Abstract:
BlendFlex instruction, a new mode of content delivery in higher education, merges traditional face-to-face instruction, distance education through teleconferencing, and online instruction in a way that benefits learners by allowing mixed delivery methods to match current personal and academic support needs. A causal-comparative research design was employed to compare overall course completion rates, course success rates, final course grades, and student perceptions of teaching presence between BlendFlex instruction, traditional face-to-face instruction, and online instruction. There were several findings from this study. First, when participants chose to attend traditional face-to-face instruction, they were more likely to stay “actively registered” in the courses. Second, the course success rates of both BlendFlex and traditional face-to-face instructional methods were higher than online instruction, especially for female students, early adult students, and midlife students. Third, the final course grades of both BlendFlex and traditional face-to-face instructional methods were higher than online instruction, especially for female students, adolescent students, early adult students, and midlife students. Fourth, one-way ANOVA test results revealed significant differences in student perceptions of teaching presence between instructional delivery methods for all questions studied. Games-Howell post hoc tests indicated that the student perception scores of teaching presence were significantly higher in traditional face-to-face instruction than online instruction for all survey questions. Except for survey questions one and three, the student perception scores of teaching presence were significantly higher in BlendFlex instruction than online instruction.