


This kind of half-and-half split between in-person and online instruction is “pretty rare at this point,” Brooks says. In between these face-to-face sessions, the students watched short lecture videos that the professor posted online. That might look like a course he once observed at the University of Minnesota, where students gathered in person for discussions and group projects once every other week. “When we look at what students say their faculty are doing with technology in the classroom, I think a lot of times what we see is faculty are using it to some degree but maybe not using it in a way that is fully engaging.” Christopher Brooks, director of research for the EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research. “I think what it perhaps reflects is a need to maybe do online learning a little bit better,” said D. For example, far more student respondents expressed support for turning homework in digitally than for watching lectures online or for having online conferences with their professors. This suggests that many students and instructors may be open-minded about online or “blended” education, although some may have encountered particular practices they especially liked or didn’t like, the researchers conclude.

Yet overall, about half of both students and faculty-including those who voted for “mostly” face-to-face instruction-indicated some degree of preference for course delivery that combines aspects of both in-person and online education. The professors surveyed were even more partial to face-to-face classes, with 73 percent preferring them. institutions, while the second, published this week, drew on data from 9,500 faculty members across 119 US institutions.Īmong student respondents, 70 percent said they prefer mostly or completely face-to-face learning environments. The first, published in October, surveyed more than 40,000 students at 118 U.S. This shared perspective was revealed by two recently released studies from the EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research. Most college students and faculty seem to share a preference for in-person, not online, instruction.
