Twenty-fifth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

This paper describes 39 undergraduate, full-time students’ responses to a quantitative survey immediately upon enrolling in a hybrid course in advanced design on the topic of visual communication for the built environment. 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%). Nearly 68% of participants in this study represented an ethnic minority group. Students described the most important aspects of the hybrid course as offering 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 reflect 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. Educational implications are provided. Areas for future research are outlined.