A Qualitative Study of IT Students' Skill Development: Comparing Online and Face- to-Face Learning Environments

Abstract: Each student has specific characteristics and learning preferences, that reflect on each type of learning environment, online or face-to-face. Understanding these differences is crucial for educators to create learning environments that can inspire and engage students. This qualitative study explores and tries to better understand, specifically the IT student's experiences and perceived skills development in online and face-to-face learning environments, while trying to address the question: "Regarding online and face-to-face learning environments, in IT, how do students experience and assess their skill development in one learning environment compared to the other?". Using a social constructive paradigm, the purpose of the research is to focus as much as possible on the student's views of the situation and how their perspectives and experiences shape the perception of developed skills. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews by focusing on the student and asking for their personal experience on skill development through online and face-to-face learning environments. The data analysis strategy adopts the grounded theory approach, using a systematic procedure. The results suggest that face-to-face learning may develop a better communication and collaborative skills more effectively while experiencing a synchronous interaction, where online learning may strength in self-regulation and adaptability skills because of the independence and flexibility it provides. This study produces two grounded theories that explain how different IT learning environments influence the development of student's specific skills, that can contribute to pedagogical discussions on optimizing hybrid learning experiences.