The Lived Experiences of Graduate Students During In-Person and Remote Learning Platforms: Basis for Blended Learning Framework

Abstract

The spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus worldwide triggered a national emergency, and institutions in more than 100 countries were forced to restrict their operations temporarily. Institutions like schools were pushed to switch from conventional classroom education to online learning. This study applied a phenomenological and qualitative research design to investigate the participants' experiences in in-person and remote learning settings. The inquiry revealed themes relating to graduate school students' lived experiences which served as the foundation for developing a blended learning framework for the graduate studies department. Human interaction with sub-themes of engagement and participation and social connection emerged during the in-depth interview of graduate students in in-person and remote learning; passive learning with its sub-theme engaging learning environment, immediate feedback, availability, and accessibility of resources; and saving time incurred expenses in in-person learning. Subsequently, the benefits of remote education and its sub-themes were cost-saving measures, resiliency, adaptability and convenience, and flexibility under remote learning technical issues like internet connectivity and technical problems in learning platforms. Difficulty and challenges with sub-themes, such as physical fatigue and lack of concentration, also emerged. The lack of communication and timely communication and coordination were also revealed in their remote learning experiences. This study also identified the graduate students' in-person and remote learning coping mechanisms. The in-person coping mechanism of a graduate student was social connection, and the remote learning coping mechanisms were time management and seeking support. The proposed blended learning framework was the expected output of this research.