Instruction and Evaluation in Face to Face and Online Education: Voices of Faculties and Online Graduate Students of TEFL

The objectives of this study were: (a) to determine learners’ and teacher educators’ perceptions of differences between online and face-to-face (F2F) classrooms, (b) to investigate teacher educators’ and learners’ preferences for course evaluation, and (c) to explore learners’ and teacher educators’ interest about F2F and online learning/teaching. The participants were 61 MA students of TEFL and 5 teacher educators at IUST. The instruments were three open-ended questions along with semi-structured interview. Although the majority of learners preferred online classes, they held the view that F2F classes are more interactive and engaging with more pedagogical approaches used by teachers. Learners and instructors both also emphasized more formative tests, projects, and assignments instead of summative tests for course evaluation in online classes. Moreover, instructors held the opinion that online learners are more self-regulated with higher content knowledge level; however, they considered F2F learners more motivated.