Which is better? Online? Face-to-face? By how much? What should you think about when reading claims, reviewing the literature?

Much has been said and written about online vs face-to-face instruction. This note is about courses which are 100% online or 100% face-to-face, not blended. It is possible for online instruction, either synchronous or asynchronous, to be shown in a study to be equal or superior to the classroom situation. There are many factors to consider when reviewing this type of research findings.

Some of the factors are...

• Is it possible that the classroom instruction was substandard and anything else would indeed be an improvement?
• Is it possible that the classroom activity provided no value over-and-above reading the textbook one-self?
• Is it possible that the learning outcomes were dominated by passive information, and that the only skills being tested were memorization, fact regurgitation, recipe recitation, and textbook problems and solutions?
• If the course was not a controlled experiment with similar students in both situations (and with the same instructor teaching the same material), might any of the successes attributed to the online course and its design for online teaching have been better if the course was in the classroom or blended? That is, the course might have been improved during the conversion to online and the same improvements might have changed the classroom benchmark.

Are there any underlying assumptions and biases in the research study?

• Were the students self-selecting the course and class format, or were they forced to participate?
• Was the course at a junior level or senior level?
• Was the course on a core topic, or was it an elective in the program?
• Was it a course outside of the core topic?
• What experience did the students have with the online methodology before the course?
• What experience did the instructor have in either the classroom or online?
• Was the study replicated with different courses, students, material, and instructors?

If the instructor is not aware of the subtleties of online or classroom instruction, they may not be aware of the benefits nor how to achieve them. Certain characteristics of either situation may or may not support and better align for the type of learning outcomes desired.

The online situation…

• With asynchronous delivery, the students have more control over when they will do their learning, and how long they will spend listening to or processing the primary content from a lecture. This requires the students to be relatively mature and have a reasonable level of executive function.
• It is assumed that, with synchronous or “live” delivery, the synchronous session is recorded and the students have the ability to watch the video again and again and again. This is not possible with a classroom session unless the instructor goes the extra distance and records a classroom session while delivering it.
• Synchronous online learning can have some personal characteristics if everyone has their video on, but there are many challenges and issues with this. It is also not possible to see everyone at the same time or see what they’re doing regarding notetaking and other activities.
• It is unlikely for an in-class course design that has been migrated to online to have the same learning outcomes. It is possible to redesign the course so that the online can match or possibly exceed the previous in-class delivery. In our experience, this effort is quite significant but is possible and the results can be worth it. It is also possible, that the review and adjustment of the course for online forces improvements that can also be used in the classroom.
• The five senses are not used in the same way when learning online. Two dominate - seeing and listening. This must be taken into account by the instructor as well as the students. While online gives some freedom and control to the student about their learning process, if the student does not use this wisely, it is likely that the learning will be unsatisfactory in both the process of learning and the outcomes.

The classroom situation…

• If you are facing the students, and not talking to the board, you can see the whole class and be aware of things like confusion, distractions, and peer instruction.
• You can hear the whole class as a holistic entity. This matters.
• It is easier in a “live” situation to identify students who are at-risk and who are struggling.

• You can leverage the insights you get from the body language, and student-to-student interaction during the lecture.
• You can gain insights from the geospatial relationship of student groups and subgroups.
• There are insights from where students choose to sit; toward the front or the rear of the classroom.
• You can tell when the class is taking notes and what they are taking notes about.
• It is possible to probe deeper into how the students are answering the questions or solving the problems since the give-and-take with the class is more efficient and effective than an online processes.
• It is easier to see the percentage of students engaged or struggling and whether a topic needs additional time or effort on your part.
• During think-pair-share activities, peer instruction, lab and tutorial time, etc. it is easy to walk around, work the room and help individual students. It is easier to know what is happening and what is not happening.
• When using the Socratic or constructive failure methods, it is sometimes important to interact with the student in a more personal way where each player is relatively close to each other, and proximity is an important component for some human communication.
• All of the above points can also be talked about in the student voice and what the students can be aware of in the classroom and by sitting with their classmates. There are many benefits to the classroom situation but only if the instructor and students take advantage of them.

Further reading

• Synchronous and Asynchronous Online Learning. Keep Learning, University of Waterloo. https://uwaterloo.ca/keep-learning/strategies-remote-teaching/synchronous-vs-asynchronous-online-learning