Doctoral Students' Preferences for Course Content Delivery Methods
Location
DeSantis Room 3029
Format Type
Plenary
Format Type
Paper
Start Date
16-1-2020 5:00 PM
End Date
16-1-2020 5:20 PM
Abstract
Over the last few years, I have heard student complaints about the amount of reading in their doctoral courses. Many times, I’ve questioned whether they do the readings for my course due to the numerous demands on their time. I decided to explore alternative ways for them to receive class content to see if they were more likely to listen to audio recordings or watch videos instead of reading. I provided doctoral students enrolled in introductory qualitative research classes with two ways to access course content: a text-based format (book chapter or journal articles) or an audio or video format. Each week, in groups of four, students selected which format they would use; two would choose to read and two would choose to listen to an audio recording or watch a video. The following week, the students would discuss the content in their groups. At the end of the semester, I asked students to share the pros and cons for each medium. Additionally, I listened to their discussions during class and documented their overall comments. Results indicate that some students prefer to read the content rather than listen to it; they explained that this is because they don’t retain the information as well if they don’t read it. Other preferred to watch videos because they could listen as they made dinner, folded laundry, or did other tasks that required minimal attention. This suggests that providing students with multiple formats for course content could be beneficial.
Keywords
Qualitative Research, Doctoral Students, Teaching
Doctoral Students' Preferences for Course Content Delivery Methods
DeSantis Room 3029
Over the last few years, I have heard student complaints about the amount of reading in their doctoral courses. Many times, I’ve questioned whether they do the readings for my course due to the numerous demands on their time. I decided to explore alternative ways for them to receive class content to see if they were more likely to listen to audio recordings or watch videos instead of reading. I provided doctoral students enrolled in introductory qualitative research classes with two ways to access course content: a text-based format (book chapter or journal articles) or an audio or video format. Each week, in groups of four, students selected which format they would use; two would choose to read and two would choose to listen to an audio recording or watch a video. The following week, the students would discuss the content in their groups. At the end of the semester, I asked students to share the pros and cons for each medium. Additionally, I listened to their discussions during class and documented their overall comments. Results indicate that some students prefer to read the content rather than listen to it; they explained that this is because they don’t retain the information as well if they don’t read it. Other preferred to watch videos because they could listen as they made dinner, folded laundry, or did other tasks that required minimal attention. This suggests that providing students with multiple formats for course content could be beneficial.