Impacts of course type and student gender on distance learning performance: A case study in Taiwan

The global outbreak of COVID-19 since January 2020 has forced the closure of schools and universities in over 180 countries to control the pandemic, affecting approximately 90% of students worldwide. Distance teaching has been adopted during school closures to suspend classes without suspending learning. Scholars have claimed that distance teaching is more effective than face-to-face teaching and can replace face-to-face courses. However, further investigation is required to confirm whether distance learning is suitable for all types of courses and all students. Thanks to the effective containment of COVID-19 outbreaks in Taiwan, universities in Taiwan face a less problematic situation than do those in other countries; however, plans and preparations remain essential. The present study recruited 18,085 students from a technology university in Taiwan and used the baseline data of the past three academic years before COVID-19 (2016–2018) to explore the influences of course type and gender on distance learning performance. The results revealed that compulsory courses are more suitable for distance learning courses, whereas face-to-face teaching is more suitable for elective and general education courses. The learning performance of males and females is also different: face-to-face courses are more suitable for males, whereas no significant difference between teaching methods was observed in females. This result suggests that not all courses offered by the university are suitable for distance learning courses, and not all students are adept at distance learning. Based on these results, it is recommended that a new teaching model be established for the post-COVID-19 era.