On Friday, December 1st, 2023, the seminar series hosted a talk by Dr. Emma Howard, Assistant Professor in Statistics at Trinity College Dublin, which compared and examined students’ use and perception of online learning and in-person lectures.
Title
Examining students’ use and perceptions of online learning as compared to in person lectures: Study design and statistical analysis
Abstract
Do students prefer in person lectures or online videos? Are in person lectures or online videos more beneficial to students learning? This presentation will discuss the unique study design and statistical analysis of two studies (Howard et al., 2018; Meehan & Howard, 2023) that aim to answer these questions for higher education mathematics/statistics modules.
Howard et al. (2018) investigates a first-year module where students had the choice to engage by attending lectures or/and watching videos. Students’ specific usage patterns were identified using model-based clustering and the resulting clusters (lecture-users, video-users, dual-users and switchers) were linked to survey data on students’ reasons for the resources they use. Video-users was the largest cluster and offered students flexibility of scheduling and pace. However, this is an example of one module only.
The initial CoVid-19 lockdown in March 2020 presented a unique educational research opportunity whereby undergraduate students took up to six modules in an in person-format (pre-lockdown) and online format (during lockdown). In the Meehan and Howard (2023) study, we asked students to categorise each of their module’s lecture and online formats using pre-defined categories. Hence, a more in-depth response to these questions could be acquired. Students generally did not perceive great differences in terms of the benefits to learning between the face-to-face and online lecture formats except in the cases where in-person lectures had interactions.