Challenges and best practices in classroom and student engagement at University of the Arts London
Authors
Enhancing Engagement: Student Dialogic Blogs
Student Learning and Engagement Pilot, University of the Arts London
Tia Riaz
Workshop Insights and Reflections
Participating in the recent forum where I delivered a workshop on time management provided me with valuable insights into the challenges and best practices associated with classroom engagement. In this forum, a fellow student and I created a presentation on how time management is a crucial aspect of our everyday life, but especially when it comes to balancing a degree and potentially, also a job. We welcomed staff and students to discuss this with us, where we spoke about best outcomes for potential scenarios, top techniques for excellent time management and, ways to avoid procrastination. The aim of the workshop was for staff to get a better understanding of what students may struggle with when it comes to managing their time effectively, and how staff could position themselves in ways that will help students. Here are my reflections on the experience and how it has shaped my understanding of learning and teaching:
Challenges and Best Practices
During the forum, several challenges related to classroom engagement were highlighted. One significant issue is the difficulty in maintaining student attention in a passive learning environment. What we found from a student perspective was that lecturers often struggle to shift away from traditional lecture-based methods to more interactive teaching styles that actively involve students. Another challenge is the varying levels of student preparedness and motivation, which can impact overall engagement and participation.
The forum also shed light on effective practices to enhance classroom engagement. Incorporating peer learning and promoting interactivity were emphasized as key strategies. Encouraging students to collaborate and discuss topics with their peers not only enhances their understanding but also makes learning more enjoyable and relevant.
Common Challenges for Student Engagement
Identified Challenges
Based on my experiences and forum discussions, common challenges for student engagement include:
- Passive teaching methods: Traditional lecture-based approaches can lead to disengagement.
- Student motivation: Varied levels of motivation and preparedness among students can affect engagement.
- Resistance to change: Both students and lecturers may resist new strategies and approaches to learning.
To address these challenges, lecturers can:
- Implement interactive teaching methods: Use technology and active learning techniques to create a more engaging classroom environment. From my own experience, staff have done this successfully by encouraging peers to discuss personal experiences, as well as the staff sharing their own.
- Foster peer learning: Encourage students to collaborate and learn from each other. This has been positive because we’re able to relate to each other in some ways, and this helps us to better understand one another – this really creates a fantastic atmosphere to learn in.
- Provide more support and better resources: Help students develop skills such as time management to enhance their preparedness and motivation.
Conclusion
Response from Dr Wayne Clark
Tia’s blog presents a fascinating insight into pedagogical issues as seen from the student perspective. Moreover, Tia’s recommendations around active learning point to ways in which we might engender a ‘sticky classroom’.
By providing students with the opportunity to design and deliver workshops to a variety of UAL staff teams, the student-led Forum effectively flipped the typical dynamic of a teaching session. For a single day, students became teachers and teachers became students. As Tia notes, this reversal was exciting for staff: “They wanted to really understand what students feel they need to thrive in higher education”. And the impact was clearly felt by Tia herself when she notes the experience of being in the ‘hotseat’ of delivering a workshop “deepened my understanding of the challenges and best practices in classroom engagement”.
Tia highlights the shortcomings of what she labels a passive learning environment in which teachers tend to rely on the traditional ‘talk and chalk’ lecture formats. Instead, she advocates for interactive approaches in which students play an active role. Active Learning is generally seen as an effective way to develop key skills such as problem solving, teamwork and critical thinking. My own work with students and academic colleagues as part of the Student Learning & Engagement Pilot at UAL has undoubtedly shown the deeper impact of this type of pedagogical approach. However, I have also come across commonplace logistical challenges which impeded active learning practices e.g. large classes, unsuitable teaching spaces.
Tia identifies peer collaboration as fundamental to active learning. Sharing personal experiences and working together in a supportive environment tends to produce meaningful student work. It can also build friendships. This can be especially important for students entering university from underrepresented educational and social backgrounds who often feel out of place in the world of higher education. But we should also tread carefully here: the notion of ‘student belonging’ is an inherently complex theme and one size might not fit all.
Looking beyond the classroom, we know from existing research that the freedom to choose topic areas for student assessment is highly motivational in creative subjects such as those taught at UAL. Additionally, the movement towards student partnership in shaping assessment is increasingly recognised across the sector as a driving force for cultivating active learning.
In conclusion, I believe Tia and the other students who took part in the Forum have provided us with valuable insights into what happens when traditional roles are reversed in the classroom (and beyond). The call for more active and deeper forms of learning come through strongly as result of Tia’s experiences of teaching in the forum.
Of course, challenging orthodoxy is not an easy task. It would be great to find out more about how Tia thinks we can work with reluctant teachers to implement active learning techniques. What role should students play in this process? And how should academic enhancement or development teams support ‘stickiness’?
These are broad questions, but we can clearly see from Tia’s experience that the outcomes are potentially transformative.
Response from Tia Riaz
Thank you for your insightful comments, Wayne. I am really pleased to see the emphasis placed on the transformative potential of active learning and the positive impact of the student-led Forum.
Addressing your questions, I believe engaging reluctant teachers in active learning techniques requires a multifaceted approach. First, showcasing tangible benefits through pilot programs and sharing success stories can help alleviate concerns and demonstrate the effectiveness of these methods (and also, for students to gain familiarity with new practices). Additionally, providing professional development opportunities where educators can experience active learning first-hand can shift perspectives and inspire change. I feel like this could be hugely beneficial!
I think that students can play a crucial role in this process too by acting as "co-creators" of the learning experience. By collaborating with staff to design and implement active learning strategies, students can provide valuable insights and ensure the relevance and appeal of these methods. Perhaps, even creating a feedback loop where students can regularly share their experiences and suggestions can help refine and improve active learning practices.
Academic enhancement teams could also continue supporting 'stickiness' by offering new resources, training, and ongoing support for both educators and students. This could include optional workshops on active learning techniques, access to suitable teaching spaces, and fostering a community of practice where people can share experiences and strategies.
Challenging traditional teaching methods is indeed complex, but as we have heard from the Forum, the outcomes could be immensely rewarding. By working collaboratively and embracing innovative approaches, we can create engaging and impactful learning environments for all students.
Thank you again for your feedback. I look forward to continuing this important conversation and exploring ways to implement these ideas further!