Undergraduate Education Students' Perceptions and Challenges of Learning Calculus Through Blended Learning
Fatin Athirah Ramlay 1, Suhalia Safiai2*
1 Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Selangor, Kampus Puncak Alam, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
2 Centre of Foundation Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Selangor, Kampus Dengkil, 43800 Dengkil, Selangor, Malaysia
*Corresponding Author: [email protected] Accepted: 15 September 2022 | Published: 1 October 2022
DOI:https://doi.org/10.55057/ijares.2022.4.3.15
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Abstract: Blended learning has recently gained popularity in training and education. It was a combination of two learning styles, which are face-to-face teaching and some of the technological aids that have been widely used in teaching and learning. This study is meant to be an addition to the in-class lectures and to assist students in understanding calculus subjects at their own pace and time. The purpose of this study is to describe students' perceptions of blended learning and to determine whether blended learning affects their readiness and challenges in learning calculus. A total of 86 Mathematics Education students were involved in this study, in which a series of questionnaires were distributed to evaluate their readiness and learning perceptions. Based on the findings, a conclusion has been made regarding the role of blended learning in supporting teaching and learning. The results showed that students demonstrate positive perceptions using the blended learning approach in some of the subjects.
Keywords: Blended learning, Calculus, Students’ Readiness, Students’ Perceptions
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1. Introduction
Technology has been improving gradually day by day in this modern era of globalization. This was characterized by changes in scientific and technological advances, including the technology of information. In education, blended learning is an approach to education with the use of technologies in most schools and universities. Most higher institutions are aware that using technology can enhance students’ experience and knowledge (Ramakrisnan, Yahya, Hasrol, & Aziz, 2012). It is an approach to train that combines various techniques of learning.
Blended learning often relates, in the conventional instructional model, to the use of laboratory equipment or computers to complement class sessions and reinforce the teaching process through exercise and the implementation of concepts learned in class. In the world of e- learning, this approach refers to the complementary use of e-learning in the standard education model due to the numerous benefits it offers. The benefits of this approach are considerably more significant than one may believe, as they affect not only the trainees but also the trainer and the learning process itself (Pavlou, 2022). The learner is more involved with a wide range of content.
Blended learning offers the benefit of distance learning, which includes the ability to view the material at any time and place, and the benefits of face-to-face learning such as discussion in the classroom and face interaction (Yilmaz & Orhan, 2010). Grosz (2012) and Moukali (2012) recorded the teachers' good approach to blended learning and its implementation in the classroom. However, teachers think they require training in blended learning and would appreciate any assistance in this matter. According to Wagner (2016), interaction is a key component in the quality and value dimension of an online learning experience. The interaction seemed to be the research and theory's primary focus in blended learning. However, two different issues are interactions between face-to-face educational learning and internet media.
Blended learning complements both environments and benefits all types of students in a variety of ways. This allows trainees to take data home and assimilate it on their own without feeling pressured to keep pace with the rest of the class. The opinions of learners on blended learning ranged from favorable to faith that blended learning does not fit their preferred style of teaching or subject matter. They found that the various opinions were due to a lack of understanding of the elements of e-learning coupled with inconsistent access to computing equipment (Zainuddin, 2018).
However, it is undeniable that blended learning differs from online education, which focuses on learning from a web application without having to attend live classes. Blended learning, on the other hand, focuses on combining two different teaching and learning approaches. One method is the conventional face-to-face method, while the other is through the internet.
1.1 Problem Statement
In Malaysian higher education organizations, online learning has become one of the significant elements. Some higher learning institutions have started using online learning to complement face-to-face learning, whereas others use it to improve teaching and learning as an added learning resource. The previous study shows that mixed learning classes are needed to overcome the growing number of learners taking in and the shortage of subject specialists, cater to distinct learning styles, allow flexibility in time and location, complement traditional face- to-face teaching, and receive immediate feedback. Additionally, in terms of infrastructure, and governmental policy, Malaysian higher education institutions are equipped to offer mixed learning courses. Updating hardware and software, maintaining infrastructure, aligning the standards of mixed learning courses offered by universities, and converting internet teaching materials for other mobile technologies are the future challenges of offering these classes (Ling, Rahman, Ariffin, Leong & Mohd Hamzah, 2011). These future challenges can be used as guides for future preparation of similar programs.
Educators are now faced with the difficulty of balancing the diversity of students' learning styles by integrating traditional and online learning with technology. The problem arises in learning mathematics when students struggle to understand the theories and memorize the formulas. In addition, in certain cases, students need to visualize the picture when they have to apply some theories or formulas. As a result, it demonstrates the difficulties that students encounter when it comes to mixed learning. In the blended learning environment, students need to act as active learners in both learning styles, which are inside and outside the classroom.
With current technological advancements, it is highly possible to revolutionize the way individuals learn and present information. Students often learn from the method that the lecturers use. Typically, students want inquiries and conversations with specialists. In addition, students will experience social interaction and have the opportunity to acquire knowledge from
others. Most students prefer an individual environment, which means they require self-paced learning material.
1.3 Research Objectives
The study is conducted to analyze the undergraduate Education students’ perception and challenges of using blended learning in calculus subjects. In particular, the objectives of this study are as follows:
1) To identify the barriers faced by students with online learning technology.
2) To investigate the effect of students’ readiness towards blended learning in calculus.
3) To determine the students’ perceptions towards blended learning in calculus.
1.4 Significance of the study
This study aims to give a significant impact on society. The findings of this study will benefit Mathematics lecturers who teach calculus in traditional ways or by using blended learning.
When Mathematics lecturer knows which methods are suitable for teaching calculus, they could be able to plan their lesson effectively.
The findings of this study will also be beneficial to students in knowing their coping strategies to be employed when using blended learning in their calculus subjects to reduce their carelessness and anxiety toward online learning. When they can compare their abilities to answer questions through blended learning, their performance in the continuous assessment will be improved.
2. Literature Review
There are various issues with blended learning. Different academics have varying mixed teaching interpretations. For example, Vaughan (2015) defined blended learning as a student- centered, self-paced, flexible, and multi-modal approach to learning, but argued that merely supplementing a face-to-face mode with online web-based learning is not considered a blended learning approach. Blended learning could be described as an approach to teaching and learning that integrates a web-based learning environment and face-to-face interaction. Mixed teaching schemes make learners more responsive, involved, and cooperative in teaching (Vaughan, 2015). Despite the overwhelming literary support for broad recognition of mixed learning, academics are still challenged to find the most efficient methods to implement mixed alternatives. The time and difficulty of designing and creating a mix and the absence of inner knowledge are quoted as the main difficulties in the implementation of blended learning (Oxford Group, 2013). Mishra and Kumar (2021) stated that blended learning is a transformation from teacher-centered to learner-centered education. In this era, a single delivery method in teaching and learning is incapable of supporting student engagement, learner preference, significance, social contact, and efficient learning, a mixture of several delivery methods in mixed learning will provide an up-to-date alternative to this problem (Maarop & Embi, 2016). The standard of the courses should be constantly improved, and instructors should strive to give their best. They thought that the importance of the face-to-face teaching method cannot be decreased, but e-learning can be used along with conventional methods to offer performance, efficacy, and competitive advantage over other competitors by providing quality education (Barboni, 2019). Besides that, a lot of challenges are related to online education, but the advantages cannot be overlooked. This is true in times of such a crisis.
To fix these problems, we will still have solutions. As for recommendations, by pre-recording video lectures, checking the content, and always having another plan ready, technological problems can be solved so that the teaching and learning process cannot be disrupted.
In e-learning, some situations play an important role in supporting the learning process, such as an environment of interaction, cooperation, and community between students and teachers.
The development of an e-learning environment provides new forms of interaction for learning interaction. According to Rana, Rajiv, and Lal (2014), there are a few issues in the new forms which are “the multimodal interface to support learning, techniques to understand and support learning communities, the development of systems to support mobile communities of learners, personalization techniques that meet user personal needs and current activity, techniques to promote and support interaction, the discovery of new learning communities and support for time-to-time assessment services”. Most students that go through online study face the same problem during class and when they do the assignments. A study found that online learning gave students and teachers challenges in analyzing the content, purpose, organizing learning materials, and other educational issues. Besides that, they also faced challenges including the lack of specialization in lessons and the lack of attention to educational prerequisites for students in this learning (Sarvestani, Mohammadi, Afshin, and Raeisy, 2019). For teachers, it is a challenge to transition from offline to online mode, adapt their teaching methodologies, and control their time. Developing content that not only encompasses the material but also involves students is difficult (Kebritchi, Lipschuetz, and Santiague, 2017). A real problem is the consistency of e-learning services. There is a lack of consistency, quality control, e-resource creation, and e-content distribution norms. This issue needs to be addressed urgently to allow all to benefit from quality education through e-learning (Cojocariu, Lazar, Nedeff, & Lazar, 2014). In the blended learning environment, teachers should use a variety of ICT tools such as synchronous and asynchronous learning technologies to facilitate and foster collaboration, interaction, communication, and students’ knowledge building and sharing. Al-Huneidi and Schreurs (2012) state that the efficacy of cooperation in a live or synchronous learning setting relies on vibrant and active communication among learners that fosters the building and sharing of knowledge.
2.1 Conceptual Framework
Figure 2.1: Conceptual Framework
The following conceptual framework summarizes the idea of blended learning. Calculus is one of the continuous subjects taken by Science and Mathematics students at the university. The three levels of calculus that they required to learn, along with Precalculus, were Calculus I, II, and III. This study was carried out to identify the barriers, level of readiness, and students’
perceptions toward blended learning in learning these subjects. On other hand, to improve our mathematics education, future mathematics educators must undergo training to gain some knowledge and skills in teaching the younger generations. Knowing their strengths and weaknesses, we can assist them to improve and train them to be creative and innovative teachers.
3. Methodology
This study was done by using a quantitative and qualitative approach. The methodology of this study is divided into five sections, which are research design, in which the researcher used descriptive and inferential statistics for collecting data, population and sampling, instrumentation, data collection method by using Google Form, and data analysis from the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
3.1 Research Design
This study used a quantitative and qualitative technique, as well as descriptive and inferential statistics, to observe the students' perceptions and challenges toward blended learning in learning calculus among educational students at UiTM Puncak Alam, Selangor. A survey instrument was designed specifically for this study. The instrument that has been used comprised 4 sections: fundamental demographic questions, student barriers, readiness for blended learning, and perceptions toward blended learning. In each section, respondents will be briefed about the questionnaire and be assured of its confidentiality in all aspects. The questions were designed according to the specific questions.
3.2 Population and Sampling
The target population focuses on a public university in Selangor, where educational students from UiTM Puncak Alam were chosen. It is practical for sampling as it is quick and simple to produce the outcome in a short time. The sample size was determined using a simple random sampling from the population of all educational students at UiTM Puncak Alam. According to the enrollment of educational students at UiTM Puncak Alam, there are four courses for students who have taken calculus subjects from the departments of Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics. A total of 84 respondents were randomly chosen among the enrollment in these four courses. This is because, in some courses, there were students who did not take calculus as their main subject. Since the sampling could be biased, the selection process in this study will be more properly considered based on their preferences. It will provide in-depth data and be more relevant.
3.3 Instrumentation
This study is using the research design of survey research. Survey research will be focusing on asking questions to the respondents by using various survey mediums such as online or offline surveys and questionnaires. In this study, the online questionnaire has been used as the main instrument. Through the questionnaire, a systematic technique has been applied to collect data.
The instrument was designed based on previous research (Turpin, 2018). The instrument is divided into four sections which are demographic information (section A), barriers faced by students (section B), readiness in using blended learning (section C), and perceptions towards blended learning (section D).
Section A is to gather students’ demographic information. In this section, there are three questions regarding their gender, course, and year of study. Section B consists of five questions related to barriers faced by the students. These questions were combined with the selected question and open-ended questions. Section C consists of components of readiness in using blended learning. This section consists of seven items. It was measured by using five points Likert scale. And lastly, section D consists of three open-ended questions about respondent perceptions of blended learning.
3.4 Data Collection
The questionnaire was designed and developed for data collection using Google Forms. This is because it is a quick, convenient, and affordable way to get standardized data. Before answering the questions in the first section of the form, the respondents have been briefed about the purpose of the study and some background information about the topic. Information about this study was given on how to respond to the questions. By using a google form, respondents are more precise about the question being asked since each question has been set up with the required term. It can reduce the percentage of missing values in the respondents' responses.
With this online technology, the data will be generated automatically after the respondent submits their responses. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 was used to key in the data, and the results for this study were tabulated in the table.
3.5 Data Analysis
The data collection was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The early stage was led by calculating descriptive statistics including frequencies, mode, mean scores, and standard deviations. Then, the data, graph, and result are plotted. T-test and Cronbach’s Alpha were analyzed to determine the result of the internal consistency of an instrument that consists of multiple Likert-type questions that determine if the scale is accurate and reliable.
Research Objective Measurement Scale Statistic
To identify the barriers faced by students with online learning technology.
What are the barriers faced by the students?
Nominal Mean, Standard Deviation To investigate the effect on
undergraduate education students’ readiness towards blended learning in learning calculus.
Does blended learning effects students’ readiness in learning calculus?
Interval Simple Regression
To determine the students’
perception of blended
learning in learning calculus.
What is the student’s perception of blended learning?
Qualitative analysis
4. Result and Discussion
This chapter focuses on findings that are based on the data analysis from the answers given by the respondents through a google form. There will be two parts, first, the demographic background of the respondents regarding their gender, course, and year of study. Secondly, the analysis to answer all the following research questions:
1) What are the barriers the students face while using technology for online learning?
2) Does blended learning effects faculty of education students’ readiness in learning calculus?
3) What is the student’s perception of blended learning in learning calculus?
The results for the quantitative approach were presented according to the listed research questions. Barriers faced by the students and readiness of students towards blended learning will be used to answer research questions. A qualitative approach was presented according to the student preferences which will be answered for the third research question.
4.1 Demographic Details
Based on the data obtained, a descriptive analysis of demographic background followed.
Table 4.1: Gender
Frequency Percent
Male 16 19.0
Female 68 81.0
Total 84 100.0
Table 4.1 shows the distributions of gender. A total of 16 (19%) of the students are male while another 68(21%) are females.
Figure 4.1 Number of students per course
Figure 4.1 illustrates the number of participants according to each course. ED247 has 12(14.3%) students, ED248 has 14(16.7%) students, ED249 has 48(57.1%) students and ED260 has 10(11.9%) students.
14%
17%
57%
12%
Course
ED247 ED248 ED249 ED260
Figure 4.2: Number of students per year of study
Figure 4.2 illustrates the number of participants according to each year of study. Year 1 has 8(9.5%) students, Year 2 has 9(10.7%) students, Year 3 has 10(11.9%) students and Year 4 has 57(67.9%) students.
4.2 Findings for Research Questions
The following analyses are presented to answer research question one.
The first research question seeks to identify the barriers faced by students with online learning technology. Descriptive analysis was conducted for three items on the problem-faced scale. It showed the highest mean score for the problem faced by students in online learning which is slow internet accessibility (mean=3.94, SD=0.766). On average they had difficulties in uploading and downloading coursework in the platform learning that they used (mean=3.74, SD=0.676). The lowest rating students gave to item “web paged timed out with mean=3.60 and SD=0.642.
The following analysis is presented to answer research question two by using simple regression analysis. According to the Evaluation Criteria for Level of Five-Point Likert Scale table introduced by Celik and Oral (2016), all items in section C that consist of components of readiness in using blended learning had been computed as a new variable, Effect Readiness.
Table 4.2 Problem Faced during Blended Learning
N Mean Std. Deviation
Web paged time out 84 3.60 .642
Slow internet accessibility 84 3.94 .766
Difficulties in uploading and download
84 3.74 .679
Valid N (listwise) 84
9%11%
12%
68%
Year of Study
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Table 4.3 Readiness of Students towards Blended Learning
Table 4.3 shows that most of the respondents agreed with all the items in Section C. This result indicates that students in each course in the faculty of education that takes calculus subject agreed that blended learning has affected students’ readiness in learning calculus. The second table shows the model summary with an R-value of 0.283 which indicates a weak correlation between the variables. R2 = 0.080 indicating that 8.0% of the total variation in the course can be explained by the independent variable, Effect Readiness.
The ANOVA table reports that the regression model can significantly predict courses in faculty in education since p < 0.05.
Model Summary
Model R R Square Adjusted R Square
Std. Error of the Estimate
1 .283a .080 .069 .839
a. Predictors: (Constant), Effect_Readiness
ANOVAa
Model
Sum of
Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1 Regression 5.002 1 5.002 7.114 .009b
Residual 57.664 82 .703
Total 62.667 83
a. Dependent Variable: Course
b. Predictors: (Constant), Effect_Readiness
Coefficientsa
Model
Unstandardized Coefficients
Standardized Coefficients
t Sig.
B Std. Error Beta
1 (Constant) 1.409 .480 2.932 .004
Effect_Readiness .365 .137 .283 2.667 .009
a. Dependent Variable: Course
The regression equation obtained is:
Course = 1.409 + 0.365 (Effect Readiness)
Research question 3 is based on questionnaire part D which is open-ended questions. Based on the results, most of the respondents said that blended learning has less effective learning than a traditional approach due to some reason. The most reason is that blended learning gives less interaction and communication between students and instructors in which students cannot directly ask the instructors regarding the subject being taught because of a poor connection and blended learning minimize students’ interpersonal skills. Blended learning is also not an effective learning strategy for calculus subjects. This is because calculus is a subject that is related to a number and it requires calculation, problem-solving, and mathematical solutions.
Besides that, some of the instructors lacked technology skills, which made the delivery of the lesson more difficult, and the explanation for every step of the calculation was also limited.
Based on the overall perspective about blended learning, with the advanced technology and information technology (IT), blended learning is good to learn and most suitable to be used during this endemic since all the instructors have to effectively deliver their teaching content remotely using various online platforms. Other respondents said that blended learning is suitable for languages and other subjects that require students’ rational ideas to be shared. It is also suitable for a short session of tutorial classes as student attention can be managed effectively.
5. Conclusion
In a conclusion, the result showed the highest mean in the problem faced by the student during online learning was item “slow internet accessibility” followed by having difficulty in downloading and uploading coursework and web paged time out during online browsing.
Besides that, blended learning has affected students’ readiness in learning calculus. According to the item in section C, students gave positive feedback to each item. Therefore, students need more time and information about blended learning whether to learn in the face to face or online learning. Students prefer blended classes compared to traditional classes if they can access course material online more easily. Blended learning has its pros and cons towards learning.
As blended learning continues to grow in popularity, the system and training programs must be developed and are in place to facilitate the transition process of students and teachers from traditional methods to a blended mode of learning.
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