A significant percentage of college students in the United States are parents. According to studies, about 20 percent of undergraduate students and more than a third of graduate students are raising children under the age of 18, with mothers accounting for more than half of both populations. To get a better understanding of the experiences of these students, researchers at the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development published an article featuring case studies of six academically high-achieving working moms enrolled in distance education courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their findings suggest that effective course design, making use of prior knowledge, scaffolding instruction and encouraging social presence can mitigate distractions and reduce the cognitive load of working mothers who are college students.
