By Daniella Razzouk | Staff Writer
It is fair to say that the decision to return to campus in October was a controversial one. Many students were excited to be back, while others were rightfully worried about what this return would mean from a logistical perspective. However, one of the most relevant topics of discussion was how returning would affect our academics.To tackle this question, I sent out a survey comprised of three main questions: whether they preferred online or in-person classes, whether their grades have improved since coming back to campus, and whether they feel they understand the course work better from in-person classes. The results were as follows: 73% of students preferred physical classes, 55% noticed no changes to their grades since coming back to campus, 80% and felt as though they understood the coursework better from in-person classes.
To gain perspective as to why students prefer one mode of teaching over the other, I decided to ask a sample of students which method they preferred and why.
A nutrition student by the name of Mariam said that she preferred physical classes because online classes make it difficult for her to focus, also she finds it easier to ask the professor a question when in a physical class. Finally, she feels as though one of the biggest factors for her distaste for online classes are the Wi-Fi and electricity issues in the country making it difficult to pay attention throughout a given class.
On the other hand, Osama, a computer science major, preferred online classes to physical ones. He says that in online classes, he focuses better since he doesn’t have to rush to write the notes down and can instead pay attention to the lecture. In addition, he also feels that listening to the lecture through headphones makes daydreaming or losing focus more difficult for him.
After getting more details about the student’s views, I wanted to ask the other major player in a classroom, the instructor. I wanted to know which method of teaching they preferred and whether they felt students understood more in a physical class. Lina Rahhal, an instructor in the department of mathematics, said that while her techniques are the same for both online and in-person classes, she feels as though in physical classes she can determine whether students understand the material, while in online classes she is not. The English department’s Sara El Cheikh Ali in, said that her personal preference is physical classes, but she also believes online classes are sometimes a necessity. In addition, she also thinks that whether or not a student understands a lecture better in physical or online classes goes back to them as an individual, as some students are capable of working asynchronously perfectly well, while others might not be.
For better or for worse, it appears that at least for the meantime, on-campus classes are here to stay. While there may be many challenges and frustrations that go along with that, especially in these difficult times, we must all try to make the best out of the situation.