Relational Teaching Behaviours in the Large University Class: An Observational Study
Larger class sizes in higher education can generate many challenges for educators, notably increased negative student evaluations of teaching. This study suggests that one strategy for countering some of the shortcomings of the large classroom is to take a relational teaching approach. We coded the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning |
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| Online Access: | https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/cjsotl_rcacea/article/view/17502 |
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| author | Simon G. Beaudry Jenepher Lennox Terrion Meredith Rocchi Michelle Bartleman |
| author_facet | Simon G. Beaudry Jenepher Lennox Terrion Meredith Rocchi Michelle Bartleman |
| author_sort | Simon G. Beaudry |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Larger class sizes in higher education can generate many challenges for educators, notably increased negative student evaluations of teaching. This study suggests that one strategy for countering some of the shortcomings of the large classroom is to take a relational teaching approach. We coded the relational communication behaviours of professors teaching in large in-person classrooms and found that encouraging participation as well as having a relaxed body position were most prevalent among instructors with typically high course evaluation ratings. In addition, correlations between relational teaching behaviours and students’ course evaluation reports found that instructors with the highest scores were more likely to make eye contact and to smile. We argue that relational teaching behaviours may have an impact on students’ perceptions of teaching quality. These findings provide insights into more effective relational teaching in the large class, in particular demonstrating that the most prevalent relational teaching behaviours are not necessarily the most important or effective.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ce233d2130144722b85f362b1759f202 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1918-2902 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning |
| spelling | doaj-art-ce233d2130144722b85f362b1759f2022025-01-28T20:30:03ZengSociety for Teaching and Learning in Higher EducationCanadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning1918-29022024-12-0115310.5206/cjsotlrcacea.2024.3.17502Relational Teaching Behaviours in the Large University Class: An Observational StudySimon G. Beaudry0Jenepher Lennox Terrion1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2810-2968Meredith Rocchi2Michelle Bartleman3University of OttawaUniversity of OttawaUniversity of OttawaUniversity of Ottawa Larger class sizes in higher education can generate many challenges for educators, notably increased negative student evaluations of teaching. This study suggests that one strategy for countering some of the shortcomings of the large classroom is to take a relational teaching approach. We coded the relational communication behaviours of professors teaching in large in-person classrooms and found that encouraging participation as well as having a relaxed body position were most prevalent among instructors with typically high course evaluation ratings. In addition, correlations between relational teaching behaviours and students’ course evaluation reports found that instructors with the highest scores were more likely to make eye contact and to smile. We argue that relational teaching behaviours may have an impact on students’ perceptions of teaching quality. These findings provide insights into more effective relational teaching in the large class, in particular demonstrating that the most prevalent relational teaching behaviours are not necessarily the most important or effective. https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/cjsotl_rcacea/article/view/17502relational teachinglarge classteaching evaluationstudent-instructor relationshipsobservational study |
| spellingShingle | Simon G. Beaudry Jenepher Lennox Terrion Meredith Rocchi Michelle Bartleman Relational Teaching Behaviours in the Large University Class: An Observational Study Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning relational teaching large class teaching evaluation student-instructor relationships observational study |
| title | Relational Teaching Behaviours in the Large University Class: An Observational Study |
| title_full | Relational Teaching Behaviours in the Large University Class: An Observational Study |
| title_fullStr | Relational Teaching Behaviours in the Large University Class: An Observational Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Relational Teaching Behaviours in the Large University Class: An Observational Study |
| title_short | Relational Teaching Behaviours in the Large University Class: An Observational Study |
| title_sort | relational teaching behaviours in the large university class an observational study |
| topic | relational teaching large class teaching evaluation student-instructor relationships observational study |
| url | https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/cjsotl_rcacea/article/view/17502 |
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