Disrupting Higher Education: A Comparative Study of Synchronous Lecturing and Self-Paced Learning in Higher Education

During the two-year period of the COVID-19 pandemic, educators worldwide had to adapt to various teaching methods, including synchronous instruction via platforms like Zoom and asynchronous teaching methods utilizing technology to deliver course content. Even after the pandemic subsided, it became evident that asynchronous learning continued to play a significant role in higher education. The pandemic accelerated the use of technology and disrupted various sectors, including e-commerce and others. In the area of education, the question arose as to whether technology could also disrupt higher education. This study aims to investigate the potential disruptive impact of technology in higher education. The research delves into the transformative possibilities of online education by comparing the effectiveness of two distinct methods: synchronous lecturing and self-paced learning (asynchronous learning) with interactive digital content. Undergraduate students were engaged in pre-test and post-test evaluations after each learning process, focusing on a subject matter that was new to them. The study's findings reveal that both self-paced learning with interactive digital content and synchronous lecturing lead to significant improvements in students' scores. This suggests that online learning, when thoughtfully designed, can effectively facilitate learning in higher education, potentially reshaping traditional educational paradigms.