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. 2024 Feb 14;16(2):e54217.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.54217. eCollection 2024 Feb.

Students' Perception of Online Versus Face-to-Face Learning: What Do the Healthcare Teachers Have to Know?

Ammar Ahmed Siddiqui  1 , Malik Zain Ul Abideen  2 , Saman Fatima  3 , Muhammad Talal Khan  4 , Syed W Gillani  5 , Zeyad A Alrefai  6 , Muhammad Waqar Hussain  7 , Hassaan A Rathore  8
Affiliations

Students' Perception of Online Versus Face-to-Face Learning: What Do the Healthcare Teachers Have to Know?

Ammar Ahmed Siddiqui et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions confronted the possibility of complete closure and took countermeasures by adapting e-learning platforms. The present cross-sectional study quantified the impact of the pandemic on medical education using a validated and reliable tool. The tool was used to explore the perceptions of 270 healthcare students about e-learning in comparison to traditional learning systems. Inferential statistics were employed using Pearson's chi-squared test. It was found that e-learning was advantageous because of its location flexibility (46.1%) and the ease of access to study materials (46.5%). However, in-person learning was found to lead to an increase in knowledge (44.9%), clinical skills (52.7%), and social competencies (52.7%). The study concluded that while e-learning offers flexibility, traditional face-to-face teaching is deemed more effective for skill development and social interaction. Hence, e-learning should complement rather than replace traditional methods due to limitations in replicating clinical environments.

Keywords: e-learning; face to face teaching; healthcare education; knowledge; pandemic; perception; skills.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Advantages of e-learning
Figure 2
Figure 2. Disadvantages of e-learning
Figure 3
Figure 3. Comparison between face to face and e-learning
Perception toward face-to-face and e-learning
Figure 4
Figure 4. Activity during e-learning and face-to-face sessions
Figure 5
Figure 5. Acceptance of e-learning during pandemic
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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