Europe

As we march closer to the 2030 target date for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is becoming more urgent that we engage young minds with these global challenges and demonstrate to them how they can have a real impact.

We developed Game Changer to engage students with the SDGs through the development of “impact-driven entrepreneurship”.

I recently read Cheating Lessons by James Lang, and this article is a by-product − that is to say, not plagiarism − of that book.

Having heard a number of educators talking about a reduction in student attendance at live online lessons as well as limited interaction from those who do attend, we developed the following tips based on our experiences of online teaching, observing others and evidence-based continuing professional development.

Let’s get the elephant in the room addressed up front: times have changed and a return to “normal” is just not on the cards, not truly.  Blended learning – to a greater or lesser extent – is here to stay. 

So, how do we rescue the reputation of blended learning, which has been battered by students’ experiences of universities’ hasty response to the pandemic and become synonymous with low-quality content?

Faculty have a marked influence on students’ learning and academic success through their teaching. During the shift from face-to-face to online learning, the importance of the faculty role has become even more salient, with students looking to their instructors for stability, leadership and support during uncertain times.

Meet Harry. Harry is an assistant professor, no tenure yet − hopefully in a few years. According to his contract, Harry is supposed to spend 60 per cent of his working time teaching and 40 per cent on research. Academic reality, however, tells another story.

In the past two weeks, Harry was part of a hiring committee (which took eight hours), contributed to a report on student evaluations (two hours), peer-reviewed an article (six hours), attended an editorial board meeting (two hours) and had a number of chats with students who needed extra attention (three hours).

Where there is a will

Motivation is crucial if students are to realise their potential and engage with the opportunities presented by higher education. It enables them to take ownership of accessing, appraising and applying new learning in enlivening and enriching their educational experience. However, motivation is not a given; for it to be fostered, real efforts must be made through the activities and relationships embedded in students’ modules.

The pedagogical approach to learning, teacher-centred learning, the sage on the stage – call it what you will, things aren’t looking good for this particular learning model going forward.

The future looks very likely indeed to include a pandemic-induced move toward a new hybrid era that mixes online and in-person study. Furthermore, the spoon-fed style of learning is not best suited to prospective PhD candidates, future researchers or adult learners looking to develop their career through study.

About two years ago, I attended a teaching conference where one of the headline sessions was a debate: two people arguing for and against the concept of student engagement. After 20 years of teaching, I had not heard a convincing argument against student engagement, so I was keen to listen to a new perspective.

Teaching in a culturally diverse setting is exciting, but that excitement and enthusiasm can be short-lived when faced with the deafening silence of a student audience. To avoid this, lecturers need to learn how to engage students in culturally different or diverse settings, and this is easy enough by following the three tips outlined below.