KEY FINDINGS Format of teaching • Three quarters (75%) of respondents said their Business School uses a virtual classroom, an increase from 51% in 2020. • A quarter (25%) of responding Business leaders said that their institution is using virtual reality (VR) to teach programmes. The majority (65%) of participants indicate that this technology is being used to teach in a more exciting way. Synchronous vs. asynchronous learning • The biggest advantage of both synchronous and asynchronous digital teaching methods is seen by participants to be less travel for students, as cited by 74% of participants. • More than half (54%) expressed their belief that asynchronous digital teaching methods offer a worse experience for learners than classroom teaching. A smaller proportion (38%) said they believe synchronous digital teaching methods are inferior to classroom methods, in terms of learning experience. • Whether online instruction is asynchronous or synchronous, the biggest problem experienced by Business Schools is identifying gaps in students’ knowledge (as reported by 69% and 55% of respondents, respectively). • Lack of student engagement (64%), student connection issues (54%), and adapting programmes to suit online teaching formats (53%) are the most frequently cited challenges faced by Business School leaders when delivering online education in a synchronous format. • The vast majority (93%) of respondents said they believe that facilitators/faculty are either ‘very satisfied’ or ‘fairly satisfied’ with the current synchronous digital teaching technologies. Impact of Covid-19 • More than three-quarters (84%) of participants said they want their Business School to retain the technology that has been implemented during the pandemic – 16% want to keep aspects of it, but none want this technology discarded altogether. • Business School leaders are also keen to keep aspects of ‘faculty teaching online’ (62%) and ‘students not coming to campus’ (65%), suggesting that their preference for the future is hybrid or blended models of learning. • More than three-quarters (83%) of Business School leaders said they believe that the pandemic has triggered major changes to their institution’s long-term strategy, while 17% said they believe that it has not. Investments • The MBA is the programme which is receiving the most funding for digital teaching methods – 83% of participants said that their Business School is investing a moderate amount or more in this programme in this way. • Providing ‘flexibility in learning’ is the most popular purpose of existing investment in relation to online learning technologies, as cited by 77% of Business School leaders. • ‘Flexibility in learning’ is also top of Schools’ minds when looking ahead to the next two years; it is cited as a priority for investment by 67% of respondents. Other high priorities include the enhancement of soft skills (cited by 57%) and student engagement metrics (45%). • The majority (82%) of Business School leaders said their School is planning to invest further in technology over the coming two years to enable online teaching.
10 (92%) believe that digital teaching methods are effective in delivering flexibility of learning. A similar proportion (88%) believe that digital teaching methods are effective for two-way discussions between facilitators and students, and 84% believe they are effective for the ability to work on team projects. A total of 31% expressed their belief that synchronous digital teaching methods are either ‘much better’ or ‘somewhat better’ than the traditional classroom teaching experience. The equivalent proportion for asynchronous digital teaching methods is just a fraction lower, at 30%. Even so, Business School leaders generally show much less trust in asynchronous forms of learning than synchronous forms. While 30% of participants think that synchronous digital teaching methods offer a comparable experience to that of the classroom, only 16% feel the same way about asynchronous learning. How do staff and faculty feel about the implementation of new technology? Respondents were asked for their views on facilitators and faculty members’ level of satisfaction with the current use of current synchronous digital teaching technologies in their Business School. Overall, 93% said that they believe that facilitators/faculty are either ‘very satisfied’ or ‘fairly satisfied’. Student experience is a central consideration for any form of online learning provision, so participants were asked what they think adds the most to student experience when delivering courses online. In response, 65% of Business School leaders said they believe the opportunity for students to have break-out sessions adds value. The same proportion also thought that the ability to record sessions adds value. The next most popular answer was the ability to have interactive quizzes and polls (56%). Aspects such as a shared whiteboard space and
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