowledge or expertise lack the ability to recognize those deficits and, therefore, despite
potentially making error after error, tend to think they are performing competently when they are
not: "In short, those who are incompetent, for lack of a better term, should have little insight into
their incompetence.

2.2 Variable Discussion <Felyn, Clariza, Cheng>

2.2.1 Profile of Respondents

2.2.1.1 2nd Year Students

2.2.2.2 Age

2.2.2.3 Gender

2.2.2.4Socio-demographic status

2.2.2.5 Computer Literacy

2.2.2.6 Academic Performance

2.2.2 Asynchronous Learning

2.2.3 Nurse Competency

2.2.3.1 Skills

2.2.3.2 Health Ethics

2.2.3.3 Knowledge

2.3 Research Problem

This study aimed to measure the effectiveness of online asynchronous education to the
competitiveness of second year nursing student in A.Y 2020-2021

More specifically, it sought answers to the following questions:

1. What is the usual range of scores of the respondents from their major examination during
the Academic Year 2019-2020?

The academic performance of a student is a viable determinant of employment

(Maziah 2019). It is also a barometer for assessing their competency as it reflects their
ability to be effective and efficient as an employee of the management. Other than that,
knowing the past record of the respondents enables the researchers to compare this data
in assessing the effectiveness of online asynchronous education to the researcher's
respondents.
2. What are the factors affecting the learning of the respondents on online asynchronous
education?

According to Almaiah et.al 2020, they identified several challenges related to

adopting the e-learning system in their study. They classified four categories namely (1)
technological challenges, (2) individual challenges, (3) cultural challenges and (4) course
challenges. They stated that these challenges are very different from one country to
another country, due to different culture, context and readiness.

The literature review conducted by them to identify critical challenges and factors
that influence the e-learning system usage during COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of
this research are based on empirical evidence, which are: (1) technological factors, which
is technical skills and support through the knowledge, understanding and abilities that are
used to accomplish tasks related to maintenance and upgrading of the infrastructure of
computers, networks, communications, as well as providing support to users when they
face technical problems. (2) e-learning system quality factors talk about the usefulness of
the system and whether the current system is efficient in terms of its usefulness, (3) trust
factors is a vital factor to increase the rate of e-learning system adoption. It includes
system protection, information privacy, and system reliability. (4) self-efficacy factors is
one of the core elements in determining the adoption of e-learning system in educational
institutions, In order to increase the adoption of e-learning system, it is important to
ensure students to have a high self-efficacy in order to meet the intended functions,
otherwise it’s hard to achieve the learning activities through e-learning system if students
show low self-efficacy (5) cultural factors is a vital factor to increase the rate of e-
learning system adoption among students. It is one of the factors that should be
implemented to increase the use of e-learning systems and to increase ICT literacy and
skills of e-learning users that support the usage adoption of e-learning system, and
endorses other researchers, understanding and analysis of the challenges facing the
current e-learning system.

3. What are the coping strategies of the respondents regarding online asynchronous
education?

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, all educational facilities have been closed by
the government across the world to control the spread of disease, which has a direct effect on
students, teachers, educators, and facilities. A disturbance among students is created by the
sudden change from the physical classroom to virtual space (Chandra, 2020).

         Academic success is a primary importance to students in pursuit of their career

goals. It is also critical for faculty members and educational institutions to gain a reputation
in the challenging competition for attracting the most promising students. Several studies
have pointed out that stress and anxiety are major factors that affect university students’
competency and mental health due to academic workload, high frequency of examinations,
financial problems, family/marriage problems, etc.  (Atoyan, 2020).  Anxiety and stress have
also been observed to interact with specific learning skills, such as time management,
concentration, learning methods, and motivation to study which affects students’ academic
performance. (Chandra, 2020). 

         The educational institutions that cover both the emotional and academic
dimensions increase the productivity of students, enhance academic success, and improve
learning. Universities that support the well-being of students can also improve the sense of
belonging of students within their education system. Students thus feel safer and satisfied in
comparison to others and therefore learn more effective adaptation skills and cope with
difficult health circumstances. (Chandra, 2020).    

         Since most of the students are having their online asynchronous education.  The
students are still suffering from stress and anxiety that’s why managing stress is very vital to
averting any negative effect of prolonged stress. Students use various coping strategies in
managing stress such as yoga/meditation, self-distraction, emotional support, leisure
satisfaction and spirituality for male and female students respectively (Yaw KWAAH,
2017).  According to Erogul et.al, Yoga and meditation have become widely accepted as no
pharmacologic modalities for stress and anxiety reduction as well as general health.
Meditation has been shown to improve attention and self-awareness in many populations,
including college-aged students. Yoga’s effect on depression and anxiety has been studied
repeatedly with medical and nursing students. Yoga is a mind-body practice that combines
physical poses, controlled breathing, and meditation or relaxation. Yoga may help reduce
lower blood pressure and lowers the heart rate. And almost anyone can do it. Distraction is
also one of the students’ coping strategies in managing stress. It refers to a classification of
coping strategies that are employed to divert attention away from a stressor and toward other
thoughts or behaviors that are unrelated to the stressor. Emotional support has been proven to
be an effective stress management technique since individuals increase instrumental help,
emotional support, or social diversion such as venting to family and friends (Kahn, &
Garrison, 2019). Another common technique among college students is leisure satisfaction
which is defined as the positive feeling of contentment one perceives because of meeting
personal needs through leisure activities and has an inverse relationship between perceived
academic stresses (Balduf, 2019). Lastly, the strategy for coping is spirituality which
provides a cognitive framework for reducing stress among college students (Ridnour, &
Hammermeister, 2019). Spirituality and religion are the most accessible and readily available
resources to help in coping with stressful life events (Cruz, et al., 2016). Furthermore,
spiritual coping can enhance feelings of wholeness and a state of equilibrium, promoting
good health (Hawthorne, Youngblut, & Brooten, 2015).

         According to Yaw KWAAH (2017), Students don’t need to deal with stressful
situations on their own. Time management is an essential skill in college. By managing the
time well and leaving enough time to study and finish assignments, all while leaving room
for social life and sleep, the student can avoid stressful situations. Most of these situations are
caused by not having enough time to keep up with all of their obligations.

         Moreover, adjusting in online asynchronous education is quite hard for the
students and teachers. Students feel that lack of community, technical problems, and
difficulties in understanding instructional goals are the major barriers for online learning
(Song et al., 2015). In a study, students were found to be not sufficiently prepared for
balancing their work, family, and social lives with their study lives in an online learning
environment. Students were also found to be poorly prepared for several e-learning
competencies and academic-type competencies. Also, there is a low-level preparedness
among the students concerning the usage of Learning Management Systems (Parkes et al.,
2015).

4. What is the effectiveness of asynchronous learning on the respondent’s competency?

Asynchronous learning may affect student's competency regarding their future

plans and expectations related to obtaining their degree and work. Students in the online
class felt that they worked harder, but also felt like they were more part of a group.
Although the technology presented a barrier and was sometimes challenging, they were
able to revisit lessons online at any time and felt the asynchronous nature of the course
was beneficial. These students were often placed in small groups for discussion online,
helping to promote the social interaction of the course. This is particularly interesting
since students often talk about feeling alone or lost when they are in an online
environment. The outstandingly practical component of care in nursing education was the
most emotional aspect for the students (Morillo and Ramos 2020). Students acquire new
routines, attend online classes and seminars. The conditions of confinement start to be
assimilated and the new everyday life is normalized. Researchers supposed that it is
necessary to learn from these experiences and to define the strong and weak points.

5. What are the effects of asynchronous learning education to the view of second year
nursing students about learning?
Assumption:
Traditional lectures or face to face interaction is one of the common ways of
teaching practiced in medical schools even in other courses. This year people suffer from
pandemic, they do not have a choice but to continue their learning through online
education. Online education may have a disadvantage and advantage to both teachers and
students. According to Arbaugh (2010) he found that many individuals who participated
in asynchronous online courses experience involvement in the developmental process to
understand and becoming an active learner was a totally new for them, that most of the
individuals need to modify their role as an online learner.  In addition to participating in
the blended learning course, student’s use most of the time through the online activities
or interacting with the LMS system, so the study results often depend on many different
factors. (Kayode & Teng, 2014; Kent, Laslo, & Rafaeli, 2016; Wei, Peng, & Chou,
 2015). In online education individuals need to know their roles as an online learner. It is
to determine their specific role in order to become an active and effective online learner.
Eventually, to be successful in online learning, learners need time to learn how to
formulate online activities related to their course that may adjust into their routine while
performing all other family and work responsibilities (Viet Anh 2017).

2.4 Hypothesis Problem

2.4.1 Quantitative Hypothesis

Ho: There is no significant relationship on online asynchronous education to the

competency of the second-year nursing students
Ha: There is no significant difference on online asynchronous education to the
competency of the second-year nursing students
2.5 Research Paradigm <rhovic>

3.0 RESEARCH METHOD

3.1 Research Design <nikkie, gisselle>

This study will use a mixed methods design (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003), which is a
procedure for collecting, analyzing and “mixing” both quantitative and qualitative data at some
stage of the research process within a single study, to understand a research problem more
completely (Creswell, 2002). The rationale for mixing is that neither quantitative nor qualitative
methods are sufficient by themselves to capture the trends and details of the situation, such as the
efficacy of online asynchronous education to the nursing students.

In quantitative research, an investigator relies on numerical data (Charles & Mertler,

2002). He uses postpositivist claims for developing knowledge, such as cause and effect
thinking, reduction to specific variables, hypotheses and questions, use of measurement and
observation, and the test of theories. This study explains the researcher isolates variables and
causally relates them to determine the magnitude and frequency of relationships on a research
problem 1 What is the usual range of scores of the respondents from their major examination
during the Academic Year 2019-2020? And question no. 2 What are the factors affecting the
learning of the respondents on online asynchronous education? And for statistical problem on
question no. 4 What is the effectiveness of asynchronous learning on the respondent’s
competency? In addition, this research determines which variables to investigate and chooses
instruments, which will yield highly reliable and valid scores.
Alternatively, qualitative research is “an inquiry process of understanding” where the
researcher develops a “complex, holistic picture, analyzes words, reports detailed views of
informants, and conducts the study in a natural setting” (Creswell, 1998, p. 15). In this approach
of our study, the researcher uses a descriptive method in a relation on a research problem 3
which is “what are the coping strategies of the respondents regarding online asynchronous
education?” and question no.5 “What are the effects of asynchronous learning education to the
view of second year nursing students about learning?”. In qualitative research, data is collected
from those immersed in everyday life of the setting in which the study is framed. Data analysis is
based on the values that these participants perceive for their world. Ultimately, it “produces an
understanding of the problem based on multiple contextual factors” (Miller, 2000).

3.2 Research Locale

3.3 Population and Sampling/Key Informant Selection

3.4 Research Ethics

3.5 Research Instrument

3.6 Data Collection

3.7 Data Analysis

References
Research letter for the Respondents
Survey-questionnaire