Abstract:

Blended learning provided enhancement to face-to-face interaction between teachers and students through the use of the internet and computer-based tools. This study primarily investigates the effect of the blended learning mode to the academic performance of first year Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) students taking up the Problem Solving and Programming I course. The study was undertaken during the first semester of the school year 2011-2012. Only the regular first year BSIT students were the respondents of this research. There are two sections that took up the course. Section A used the blended learning mode while Section B employed the traditional face-to-face learning mode. With regards to blended learning, the respondents used Claroline in their online mode.

The study aimed the following: to determine the level of academic performance of students in Problem Solving and Programming I course of first year BSIT students employing the blended learning mode and face-to-face mode; to compare the academic performance in Problem Solving and Programming I course of first year BSIT students using blended learning mode and face-to-face mode; and to elicit the benefits and problems encountered by the BSIT first year students in using the blended learning mode in Problem Solving I.

Results showed that the average academic performance of the respondents using blended mode is 2.68 which is significantly different from 2.25 which was set as the hypothesized mean academic performance. The students using the face-to-face mode got an average of 2.83 which is also significantly different from the average. Furthermore, the academic performance using the blended mode differs significantly from the face-to-face mode, as indicated by the computed t value. Those who took up the course using the blended mode perform significantly better than those who were in the face-to-face mode. The respondents also identified that accessible practice cases and lecture notes that can be downloaded and viewed whenever needed are the most beneficial among others when using the Claroline used for the online part of the blended mode. However, the respondents who undergone the blended learning mode identified the number one problem to be the unavailability of the Claroline made the necessary class’ documents not accessible.

It is highly recommended that the study be performed again in other programming subjects to further prove that blended learning mode provides better student’s academic performance than face-to-face mode.

Keywords:

Blended learning, face-to-face mode, academic performance.