The Impact of Different Instruction Modes Applied as A Result of Transition of Covid-19 Phases on Students’ Performance

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an abrupt change in the way higher education institutions (HEIs) deliver their courses. Due to crisis circumstances, HEIs have been required to adopt emergency remote teaching (ERT) as the substitution for traditional face-to-face (F2F) classes. This study aims to investigate the impact of different instruction modes applied in teaching an accounting course as a result of transition of COVID-19 phases on students' performance. The performance of four cohorts of students (N = 549) who enrolled in the Financial Accounting 4 (FAR270) course at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Pahang Branch, Malaysia, during the four semesters, including traditional F2F semester, two consecutive online semesters and blended learning semester. The results of this study reveal significant differences between students' performance when all four cohorts of students are compared. The students who were first exposed to the ERT at the beginning of pandemic phase (second cohort) performed better in the asynchronous online instruction mode compared to other instruction modes applied during other phases of pandemic. Besides, the study reveals significant differences in students' performance across different instruction modes for each group of students divided by the their prior CGPA and gender. In all CGPA and gender subgroups, students achieved better performance in asynchronous online mode compared to other instruction modes. The study also provides possible explanation for the results of the analysis.