PREFERENCE DETERMINES PERFORMANCE: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ PREFERENCE OF ON-CAMPUS AND ONLINE LEARNING AND THEIR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE DURING COVID-19

On-campus and online learning modalities provide rich and diverse learning experiences to students with certain physical, psychological and Covid-19 limitations. Present study was carried out to compare the students’ preference of on-campus and online learning and their academic performance in both modes with the purpose of identifying the causes behind their choices. Mixed method research design was selected. 358 students from two public universities of Islamabad participated in research. The research instrument consisted of a mixed questionnaire containing close ended items followed by an open-ended research question. Results showed that majority of students preferred on-campus classroom learning. GPAs of students were better in online classes as compared to on-campus classes. Students favored on-campus learning due to good teacher-student relationships, better course content understanding, more class participation, high motivation, use of a variety of pedagogical practices, and more reliable assessment technique. Those students who favoured online classes said that it is easy to attend from any place, it saves travelling time and cost. Trainings may be provided to teachers about the use of various teaching strategies and suitable assessment techniques for online classes to enhance its effectiveness.