ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF VIRTUAL AND FACE-TO-FACE
CLASSES TO BPED 3A STUDENTS
A Research Proposal
Presented to the
Faculty of the College of Teacher Education
Naga College Foundation, Inc.
City of Naga
In Partial Fulfilment
of the Requirements for the
Degree of Bachelor of Physical Education
JAMAICA N. FLORDELIZ
2022
Chapter 1
THE PROBLEM
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people live, especially in
their activities. Many activities are now carried out online, one of which is teaching
and learning activities. Reducing and even eliminating teaching and learning
activities on campus is the right decision to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
However, has distance learning online during the Covid-19 pandemic been felt to
have a positive impact on students or does it have a more negative impact?
The new coronavirus was leading many governments to implement
lockdowns in order to prevent the pandemic from spreading. Lockdowns disturbed
social habits, forcing people to maintain physical distance in order to protect
themselves from the dangerous infection. Furthermore, many people all over the
world have switched their social and professional activities to online platforms in
order to meet their requirements and needs. Educational institutions, too, used
internet platforms to accomplish their goals and objectives. During the pandemic,
providing instruction through online platforms and digital means grew in
popularity.
A significant shift in the learning process from face-to-face to online learning
demonstrates that all actors in the educational sector, including lecturers and
students, must be prepared to adapt to conditions in which everything must be
done online using technology and information. To ensure effective learning, both
lecturers and students collaborated with one another via conference calls, zoom
meetings, Google Meet, WhatsApp, school's portal interactions, telegram, and
emails. Following Covid-19, these online platforms made learning both safe and
effective.
Not only in teaching and learning, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered
people's lifestyles. Mostly all activities are now conducted entirely online. To avoid
the spread of COVID-19, it is the proper decision to reduce, if not eliminate,
teaching and learning activities on campus. Online learning systems can be
asynchronous, synchronous, or a combination of both. On the internet, there are
many examples of asynchronous e-learning, both simple and integrated through
e-learning sites. Because the learning process is carried out live, teachers and
students must be in front of the computer at the same time in synchronous elearning. The continuity of online teaching and learning activities still reap the pros
and cons. Various positive and negative impacts come from lectures and students
perspectives. Aside from the epidemiological advantages of e-learning during the
COVID–19 pandemic, additional advantages worth highlighting include enhanced
convenience, access to materials regardless of place or time, and cost and air
pollution reductions. Online classes have their own set of constraints, including
issues with internet
The advancement of information technology in the twenty-first century has
profoundly changed our educational system. The use of the internet in teaching
and learning has become more common in higher education. The reality is that
online learning is the new mode of instructional delivery that is now available to
students. Online learning has been an innovative approach for delivering a welldesigned, learner-centered, interactive, and facilitated learning environment to
anyone, anyplace, anytime by utilizing the attributes and resource of various digital
technologies along with other forms of learning materials suited for open, flexible,
and distributed learning environments.
Due to the rise of technology, online tools are utilized in online course
offerings. In the last decade, colleges and universities have seen an exponential
increase in the number of online course offerings in response to technological,
societal, and economic changes.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) had a huge impact on people's lives
all around the world. Many schools and universities were obliged to make an
unforeseen transition from traditional face-to- face studying to digital teaching and
learning due to the health emergency triggered by the pandemic. This situation
has affected teachers and students around the world from primary, secondary and
even in the higher education. While schools and universities rush to adapt and
adopt digital systems for remote learning, students encounter challenges like lack
of access to academic resources and distractions in the home learning environment
and might have experienced negative emotions due to the hurried switch to an
unfamiliar learning situation while parents were also struggling to educate and
care for their children due to school closure (Harris, 2020). Research revealed that
previous epidemics negatively affected people and society’s mental health (Wu,
Fang, Guan, Fan, Kong, Yao, Liu, Fuller, Susser & Lu, 2019, Wu, Liu, Fang, Fan,
Fuller, Guan, Yao, Kong, Lu & Litvak, 2008). People may develop intense stress
responses during crises which can have both short and long-term effects on mental
health (Wu et al.,2019). Consequently, research on COVID-19 presented that
young people are the most vulnerable to mental health crises (Cao, Fang, Hou,
Han, Xu, Dong & Zheng, 2020). The World Health Organization also mentioned
significant mental health concerns during the pandemic such as concerns about
the risk of being infected, losing a family member or loved ones, uncertainty, the
threat of losing one’s life, the restrictions on social connection and interactions,
and the like (WHO, 2020a). For college students, the prevalence of the pandemic
creates new stressors including fear and worry for oneself or loved ones,
constraints on physical movement and social activities due to quarantine, and
sudden
and
radical
lifestyle
changes
(Son,
Hedge,
Smith,
Wang
&
Sasangohar, 2020). There were reported manifestations of distress, anxiety,
depression, and insomnia in general populations as Covid-19 swept the world.
Approximately one out of every four students suffer from anxiety (Cao et
al., 2020). It was supported by the study of Salari, Hosseinian-Far, Jalali, VaisiRaygani, Rasoulpoor, Mohammadi & Khaledi, (2020) that among the general
populations in Asia and Europe showed the prevalence of stress (29.6%); anxiety
(31.9%) and depression (33.7%). Consequently Brooks, Websters, Woodland,
Wessely Greenberg & Rubin (2020) individual in quarantine experience
psychological distress in the form of anxiety, anger, confusion and post-traumatic
stress symptoms. For many students, the pandemic complicated their current
plans, increased concerns over academic achievements, and changed their mode
of functioning. Students try to cope, with either positive or negative coping
strategies and seek support from others (Son et al., 2020). Hence, the effects of
the pandemic on the mental health and well-being of college students must be
assessed immediately (de Oliveira Araújo, de Lima, Cidade, Nobre & Neto, 2020;
Zhai, 2020). The government all over the world has imposed safety measures to
prevent community transmission. As the Covid-19 pandemic posed an
unprecedented challenge, higher education suspends face-to-face classes and
moved toward remote learning (UNESCO, 2020). The unexpected change due to
health crises forced students to adapt to new ways of learning that can potentially
affect their academic. In the case of higher education, a large part of the
curriculum is based on the practical application of knowledge such as laboratory
classes (Jacques, Quahabi & Lequeu, 2020), and the online setup could pose a
significant challenge.
According to Martinez, Aguilar & Ortiz, (2015), online education has become
a viable component of higher education. From the traditional content centered
(Bourne & Mayadas, 2015) to various pedagogical methodologies have shown
efficacy in enhancing education (Lima, Andersson, & Saalman, 2017). Although
online education is becoming a significant tool available to educators,
with the unprecedented transition to remote learning, it is necessary to assess and
properly handle Covid-19's direct and indirect threats to students' well-being
(Burns, Dagnall & Holt, 2020). The sudden adjustment can be especially difficult
for students because most institutions based most of their learning on practical
applications, laboratory classes, and direct contact with lecturers and other
students (Baltà-Salvador, Olmedo-Torre, Pea, & Renta-Davids, 2021). As Park
et al. (2020) stated, the transition was difficult. In a remote-learning environment,
it is difficult to conduct lab courses, which are an important part of
undergraduate curricula and are needed by the for program accreditation.
Hence. the instructional change may cause increased stress levels for students
that
ultimately
impact
their
well-being,
academic
emotions,
and
college retention (Ramo, Lin, Hald, & Huang-Saad, 2021).
Cognizant of the importance of determining and clearly understanding the
advantages and disadvantages of virtual and face-to-face classes as perceived by
the BPED 3A students, the researchers would like to conduct this study in Naga
College Foundation. Furthermore, the researchers would like to propose
recommendations that will be used to address the challenges that may be
encountered by the respondents in attending their virtual and face-to-face classes.
Statement of the Problem
It is the ultimate purpose of this study to determine the advantages and
disadvantages of virtual and face-to-face classes to BPED 3A students of Naga
College Foundation, Academic Year 2022-2023.
Specifically, this study will seek answers to the following questions:
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of attending virtual classes as
perceived by the BPED 3A students?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of attending face-to-face
classes as perceived by the BPED 3A students?
3. Is there a significant difference between the advantages of attending virtual
and face-to-face classes?
4. Is there a significant difference between the disadvantages of attending
virtual and face-to-face classes?
5. What are the major barriers encountered by the respondents in attending
virtual and face-to-face classes?
Assumptions of the Study
This study is guided by the following assumptions:
1. The advantages and disadvantages of attending virtual classes as perceived
by the BPED 3A students vary.
2. The advantages and disadvantages of attending face-to-face classes as
perceived by the BPED 3A students vary.
3. The major barriers encountered by the respondents in attending virtual and
face-to-face classes vary.
Hypotheses
This study is guided by the following hypotheses:
1. There is no significant difference between the advantages of attending
virtual and face-to-face classes.
2. There is no significant difference between the disadvantages of attending
virtual and face-to-face classes.
Significance of the Study
This study is deemed significant to the following beneficiaries listed below:
College of Teacher Education. They will have sufficient and relevant
information to formulate policies and reforms in relation to prescribing necessary
strategies in the implementation of virtual and face-to-face classes to sustain the
school’s mission and vision to provide excellent and transformative education for
the sustainable development of society.
Teachers. They may benefit from the findings by determining the advantages and
disadvantages of virtual and in-person classes which will help them in the effective
and efficient delivery of instruction for their students. It can also provide evidencebased recommendations to improve their teaching styles and strategies and in
helping them to address their students’ needs. Study results can also be used for
crafting sound curriculum improvement plan because feedback from the
respondents would be useful in policy-making for the internal and external
development of the school. This will also inspire them to be more patient and
resourceful at all times.
Parents. As one of the stakeholders, parents and guardians are equally beneficial
to this research. They will be informed of the new modality of teaching-learning
process implemented and the major changes brought about by this new normal
way of learning.
Students. The top client of education system is the students among others. They
will be able to get the best education this modality can offer and become
competitive in the future. It will also lead to inspiring more student-researchers to
engage in a productive academic undertaking.
Future Researchers. This study will help them in a way that they can get useful
information from this study and they can use this as their source of data in making
other studies with the same theme or with different variables or conditions. They
can also take advantage from the results of this study by fostering responsible
conduct of a study.
Scope and Delimitations
This scope of the study will primarily focus on determining the advantages
and disadvantages of virtual and face-to-face classes to BPED 3A students of Naga
College Foundation, Academic Year 2022-2023.
The advantages and disadvantages of attending virtual classes as perceived
by the BPED 3A students will be determined. The advantages and disadvantages
of attending face-to-face classes as perceived by the BPED 3A students will be
tackled here. The significant difference between the advantages of virtual and
face-to-face classes will be analyzed. The significant difference between the
disadvantages of virtual and face-to-face classes will be assessed. At the end, the
major barriers encountered by the respondents in attending virtual and face-toface classes will be identified.
In this study, the respondents will be delimited on the students of Naga
College Foundation, Inc. who are presently enrolled as 3rd year students in
Bachelor of Physical Education for the current academic year. Through this, it
excludes other students of NCF-College of Teacher Education who are neither
BPED nor in their third year of academic residency.
This study will be confined within Naga City where the school is located.
The factor that will serve as a limitation or the perceived weakness of this study is
the number of respondents since it will be small. With the limited number of the
respondents, they cannot guarantee that the data to be gathered will represent
the entire population more than to generalize the perception of the BPED students
of Naga College Foundation, Inc. The data to be used in this study will be limited
only to the responses of the twenty-three (23) participants. Another constraint is
that they cannot guarantee that the participants will provide an honest response
to the research questions.
Definition of Terms
For the purpose and understanding of the discussions to be presented in
this study, the following terms are conceptually and operationally defined:
Advantages - Conceptually, these refer to any state, circumstance, opportunity,
or means especially favorable to success, interest, or any desired end.
Operationally, these refer to the perceived benefits derived from attending virtual
and face-to-face classes by the BPED 3A students.
Barriers – In its conceptual definition, this means something such as a rule, law,
or policy that makes it difficult or impossible for something to happen or
be achieved. In its operational definition, this means the problems encountered by
the respondents in terms of attending virtual and face-to-face classes.
Disadvantages - In its conceptual definition, these refer to the state or an
instance of being in an unfavorable circumstance or condition. In its operational
definition, these refer to the perceived negative effects derived from attending
virtual and face-to-face classes by the BPED 3A students.
Face-to-face classes - Conceptually, face-to-face learning is an instructional
method where course content and learning material are taught in person to a
group of students. This allows for a live interaction between a learner and an
instructor. Operationally, these refer to the classes held at NCF campus attended
by BPED 3A students.
School – Conceptually, it is an educational institution designed to provide learning
spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction
of teachers. Operationally, this refers to the research setting, the Naga College
Foundation, Inc.
Students - In its conceptual definition, it denotes a person who is formally
engaged in learning, especially one enrolled in a school in order to finish a course.
In its operational definition, these refer to the BPED 3A students who are the
respondents of this study.
Virtual Classes - Conceptually, it is an online teaching and learning environment
where teachers and students can present course materials, engage and interact
with other members of the virtual class, and work in groups together.
Operationally, these refer to the classes held online attended by BPED 3A students.
End Notes
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