Engaging and/or Effective? Students’ Evaluation of Pedagogical Practices in Higher Education
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-23-2020
Abstract
In recent years, higher education institutions have emphasized pedagogical practices that increase student engagement and are said to be effective. However, most of the research on ‘effective’ practices often do not make the distinction between what students like—or what they find engaging—and what practices they feel they learn from—or what they understand as effective. Thus, this research sheds light on the distinction between practices that are engaging, effective, both, or neither. Through interviews with students (n = 32), we uncovered four areas regarding what students think about pedagogical practices: Practices they felt engaging and effective were those high in personal involvement and helped with idea retention while those they found initially unengaging but effective were activities with a lot of independent work, may seem monotonous, but helped reinforce ideas. Practices they felt engaging but not effective were easy practices that did little for critical thinking while those they did not find engaging and effective were ones that created an unconducive environment that led to lower motivation. These themes help prompt critical reflection about how students perceive different pedagogical practices, and what higher education faculty can intentionally use, adapt, or avoid.
Recommended Citation
Jose Eos Trinidad, Galvin Radley Ngo, Ana Martina Nevada & Jeanne Angelica Morales (2020): Engaging and/or Effective? Students’ Evaluation of Pedagogical Practices in Higher Education, College Teaching, DOI: 10.1080/87567555.2020.1769017
