Could Perception of Digital Learning Environment Potentially Affect First-Year Undergraduate Medical Students Learning Motivation? A Study during Distance Learning Transition due to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

Introduction: Digital learning environments have
been proven could affect students’ learning motivation
before the COVID-19 pandemic era. This study
investigates the correlation between perceptions of the
learning environment with learning motivation among
first-year undergraduate medical students after joining
their first-time-ever full-distance learning activities.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was done at the end
of the first module block. Students’ learning motivation
and perspectives on the online learning environment
were assessed by the Motivated Strategies Learning
Questionnaire (MSLQ) and modified Dundee Ready
Educational Environment Measurement (DREEM),
respectively.
Results: Among 65 respondents, most were females
(47, 72.3 %) and aged 18 years (32, 49.2 %). The
majority of first-year undergraduate medical students
were very satisfied (49 students, 75.4 %), and 16
students (24.6 %) were quite satisfied with the distance
learning environment. The mean score of all DREEM
dimensions was 162.1/200. In addition, most students had the high motivation (60, 92.3 %), and the score
for learning motivation obtained a mean result of
123.3/147. All learning environment dimensions
were correlated with three dimensions of learning
motivation, including task value, self-efficacy, and
extrinsic goal orientation. The strongest correlation
was found between students’ academic self-perceptions
with the task value.
Conclusion: The dimensions of the learning
environment factors were significantly related to the
motivation factors in first-year undergraduate medical
students during total distance learning due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.