Excuse Me, Sir, Must The Class Be Online? Students On-Campus Putting Faculty On The Defense After The Pandemic: The Search For Justification And Preference

Abstract

This study examines students’ reactions to lectures being online instead of in class; and, their instructional delivery preferences after the pandemic. The study was driven by students’ queries demanding justifications for holding lectures online while they are on campus. Primary and secondary data were collected. The primary data was collected during a two-session faculty-students informal classroom discussion. Related published research articles from 2022-2024 were searched and collected as secondary data for a systematic review. Content analysis was used in analyzing the two sets of data collected. Three patterns emerged from the analysis of primary data indicating students’ preference for in-class lectures while regarding the online class as a second option justified in the absence of face-to-face classroom teaching. Six patterns of information were identified from the analysis of the secondary data. The identified patterns indicated post-pandemic literature-based justification for hybrid and face-to-face classes as most recommended compared to online teaching. Cross-examination of related literature before, during, and after the pandemic shows increasing use of online and offline technology in distance and on-campus education while the value and preference for face-to-face classroom teaching on campus remained constant. The study in conclusion considers online teaching as the backbone of distance education; and, conventional technology-enhanced classroom teaching as the heart of on-campus education. As such, the positive effect of technology in educational practices is strengthening rather than threatening the value of classroom teaching in non-distance education programs.