Engaging teaching: What works for the students?
The CED has spoken with two students about what they think is the most engaging form of teaching. Perhaps not surprisingly, both prefer small class teaching with dialogue and time for the individual student. In this article, Special Consultant Karen Louise Møller gives her advice on one of the ways to create more engaging small class teaching.
“To me, small class teaching is the form of teaching where I am most active. Not necessarily small class teaching where we have to bring a lot to the table and do presentations. But instead, situations where I get the opportunity to have a dialogue with an expert – that is, the teacher. That works best for me,” says Marc Lamot Møller.
He is studying for a master’s degree in data science at the University of Southern Denmark. Additionally, he is one of the student workers you call if you contact CED for Brightspace support.
“I have had teachers who were great at presenting different contrasting arguments, which really encouraged open discussion. I appreciate being provoked and challenged. However, in lecture settings, it is difficult to find your voice and it is only the most extroverted students who say something,” he concludes.
“I too learn the most in small class teaching where there is time and room for the individual student," says Anne Rosenvang Mathiesen, who studies medicine at AU and is currently doing her master's:
"For me, it works really well when the teacher calls on each student in turn. I know that this approach can seem super intimidating to many. However, for me, it works because I am forced to actively engage with the teaching. Sometimes I will feel that I am not quite ready to answer, but then the teacher is very fair, and we are allowed to just skip. However, that rarely happens. When you know you will be asked a question at some point in class, you know you must be prepared.”
The fear of failing in front of others
“I once had a class where you had to stand in front of the blackboard and solve assignments in front of everyone. I found it really nerve-racking because I had trouble understanding the concept. I wanted to avoid having to display my lack of knowledge. Especially since it seemed as though all the other students, except me, understood it. So, every time I dreaded being called on,” says Marc Lamot Møller.
Anne Rosenvang Mathiesen recognises that feeling from her studies:
“I also do not really feel there is a culture of being open about the things you are unsure of. I would like to be better at asking for help in small class teaching. But I worry about wasting everyone else's time with my questions. Maybe it is just me who has not properly familiarised myself with the course material, I will start thinking. But of course, there could very well be others who might also benefit from the same help.”
How to create a space for dialogue and engage the students
To create a space for dialogue and engage the students, Karen Louise Møller, special consultant at the CED and teacher on the workshop Engaging and involving teaching, suggests facilitating group work to create a safe space for students to engage in dialogue with one another:
“For example, a classic solution could be to organise activities where students explore a topic in smaller groups. Thereby, the entire group becomes the source of the answers, rather than the individual student. And the students get the opportunity to test their thoughts and any uncertainties within the group, rather than in front of the entire class.”
She also points out that if you want to work on engaging your students more, you can focus on these three areas:
- Student-centred learning
- Scaffolding
- Creating opportunities for autonomy
“To make the teaching more student-centred, the structure can be designed so that students take on an active role in the learning process. For example, this can be done by having the students gain their own experiences and apply the academic material, rather than simply receiving it. The students can work on finding solutions to assignments or developing products within a suitable academic framework, which necessitates the application of the syllabus. Thus, the students’ work and their dialogues will be the focus of the teaching," she elaborates.
An example of how to work in this way can be the page about videos produced by students on AU Educate.
“Scaffolding is about supporting students in solving given tasks and problems in different ways. For example, this could involve providing fairly explicit task descriptions and processes at the beginning of the course, as well as offering access to supplementary background materials and relevant resources,” explains Karen Louise Møller.
Later, you can gradually vary and reduce the scaffolding, enabling the students to independently complete assignments at the level of complexity expected by the end of the course. Among other things, you can read more about academic scaffolding on the AU Educate page dedicated to the topic of the teacher as a facilitator.
Opportunities for autonomy can be promoted by creating a broader path for the students to navigate within:
“For example, this could involve freedom of choice in terms of the organisation. Instead of telling them to solve an assignment alone, in pairs, or groups, you can let them choose what they prefer. If they have to work with cases, you can allow the students to choose which cases they want to work with. It can also be about letting them decide which types of products they want to submit along the way,” explains Karen Louise Møller.
Workshops on engaging teaching
How to create engaging and involving teaching is already a natural element in many of the CED’s foundational courses for student teachers, PhD students, postdocs, and assistant professors.
However, if you are a senior VIP looking to rethink your teaching, the CED offers workshops that take into account the extensive teaching experience this particular group has:
The workshops also align with the Danish framework for advancing university pedagogy.