Authors: Genevieve Stapleton & Natalie Courtney, School of Medicine Dentistry & Nursing
One of the significant challenges that face large class sizes and remote learning is to create a learning space that supports students’ sense of belonging and engagement. When students feel like they belong, they are more likely to engage and more likely to progress and enjoy their learning (Pedler et al 2021). Large lectures are less likely to support this, which for some can be an isolating experience. Active learning pedagogies such as small group learning (SGL) provide a space where students can form connections however again, for large student cohorts, these types of learning approaches are becoming increasingly difficult to deliver as they require large numbers of teaching spaces and staffing.
In first year undergraduate medicine, we welcome almost 400 students per year, and while we are still able to deliver SGL and labs, this is becoming more of a challenge. This has resulted in the development of a blended curriculum, which includes recorded and ‘online live’ lectures, both of which, you’re probably thinking, would not support belonging and engagement. We thought the same!
Three years ago, we introduced Fun Feedback Friday (FFF). FFF is a weekly one hour online live (zoom) session where we review the week’s learning content through an interactive mentimeter session. Course evaluations by students consistently noted these sessions as ‘the highlight of the week’. Students say these sessions are fun, useful for their learning, good for consolidation of knowledge, and helpful to identify gaps in knowledge. They are a ‘great end to the week’.
Yes, we hear what you’re thinking? Nothing new about a menti. So what’s different?
It’s all about the three Fs!
F is for Friday
Friday is the end of the week where the week’s content is reviewed and consolidated. Students appreciate the opportunity to feel confident in their understanding and/or identify areas for further work.
F is for Feedback
Feedback is provided as both feed forward and feedback. The FFF sessions make it clear to students that the sessions have two aims: the first is to respond to any student feedback, and the second is to provide them with feedback on their learning. So FFF is designed to facilitate bidirectional communication between staff and students. We address student feedback in a timely ‘live’ way, being seen to address their concerns and explaining our response/actions in a proactive way. This reminds students that they have a voice, we hear them, and that we will respond. As they see their feedback in action, they are encouraged to provide the valuable feedback that we all require. The remainder of the session is used to provide students with formative feedback on their learning and understanding through multiple choice questions. We integrate praise for students and reassurance if they are not selecting the correct answers. Students will ask questions through the chat function and are more likely to ask questions in the remote setting compared to a lecture theatre, again empowering the student voice.
F is for Fun
The session starts with a fun icebreaker while we wait for students to join, which students seem to enjoy. To further increase student involvement (and for a little fun!) we asked students to submit a logo for FFF. Students voted on submissions, and this resulted in our official logo (thanks to student Abby Coote).
However, the key to the fun is that two members of staff deliver the sessions in a conversational style between the two. There might be the odd joke or what we’re all doing on the weekend, even “did you know Taylor’s new album is out!” Students often add their comments into the chat function as well. The impact of this fun, conversational style is that the barriers or traditional staff-student roles are broken down, making staff more approachable and further supporting students’ sense of belonging (O’Leary et al., 2024).
“friendly fun Friday feedback makes [staff] all feel more approachable”
The importance of forming a staff-student relationship underpins what we see in SGL and labs and it is interesting to see this also in the online FFF.
“really enjoyed Fun Friday Feedback. I did feel connected to the school during these as [staff member] is very good at making us feel that way”
A few simple measures that increase the connection with students and staff seems to be a successful formula to support engagement and belonging in increasingly large student numbers. This model can be used for remote and distance learning to form a learning community despite geographical isolation. And most importantly, this model is inclusive; students can be made to feel like they belong when barriers such as caring responsibilities or social anxiety can prevent opportunities for forming connections.
Data referred to is part of a research study that has ethical approval from MVLS Ethics Committee.