# Teaching and learning high school mathematics in the post-COVID-19 era: investigating the emotion factor

**Authors:** Georgios Polydoros, Alexandros-Stamatios Antoniou, Ilias Vasileiou, Charis Polydoros

PMC · DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1617765 · 2025-11-05

## TL;DR

This study explores how emotions affect online math learning and introduces a new tool to measure emotional engagement in virtual classrooms.

## Contribution

The paper introduces the AOEQ, a validated questionnaire for assessing emotional dynamics in online mathematics learning.

## Key findings

- AOEQ revealed a three-factor emotional structure (Useful, Unuseful, Neutral Emotions) with high reliability.
- Positive emotions were found to predict better academic performance in online math learning.
- The AOEQ is proposed as an innovative tool for evaluating emotional engagement in virtual learning environments.

## Abstract

Emotions play a pivotal role in learning, particularly in the post-COVID-19 era where online instruction has become prevalent. Despite this, emotional engagement in online mathematics remains underexplored.

The study introduces the Assessment Online Emotions Questionnaire (AOEQ), developed to assess emotional dynamics among 406 10th-grade students in online mathematics. Guided by Russell’s Circumplex Model of Affect, data were analyzed using EFA and CFA to validate the instrument

The analyses confirmed a robust three-factor structure (Useful, Unuseful, Neutral Emotions) with high reliability and significant correlations between emotional states and academic performance.

Findings highlight the predictive power of positive emotions for academic success and propose AOEQ as an innovative tool for evaluating emotional engagement in virtual learning.

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** COVID-19 (MESH:D000086382)

## Figures

2 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12631142/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12631142