Face-to-face, Blended or Online: How Do Students Prefer to Study?

Abstract

The article presents the findings of a study on the learning format preferences in students of the Moscow State University of Psychology & Education (N=761) in February-March 2022. Face-to-face learning (FTF) was chosen by 10,8% of students, blended learning (lectures in distance format, seminars and practical classes in-person) (BL) — 39,7%, distance learning (DL) — 49,5%. There were no differences between the 3 groups by gender and age. In the BL group, compared to the DL group, logical thinking (p=0,001) and verbal intelligence (p=0,003) are better developed, natural science literacy rates are higher (p=0,018), there is a better understanding of the vaccination benefits against COVID-19 for the individual and society (p=0,016) and less confidence in serious negative consequences of the coronavirus vaccine (p=0,005). In the FTF group, compared to the DL group, there is a lower fear of COVID-19 disease (p=0,050) and a higher estimate of the vaccination benefits against COVID-19 for an individual and society (p=0,050). Cluster analysis using K-means method identified 2 clusters. Cluster 1 includes respondents with more developed logical thinking, verbal intelligence, better natural science literacy, better understanding of the vaccination benefits against COVID-19 for a person and society and less prone to various fears, doubts, underestimation of the danger of coronavirus and distrust of vaccination. In Cluster 1, as compared to Cluster 2, the share of respondents preferring BL prevails (44,4% vs 37,1%), and the share of those who prefer DF is lower (43,8% vs 52,6%); the differences are significant at the trend level. The shares of respondents preferring FTF are practically the same and make up only about 10%. Using the method of logistic regression analysis, 4 statistically significant predictors were identified and a model was built to predict the respondents’ choice of the BL vs DL. The older the respondent, the more pronounced his/her fear of COVID-19, the lower his/her logical thinking, and the less confident (s)he is in the vaccination benefits against coronavirus for the individual and society, the more likely (s)he is to prefer DL over BL. Conversely, BL is more likely to be preferred over DL by younger respondents with higher logical reasoning scores, less fear of COVID-19 disease, and greater confidence in the vaccination benefits against coronavirus for the individual and society. The overall prediction accuracy of the model is 60,4%.