Student learning performance and satisfaction with traditional face-to-face classroom versus online learning: Evidence from teaching Statistics for Business

Abstract

In this research, we investigated whether business students enrolled in a statistics course gained more by engaging in traditional face-to-face (FTF) learning or online learning. Empirical evidence suggested that students learned statistics more effectively when engaged with an instructor in a traditional FTF classroom versus through online learning; however, when the option of teaching virtually in fully online (ONL) classes was available, students successfully learned about statistics whether in a traditional FTF classroom or a ONL learning experience. In addition, evidence suggested that students’ overall satisfaction with the course and the instructor was higher in the FTF setting than in the ONL setting. Evidence also suggested that offering online zoom lecture meetings in the ONL setting remarkably enhanced students’ satisfaction with the course and the instructor and, importantly, reduced the gap in effective instruction between traditional FTF and ONL settings.