Students’ Perceptions of Blended Learning and Achievement

Abstract

Blended learning is perhaps becoming the most prominent instructional delivery solution to education. There is limited research focusing on the students’ perceptions of blended learning based upon their achievement. Thus, the purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between students’ perceptions of blended learning and their course achievement. Students’ perceptions were assessed based upon four factors namely convenience, engagement, overall satisfaction and perceived learning outcome. The study sample was a group of students taking a tourism-related course in a major university in Malaysia. Online survey and e-mail interviewing were employed to collect data. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical tests. Results of the study show that regardless of achievement, students had positive perceptions of convenience afforded by blended learning. In terms of engagement in blended learning, high-grade students had more positive perceptions than low-grade students, particularly in such respects as viewing online and face-to-face as enhancing each other, propensity to ask questions in the course, improved quality of interaction with other students and a feeling of connectedness with other students in the course. Both group of students expressed satisfaction with the blended course. In terms of learning outcome, high-grade students had a more positive perception of improved understanding of key course concepts, while low-grade students had the predisposition to feel uncertain about this item. Their preferred learning formats for lectures, quizzes/tests and discussions were blended learning, entirely online learning, and traditional face-to-face learning, respectively.