F2F, zoom, or asynchronous learning? Higher education students’ preferences and perceived benefits and pitfalls

Higher education institutions are trying to optimise course designs. During COVID-19, distance education became the primary teaching format worldwide, and current studies suggest that the online experience may have changed students’ learning format preferences, which prior to the pandemic leaned toward face-to-face (F2F) learning. This study aimed to (1) examine students’ stated and revealed (i.e. actual attendance) learning format preferences when provided F2F, synchronous online, and asynchronous online attendance options and (2) examine students’ perceived benefits and pitfalls of the three learning formats before and after their learning experience. Overall, 158 undergraduate students attended hybrid physics courses, allowing them to attend F2F, synchronously online via Zoom, or asynchronously online via lesson recordings. After the first lesson, students answered closed and open-ended questions about their stated learning format preferences. At the end of the course, students filled in their revealed learning format and answered open-ended questions regarding their motives. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Most students initially preferred to learn F2F, but many shifted to a hybrid format, combining F2F and online learning. Thematic analysis revealed themes concerning the benefits and pitfalls of each learning format, and interviews uncovered students’ behaviour.