The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of attending synchronous online lectures versus asynchronous online lectures on students performance in a class.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

- Background
- Purpose
- Hypothesis
- Methodology
- Results
- Discussion

Synchronous versus asynchronous online teaching of physics during the COVID-19 pandemic: Summary

Guo, S. (2020). Synchronous versus asynchronous online teaching of physics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Physics Education, 55(6). https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/aba1c5

Synchronous versus asynchronous online teaching of physics during the COVID-19 pandemic

Synchronous versus asynchronous online teaching of physics during the COVID-19 pandemic: Purpose

- The first hypothesis was that overall grades for every student in the course would drop from the first half of the course (when it was in-person) to the second half (when the course transitioned to online learning)
- The second hypothesis was that students who attended the synchronous sessions will have a lower drop in grades as compared to students who participated asynchronously

Synchronous versus asynchronous online teaching of physics during the COVID-19 pandemic: Hypothesis

The COVID-19 pandemic required schools and teachers to quickly shift their courses from an in-person to online format. This transition required teachers to make the decision of whether to teach course material in a synchronous or asynchronous format. Decisions for which format to choose included considering factors such as keeping classes as similar to in-person as possible, working in accordance with students new schedules/work commitments, etc.

Synchronous versus asynchronous online teaching of physics during the COVID-19 pandemic: Thematic Background

- The class being studied was an intro calculus-based physics course with 21 students
- The class was mostly sophomores and juniors
- The class used a flipped classroom style, with 2 hour sessions 3 times a week
- Sessions include lectures, problem solving, and lab activities (taught in a "Scale-up" format)
- After the start of the pandemic, virtual synchronous classes were offered at the same time as previous in-person class
- The synchronous sessions were optional for everyone except those failing the course
- 9 students attended regularly (2 required), 11 either did not attend or rarely attended, and one student dropped the course
- zoom breakout rooms were used to mimic the in-person format, and the instructor was available for help at any time

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