Abstract

When speaking of learning, it is best to go beyond cognitive and motivational variables; the environment, or the context in which learning is the end result of growth and development, should be taken into account because it has strong implications on how humans learn. Furthermore, virtual education has grown rapidly, and Chile is not immune to this change. This article explores the differences between students pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in a virtual learning environment and those pursuing the same degree on-site at the Catholic University of Temuco. The results showed that the students in the online version showed higher degrees in task orientation, task value, control over learning, self-reliance for learning and performing, as well as in using the metacognitive strategies of repetition, organization, and self-regulation. On the other hand, those in the on-site system showed higher levels of anxiety during evaluations and group learning situations.