Developing disciplinary competencies in an “hybrid model” comparing “on-line” versus “face-to-face” interaction between students and lecturers

Abstract

From March 2019 through September 2021, most universities in our country had to turn into an online model in all the courses and programs. When students started to attend the lectures in September 2021, the universities implemented a hybrid model, having simultaneously students on-line and face-to-face. The teachers and lecturers since then have faced the challenge to pay the same level of attention to on-line and face-to-face students. Both types of students are getting the same information, the same material, and the same activities so we are questioning the level of knowledge acquired and competencies developed in the different attending circumstances. After at least one academic period attending lectures “on-line” or “face-to-face”, students enrolled in the Civil Engineering program between 6th through 8th semester, answered polls and surveys that provided the information about their perception on the level of attention received, knowledge acquired, and the competencies developed. The objective of this paper is to obtain the students’ perception of the effectiveness of the hybrid method for acquiring knowledge and basic concepts regarding the disciplinary competencies within the subject's topic, so we asked them for their perception in a qualitative manner to understand how they are interpreting and understanding the need of these hybrid models.