Educating the Masses: Understanding the needs and expectations of students in large or online learning environments to inform effective teaching practices

An in-depth investigation into students' approaches to learning at a UK University revealed the importance of addressing the needs and expectations of individual student cohorts. However, this can be problematic for lecturers teaching large or online courses where opportunities for interacting with their students can be limited (1).

To address this problem, qualitative data gathered from lecturers and students across the University were analysed and used to develop a surveying instrument for lecturers and course leaders to employ at the start of students' courses or modules. The Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), primarily used in the field of health (2), was adapted for use in an educational context and provided the theoretical basis for the survey's development. The TDF synthesises psychological theories specifically aimed at developing interventions that encourage behaviour change.

The resultant instrument enables lecturers to accurately uncover the areas where guidance is most needed. Furthermore, lecturers can use this process across all educational disciplines without any knowledge of cohorts' prior educational experiences or expectations.

The instrument has been successfully piloted across all faculties at the University, with demonstrated benefits for the lecturers and student cohorts who participated. This paper will use anonymised data from the pilot study, including survey results and interviews with participants, to illustrate these benefits. Additionally, common themes emerging from the data will be presented and the potential advantages of using the resultant data at an institutional level will be discussed. Finally, participants will be encouraged to contemplate how this approach could benefit their courses or modules at their own institutions and the possibilities of implementing the approach throughout the higher education sector will be considered.

References:
[1] O'Reilly NJ, Rahinel R, Foster MK, et al. (2007) Connecting in megaclasses: The netnographic advantage. Journal of Marketing Education, 29 (1), 69-84.
[2] Phillips CJ, Marshall AP, Chaves NJ, et al. (2015) Experiences of using the Theoretical Domains Framework across diverse clinical environments: a qualitative study. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 8: 139-146.