Abstract

There is a limited amount of information on students’ perceptions of hybrid learning in design education. This paper describes 39 undergraduate, full-time students’ responses to a mixed methods survey immediately upon enrolling in an advanced course offered in a hybrid method of instruction on the topic of design for visual communication in the built environment. The purpose of this exploratory descriptive replication survey was to determine if attitudes or perceptions had changed since a prior study and to determine if there were any differences by ethnicity, gender or age group. Students were mostly female (56.4%) and between the ages of 21 and 24 (63.2%). They were Latino (35.1%), white (32.4%), and Asian (18.9%). No ethnic, gender or age differences were found. Students were asked to describe the most important aspects of the hybrid course. Findings indicated that students valued a flexible time schedule, a high level of access to course materials, and extra time to work at a job or internship. Students were most concerned about missing online deadlines and lack of contact with the professor. They were less concerned about lack of contact with classmates, getting a low grade, and confusion regarding assignments. Open-ended comments reflected that students appreciate the flexibility of the hybrid model to allow for outside responsibilities and the importance of regular communication with faculty regarding online assignments. These results are consistent with prior studies in terms of items identified as important to the hybrid learner; however, some of the items shifted in order of importance with the students’ experiences in a prior hybrid course. For example, in the original study students were very concerned about loss of contact with peers, and in this replication study, concern about contact with classmates was rated as less important. Students in the replication study indicated a desire for more contact with their instructor.