Active Learning in Higher Education

Flipped and blended learning pedagogies are increasingly being adopted by institutions that see in these novel pedagogies, mechanisms that might contribute to improved student outcomes and, in the case of the institutions, student retention. However, the as yet limited research does not definitively demonstrate the empirical link between flipped and blended learning pedagogies and the desirable student outcomes of engagement, performance and satisfaction. During four semesters, 348 responses were collected and analysed. The findings are that flipped and blended learning do positively influence perceptions of engagement, performance and satisfaction, but that flipped learning mediates the effects of blended learning, underscoring that blended learning pedagogies are delivery mechanisms that do not influence learning. Furthermore, the engagement stimulated by flipped learning pedagogy is inherently satisfying to students independent of their perceptions of performance. These findings contribute to closing the gap between what we believe and what we confirm with respect to flipped learning pedagogies, and provide additional evidence that the financial, cultural and individual investment by education institutions in flipped learning pedagogies will lead to the outcomes sought.

Students need feedback from instructors to learn from their mistakes and improve their academic skills. Responding to student writing is a central and necessary component of the instructor–student feedback loop. There are many forms of feedback on written assignments, and not all of them have the same role in supporting student learning. For example, as for written feedback, one primary distinction is between comments made in the margins and comments at the end of the written work. Work has focused on practices of instructor feedback among instructors, and other studies have focused on practices of feedback within a single discipline. Although there have been many studies on the topic of instructor feedback, no studies were found that explored possible differences of feedback across disciplines. The purpose of the study described here was to explore what instructors consider to be the purpose(s)/value of writing feedback (whether it is in the margins or at the end) on written assignments, as well as how instructors from different disciplines conceive of using comments in the margins and end of essays/written work, that is, whether or not they would conceive of them differently, and therefore provide different feedback, according to discipline. Nearly half of the instructors valued the use of written feedback on written assignments as fostering future improvements. In contrast, when analyzing responses across disciplines, identifying specific errors seemed to be more important in making comments in the margins. Further analysis and recommendations are provided.

Instructor–student interaction and regular feedback are seen as teaching strategies designed to support effective learning. These days, there is increasing reliance on technology to support this in the classroom; one such technology is a student response system or its more recent development of this, that is, a game-based one. This study investigates the potential of using game-based student response systems for formative assessment through the analysis of learning outcomes and students’ perceptions of the gamified experience in terms of engagement and pleasantness. A quasi-experiment was conducted within an undergraduate course on educational technologies, involving about 400 students. Learning improvements were measured through a pre- and posttest, and students’ perceptions were elicited through a questionnaire. Data analysis showed a high level of student satisfaction and an overall improvement of learning outcomes due to the use of game-based student response systems. However, differences in terms of effectiveness were found according to the nature of the topics dealt with in the course, that is, whether or not they were used in the development of theoretical knowledge rather than the use of that knowledge in a more practical context.

Instructors’ actions in the classroom matter; what the instructor does and says can impact students’ attitudes about the course and learning approaches, which can in turn impact the quality of their learning. This study examines the relationships among instructor openness to student questions, student help-seeking behavior, and student final grade in lecture-style college/university courses. Two hundred sixty-eight university students completed measures on their perception of instructor openness to questions and their approach to help-seeking in class. Perceived instructor openness and help-seeking were positively related to grade. Help-seeking mediated the relationship between perceived instructor openness to questions and final grade. Participants were also asked for examples of communication behaviors instructors used to either promote or suppress help-seeking; themes emerging from these responses are presented, and implications for instructors are given.

A common concern of faculty members is student evaluations of teaching scores. Many factors influence student evaluations of teaching including how the course is designed. This study investigated student evaluations of teaching across three pedagogical techniques: the traditional lecture (where lectures were not recorded), recorded lectures, and a flipped classroom model. A between-subject design was used over three semesters. Student evaluations of teaching showed that students rated the instructor significantly higher in a flipped classroom setting. Students also reported liking the course more using the flipped pedagogical technique. Since the flipped format improved both teaching evaluations and student perceptions of the class, this could be useful for instructors when they are deciding how to set up the format of their class.