I’ve been considering my approach to teaching using this matrix. I vary my approach depending on the cohort, subject and context. For example, in accounting, there is some emphasis on technical proficiency, which can prompt ‘individual, autonomous’ self-testing and drilling approaches. However, I am currently teaching a current issues module to final year undergraduates, and am placing more of an emphasis on discursive skills, hence group discussion activities and open questions.
I came into HE from a professional training background, so I do tend toward traditional approaches, albeit facilitated with technology. I can’t decide if institutional constraints and student resistance/unfamiliarity with new ways of doing things are really stopping me from using more innovative approaches, or whether I am just making excuses!
Next year, we’re going to run a new module using a business game, in which the students will have some direction but also some autonomy in running a business within the game, in groups of 4. So, there are dual skills and content learning outcomes. It will be a new experience for me as well as the students!
Considering my current course further, it’s a blended learning approach. I have sought student feedback formally halfway through teaching and again at the end of the course, and informally when students come and see me for appointments. There is a significant element of information absorption, so I use a traditional lecture format for this, plus a range of supplementary resources including screencasts, weblinks, ebooks, journal articles and tweeted links via the VLE. Application of the knowledge is important, however, and this guides my approach to the workshops which accompany every week’s lecture. I have structured this with some preparation work, which is then built on and extended in class. There have been informal opportunities for students to work in pairs and ‘buzz groups’ within the class. However, there is individually assessed coursework and a summative exam.
For me, as long as there is balance in the approaches across a programme of study, then you don’t necessarily need to have a balance within each module/course.
