Online Learning vs.

Classroom Instruction:
Comparing the Effectiveness of Online  Learning of Classroom Instruction

Introduction

Philippines has one of the best higher education systems in Asia. Filipino Parents value
education as one of the most important thing they can give to their children. They said that if you
have better education in the Philippines still one of the best when there COVID-19? Does online
learning work than classroom instruction?

January 30, 2020 when the first case of Coronavirus in the Philippines was confirmed.
March 15,2020 when lockdown in the Philippines started, and the education curriculum is also
starting to change. A huge amount of people were not allowed to go outside and students can’t
study, not until online learning comes.

This work aims to determine the differences between Online learning and Classroom
instruction in terms of effectiveness. In the article by Marj Casal Handog, was published on
August 17, 2020, is entitled “The Pandemic is Reshaping Education, Here’s How the Philippines
is Coping”, she stated that the reopening of classes despite the pandemic has been the subject
of many debates. Many are pushing for the education section to skip the school year so no
students get slept behind while a lot of parents are also willing to try how remote learning is
going to work.

In the published article of Karl Szpunar, Samuel Moulton, and Daniel Schacter on
August 2013, that is entitled “Mind Wandering and Education: From the classroom to Online
learning”, They discuss the importance of understanding the nature and occurrence of Mind
Wandering in the context of classroom and Online lectures. In reviewing the relevant Literature,
the considered early studies that provides the important clues about students attentiveness via
dependent measures such as physical marker of inattention, note taking and retention. They
conclude by discussing interventions that might be effective at curbing. The accurence of mind
wandering educational settings, and consider various avenues of future research that they
believe that can shed light on this well-known but little-studied phenomenon.

Terry Anderson (2008) stated that, distance education has evolved significantly in its 150
years of existence. For the most of time, it was an individual pursuit defined by frequent postal
communication.

In the research of Timothy Hill, Laku Chidambaram, Jama Summers (2017) that is
entitled “Playing ‘Catch Up’ with Blended Learning: Performance impacts of augmenting
classroom instruction with online learning”, They examines the efficacy of blended learning an
approach that combines in class and online methods in a way that leverage the strengths of
both using a field spanning 16 weeks. An information processing model of learning suggests
that learners will weigh the cats of information accessibility against its value in ways that will
impact their instructions with the available information sources, which will consequently affect
learning outcomes. The result of their study suggest that such an assessment did indeed occur
and that it impacted learning performance. Specifically, the results support that idea that
providing high value content in vote settings, the classroom and online enhances performance.
The largest gains in performance were seen by those who used the blended learning system
the most, with the lowest gains by those who did not use the system at all.
Theoretical Framework
In this part, we will discuss some theories that are connected to this analytical study. The
theory starts from the definition of Online Learning and Classroom Instruction.
Joshua Stem, Ph.D. discuss about what is Online Learning, how it works, and its
benefits in teaching and learning.
Online Learning
Online learning is education that takes place over the Internet. It is often referred to as
“e-learning” among other terms. However, online learning is just one type of “distance learning” -
the umbrella term for any learning that takes place across distance and not in a traditional
classroom.
How it works
In years past, instructors had to create their “virtual classrooms” from scratch which was
difficult and often led to poor results. Today, an entire industry has emerged to do this for us.
Course Management System (CMS) software is utilized by just about all colleges today. CMS
allow instructors to design and deliver their courses within a flexible framework that includes a
number of different tools to enable learning and communication to occur.
Benefits in Teaching and Learning
Convenience. 24/7 access from any online computer; accommodates busy schedules; no
commuting, no searching for parking.
Enhanced Learning. Research shows increased depth of understanding and retention of
course content; more meaningful discussions; emphasis on writing skills, technology skills, and
life skills like time management, independence, and self-discipline.
Leveling of the Playing Field. Students can take more time to think and reflect before
communicating; shy students tend to thrive online; anonymity of the online environment.
Interaction. Increased student-to-teacher and student-to-student interaction and discussion; a
more student-centered learning environment; less passive listening and more active learning; a
greater sense of connectedness, synergy.
Innovative Teaching. Student-centered approaches; increased variety and creativity of
learning activities; address different learning styles; changes and improvements can translate to
on-ground courses as well
Improved Administration. Time to examine student work more thoroughly; ability to document
and record online interactions; ability to manage grading online.
Savings. Accommodate more students; increased student satisfaction higher retention and
fewer repeats.
Maximize Physical Resources. Lessen demand on limited campus infrastructure; decrease
congestion on campus and parking lots.
Outreach. Give students options; reach new student markets; appeal to current students thus
increasing enrollments.
Classroom Instruction
Purdue University defines the traditional classroom, or face-to-face instruction, is when
the instructor and the students of a nonprofit educational institution are in a place devoted to
instruction and the teaching and learning take place at the same time.
Benefits of Classroom Instruction
Real-time Interaction. Face-to-face learning ensures a real time interaction between student
and teachers, and among students themselves. This is a great opportunity for people who learn
better through cooperative activities and group work. Asking questions and getting the answers
in the real-time, getting feedback and assignments create a golden chance for connection,
intimacy, and maintaining interpersonal relationships in the classroom.
Improving Social Skills. Attending face-to face classrooms improves various social skills that
everyone needs to be a productive individual in the future such as confidence and cooperation.
Confidence. This confidence arises from the students’ interaction and the need to speak
publicly before the rest to ask a question or clarify a point of view, or solve a particular problem.
Cooperation. Working in groups is a vital part of the traditional learning process. This
enables students to work effectively and productively in their educational journey.
Organization. Having a set schedule and deadline allows students to learn organizing their
tasks and respecting time. As some students report their inability to schedule classes first and
then plan other activities around them. In this case, students prefer to be “forced” to carefully
planning their lesson.
Motivation. The traditional classroom atmosphere motivates students unlike virtual classrooms,
where procrastination can become a common attitude. Face-to-face education links the act of
learning to the physical classroom, preserving a feeling of “now and here” all through the
learning process.
Accessibility. Face-to-face learning can be the best education method for those who don’t like
or don’t have access to technological devices. Here, the educational process begins with the
teacher sharing his knowledge with students, proceeds with discussions between the teacher
and the students and ends with the new information written in notebooks, process begins with
the teacher sharing his knowledge with students, proceeds with discussions between the
teacher and the students and ends with the new information written in notebooks.
In the research study of Lucero H.R. et al. (2020), that is entitled “Assessment of E-
learning, Readiness of Faculty Members and Students in the Government and Private Higher
Education Institutions in the Philippines”, it seeks to determine the level of readiness of selected
private and government managed colleges and universities in the Philippines, and also aims to
determine if there is a significant difference in the level of readiness between the private and
government HEI’s.
They use sample population of ten(10) faculty members and forty(40) students from
seven(7) different higher education institution. Four(4) institutions are managed by the
government and the remaining three(3) are privately owned colleges. In this study, they use
survey questionnaire as a data gathering instrument from the combination of work of Akaslan et
al. (2012) and Mercado (2008). It was coded 1,2,3,4 and 5, 5 is the highest and 1 is the lowest.

E-readiness of Faculty and Mean Verbal Descrip-

State Universities and Colleges 4.24 4.71 4.48 Agree

Table 1 shows the e-learning readiness of faculty members and students in state
universities and private universities in the Philippines. The table reveals that the students from
both public and private universities demonstrated a high level of e-learning readiness as
reflected in the computed mean of 4.24 from state universities and colleges (SUC) and 3.96
from private universities with a combined mean of 4.03 described as agreeing. Similarly, faculty
from both the public and private universities registered a high level of e-learning readiness, with
a weighted of 4.71 (SUC) and 4.09 (private) with a combined mean of 4.40 described as
agreeing. The overall mean is 4.26 described as agree, researchers conclude that faculty
members and students from both private and public universities possess confidence in using e-
infrastructure, such as the Internet, software, digital tools in teaching and learning. Moreover,
they exhibited the necessary computer skills needed in the implementation of e-learning.
S.Y. 2020-2021 S.Y. 2021-2022
Enrolled Students 26.23million 27, 232, 095
Table 2. Enrolled students in S.Y. 2020-2021 & S.Y. 2021-2022. Based on the published article of Romina Cabrera on
November 19, 2021.

In S.Y. 2021-2022, enrolled students is 3.83% higher from the estimated 26.23 million
students enrolled in S.Y. 2020-2021, according to DepEd’s Learning Information System (LIS).
In S.Y. 2020-2021, public and private schools are not still adopting online learning, it is when
lockdown in Philippines started. Unlike in S.Y. 2021-2022, Online learning being adopted by
educayional sectors, and a larger number of students are enrolled. Therefore enrollees on
online lwarning is larger that enrollees of traditional learning or the face-to-face classes.
References:
Joshua Stern Ph.D. (2020)Introduction to Online Teaching and Lerning. [Blog post] Retrieved
2020 from
https://www.wlac.edu/online/documents/otl.pdf

Kark Szpunar, Samuel Moulton & Daniel Schacter (2013) Mind Wandering and Education: From
the Classroom to Online Learning. Retrieved August 2013 from
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00495/full

Lucero H.R. et al. (2020) Assessment of E-learning, Readiness of Faculty Members and
Students in the Government and Private Higher Education Institutions in the Philippines.
Retrieved 2020 from
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2202.06069

Marj Casal Handog (2020), The Pandemic is Reshaping Education, here’s how the Philippines
is Coping. [Article] Retrieved 17 August 2020 from
https://www.rappler.com/brandrap/tech-and-innovation/coronavirus-reshaping-distance-learning-
education-philippines/

Terry Anderson (2008) The Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Retrieved 2008 from
https://www.aupress.ca/app/uploads/
12146_99Z_Anderson_2008_Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf

Timothy Hill, Laku Chidambaram, & Jama Summers (2017), Playing ‘Catvh Up’ with Blended
Learning: Performance Impacts of Augmenting Classroom Instruction with Online Learning.
Retrieved 2017 from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0144929X.2016.1189964

Romina Cabrera (2021) 1million More Students Enrolled this Year-DepEd. [Article] Retrieved 19
Novembed 2021 from
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/11/19/2142354/1-million-more-students-enrolled-year-
deped