Empirical findings
Empirical Findings
Digital and digitally supported formats are now an integral part of teaching at universities. Cross-location networking activities are also becoming increasingly important in the work of service and support staff. Against this background, surveys were conducted as part of SOUVER@N in which teachers, students and service and support staff at German universities reported on their experiences, expectations, wishes, (support) needs and subjective perceptions, among other things.
Cross-university survey of teaching staff to identify needs in digital (and digitally supported) teaching
One focus of SOUVER@N is to offer lecturers needs-based support in the implementation of digital (and digitally supported) university teaching.
The aim of the survey of teaching staff - at all universities involved in the SOUVER@N project - was therefore to identify the wishes and requirements of teaching staff in the context of digital teaching in order to be able to provide support services on this basis. Specifically, the aim was to determine in which specific areas of digital teaching which types of needs exist among teaching staff. The insights gained will be incorporated into a targeted range of tools, instructions, training and further education measures - with the intention of optimising digital teaching as part of the SOUVER@N project and beyond.
The data was collected digitally from 15 March to 11 June 2022 using a partially standardised questionnaire. A total of 400 questionnaires were completed by lecturers at the SOUVER@N partner universities. In addition to closed question formats, it was also possible to write free text comments in some cases.
Selected results
In the survey, the vast majority of teachers stated that they had at least basic knowledge of digital skills, with over 50% even rating their knowledge of design and implementation as advanced. Only less than 2% considered themselves to have no digital skills.
Teachers were asked about the areas of digital teaching in which they perceived a personal need for support. This showed that the need for digital applications for collaborative work (63.5%) and for (interactive) graphics (62.5%) was the highest. Coordination and feedback options were named as the third highest need by 50.75% of respondents. There was also a general interest in many other digital applications. In terms of topics such as learning management systems or video conferencing tools, however, the need for support appeared to be sufficiently covered, which was consistent with the positive self-assessment of the respondents' general digital skills.
Overall, there was a high level of interest in continuing professional development in higher education didactics among lecturers, with almost 90% of respondents stating that they were at least partially interested in continuing professional development programmes in the field of digital teaching. Of the possible answers given, a format lasting ‘up to two hours’ was chosen most frequently (52.7%). ‘Half-day’ came in second place with 46.0% in favour. With regard to the design of the training format, it should be noted that teachers particularly favoured synchronous digital formats (60.5%).
In addition to the closed question formats, there was also the option of submitting free text comments during the survey. Some of these comments from teachers are presented below:
Digital and digitally supported teaching: free text comments from respondents
AR/VR
‘How does it work? I would like to know more about it’
‘How to use it? Where does the technology come from?’
‘What can / may be used (data protection)?’
Chat / communication
‘Motivating students with suitable means for interactive collaboration [...]’
‘What is important, how do I control it if everyone writes at the same time and references are lost?’
‘Use of a university-wide accepted chat system’
‘Standardised system without umpteen different logins and updates’
(E-)assessment / testing / e-portfolios
‘Conceptualisation of tasks that should be challenging and solvable despite OpenBook exams’
‘Exam environment that enables cheating control’
‘Integration of the e-exam into a tool where exam results from all modules are stored per student. Creation of an overall grade, creation of a transcript of records’
‘I would generally be interested in a broad spectrum of questions on the topic of e-portfolio.’
Collaborative work
‘especially collaborative work on PDF documents among students’
‘Which interactive mind maps are permitted in terms of data protection [...]?’
‘Interactive whiteboard in the lecture’
‘[...] more advice on which tools work well for tablets [...]’
Instructional videos
‘Support with production and editing, e.g. editing’
‘Support with production would be good, especially with didactic preparation’
‘Creating interesting and engaging videos that leave no room for students to procrastinate while watching’
‘Alternatives to discussed PowerPoints would be helpful’
Podcast
‘to supplement teaching’
‘[...] source management for podcasts’
‘added didactic value for students and pupils’
‘concrete assistance for quality improvement and professionalisation (more technical)’
Teaching management systems
‘Anonymous feedback in LMS 1’
‘I think LMS 2 is a powerful tool, but in my experience there are few instructions that allow you to take your ‘first steps’ on your own’
‘Simpler rights management, better adaptation to programme-specific characteristics, ideally a platform that can be operated with existing prior knowledge’
Evaluation
‘Technically, the tools we have work well, but students participate even less frequently online.’
‘How can I let students evaluate my teaching and individual sessions in the seminar effectively and productively?’
(Interactive) project presentation
‘How do I create a homepage?’
‘Presentation away from PowerPoint’
Obstacles & potentials of (future) university teaching from a student perspective
The topic of ‘digitalisation of university teaching’ remains highly topical even after the coronavirus pandemic; digital or digitally supported teaching has become an integral part of teaching at universities. In this context, the question arises as to how these formats are perceived by students and what experiences they have had with them. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding from different student perspectives and to be able to further adapt digital or digitally supported teaching formats in a targeted manner, students from different locations and subjects in Lower Saxony were asked about their experiences with these teaching formats as well as their expectations and wishes for the future in this regard.
The data was collected between December 2022 and July 2023 using qualitative focus group interviews. A total of 22 students from the seven universities of the SOUVER@N network in Lower Saxony were interviewed. The interview lasted around one hour. The method of content-structuring qualitative content analysis according to Kuckartz and Rädiker (2022) was used for the evaluation.
Selected Results
Obstacles to digital teaching
The challenges perceived by students in digital teaching and learning contexts are summarised below.
With regard to self-study, asynchronous teaching was rated as rather negative by the majority of the students surveyed, as a lack of self-motivation and concentration problems made learning at home more difficult.
Establishing transparent and trusting communication between teachers and students was perceived as particularly difficult in digital courses. The majority of students surveyed stated that the opportunities for exchange and feedback with teachers were limited, whereby transparent communication is an important component in making information accessible to students. The existing range of online consultation hours was rated as insufficient.
Courses without opportunities for interaction were perceived as rather boring; however, students made little active use of the digital tools available for interaction. The lack of physical presence made it difficult for students to socialise; the lack of participation in courses can therefore be explained by the perceived distance to each other, among other things. Forcing students to actively participate in the course was rated as negative.
A lack of commitment on the part of the teacher, for example in the design of digital teaching materials, was also cited as an obstacle to digital teaching. The majority of students stated that the success or failure of a course depends largely on the commitment of the teacher. Uncertainty on the part of the teacher, for example in the use of digital tools and the operation of lecture theatre technology, was perceived by the students as disruptive and a hindrance to the learning process, as were missing or not clearly recognisable structures and procedures in courses. However, the students were not aware that the choice of tools could be linked to data protection issues. The heterogeneous media and technology skills among the lecturers meant that they each brought different prerequisites to the course, which had an impact on the quality of teaching.
Students wished that lecturers generally had better IT skills and were more confident in using mobile devices. Students assumed that there was a lack of specific training programmes for lecturers (but also for students) with regard to IT and technology.
With regard to the existing technology in the lecture theatres and seminar rooms, students noted that this was either not available or was not used enough by lecturers.
Positive aspects of digital teaching
Digital media can positively influence and enrich teaching and learning in the university landscape in a variety of ways. For example, students stated that they generally perceived digital courses as more relaxed compared to face-to-face teaching, and they also appreciated the flexibility of the learning processes. The main advantages of asynchronous courses are that students can plan their own time and are better able to fulfil their family commitments, for example. They also have the opportunity to determine their own learning pace, which in turn positively influences and supports the learning process. In synchronous courses, participation is possible regardless of location and favours a tangible presence, despite physical absence.
Furthermore, the students found that the learning content was explained much more compactly in the recordings, in contrast to face-to-face teaching.
Another advantage was seen in online consultation hours, which offer the possibility of direct feedback while saving time (travelling to the university, etc.).
In the area of digital/hybrid teaching, students emphasised that the number of attendees generally seemed to be higher than in purely face-to-face events. The increased attendance can be explained, among other things, by better compatibility of studies and private life.
A positive attitude towards digital teaching is also evident due to the fact that learning is made more accessible to people with disabilities or chronic illnesses. Students with disabilities (e.g. visual or hearing impairments) have the opportunity to set up their home in an accessible way and may benefit from (a-)synchronous teaching if attention is paid to accessible designs and user-friendliness.
Desired teaching formats for the future
In general, students would like to see a mix of digital and face-to-face teaching in the future. Teachers should be able to implement and organise teaching formats flexibly. If it makes didactic sense and is technically feasible, many students would like lectures to be held and/or recorded as hybrid formats in future, so that students have flexibility in terms of time and location in their weekly schedule.
In principle, students prefer face-to-face courses if modules involve learning practical skills.
Conclusion
The digitalisation of university teaching remains a constantly relevant topic that is bringing about far-reaching changes in the academic education landscape. The study of student perspectives shows that universities should invest more in training their teaching staff in digital tools and IT skills in order to continuously improve the quality of digital teaching. Effective communication channels between teachers and students are essential in order to promote dialogue and transparency. A hybrid teaching approach that combines digital and face-to-face formats should also be promoted in order to meet the heterogeneous needs of students.
At the same time, the technical infrastructure must be improved and utilised more extensively, including the equipment of teaching rooms and technical support. Digital teaching formats should be designed to be accessible and inclusive to enable students with disabilities to participate on an equal footing.
The integration of interactive elements and engaging teaching methods can increase student motivation and participation.
Measures to support self-study, such as clear structures and supporting materials, are necessary to overcome the challenges of asynchronous learning and to strengthen students' self-motivation.
Overall, careful further development of digital university teaching is required in order to fully utilise its potential and meet the needs of students.
A contribution from Patricia Dammann, Selin Dirlik, Marina Ille and Franziska Nichau
Status: June 2024
Cross-university survey of service and support staff
The demands placed on service and support units and their employees are increasing. One strategy for overcoming this challenge in the long term is cross-university networks. In this way, the experience, expertise and resources of the individual partners can be shared.
As little is known about the actual attitudes of service and support staff towards cross-university networking activities in their units, a corresponding survey was conducted.
The trends emerging from the survey results provide a good orientation framework for the direction of planned networking activities. In this way, greater acceptance can be achieved at an operational level.
The aim of the survey was to ascertain the subjectively perceived potentials, hurdles and connection points of nationwide networking activities of employees in institutions that offer services and support for teachers in digitally supported teaching.
On the one hand, we were interested in whether employees were generally in favour of the idea of networking. On the other hand, the aim was to work out how networks should be organised in concrete terms so that they are perceived as being as beneficial as possible. To this end, questions were asked about the challenges in day-to-day work, but also about what changes are desired for university teaching in the long term.
The data collection took place from 20 June to 1 August 2022 in digital form using a partially standardised questionnaire. A total of 63 people at various universities in Lower Saxony were surveyed; almost a third of respondents said they were in a managerial or senior position.
Service and support staff hope that nationwide networking will lead to an exchange of expertise in particular. Employees are less focused on cross-university standardisation such as the standardisation of processes and the establishment of common structures.
When asked about the conditions for successful networking activities, transparency and a functioning organisation and coordination were rated as key. Financial incentives and political approval were rated as less important for networking success in relation to the other response categories.
"As part of an open-response format, participants were also asked about changes that emerged from the COVID-19 period and should be maintained. Most responses were given in the area of adapted teaching formats: Here, individual responses particularly refer to the retention of hybrid learning formats and digital learning formats in general."
Exemplary Statements on the Retention of Hybrid and Digital Learning Formats in General
"Record or livestream lectures"
"Hold entire courses online"
"Increased proportion of digital teaching"
Many respondents also wish for the continuation of work and learning conditions adapted during the pandemic: particularly, there is a frequent call for maintaining flexibility at the workplace or learning space, or preserving formats adapted due to the pandemic.
Exemplary Statements on the Continuation of Pandemic-Induced Learning and Working Conditions
"Simplification of processes"
"Office hours via video conference"
"Mobile, time- and location-independent working/learning"
Respondents also express a desire for continued openness to innovation. The retention of introduced tools and systems is also frequently mentioned.
Exemplary Statements on the Continuation of Openness to Innovation and Retention of Tools & Systems
"Openness to new solutions"
"Rethinking old/outdated concepts"
"Use of BBB"
"Retain newly introduced systems"
"Digital learning management systems"