A Study on the Pre- and Post-Pandemic Media of Instruction and Learning Effectiveness in Information Systems Courses

Abstract

The objective of this study is to understand the effectiveness of medium of instruction based on student performance in courses offered face-to-face prior to the pandemic and virtual hybrid mode after the onset of the pandemic from a media richness theoretical perspective. This study analyzed data from 1157 students from 43 Information Systems courses over a 6-year pre- and post-pandemic period. This study analyzed student performance data from face to face and virtual hybrid courses across medium of instruction, type of course, course level, and gender. Overall, students performed better in face-to-face classes prior to the pandemic than the virtual hybrid courses. Across gender, and type of course, and course levels, face-to-face medium of instruction was found to be best for student performance. The post-hoc interviews with students and faculty indicated that face-to-face was the choice of instruction medium for technical courses and virtual hybrid mode was preferred for theory intensive conceptual courses, confirming the results from the data analysis.