Irish students have less contact with lecturers than other countries

Irish third-level students have less contact with their lecturers than in other countries, a new survey indicates.

The poll of more than 35,000 students in Irish third-level institutions comes against a backdrop of concern over the impact of large class sizes on the quality of education.

Just over 70 per cent of first-year students in Ireland reported they never worked with academic staff on activities other than coursework. This compared to 58 per cent in the UK and 50 per cent in the US.

The finding are contained in the Irish Survey of Student Engagement (ISSE), which asked students directly about their experiences of higher education during the 2016-2017 academic year.

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When asked what could be done to improve students’ engagement with learning, most responses related to improving teaching provision or the quality of interactions with staff.

“Having fewer lectures with hundreds of people and having more smaller lectures,” said one student.

Teaching technique

Another commented: “Too many lecturers just stand and read off the slides. I can do that at home tbh and this affects attendance without a doubt. Why would I spend €12 travelling each day to sit and watch someone read off the slides I have?”

A student at an institute of technology stated: “Start with replying to the queries received through mail and not making them wait for over two weeks and still no reply.”

Others, however, were much more complimentary and praised the level of interaction with students.

“Tutorials are a great way of understanding and practising questions. I find that being in these smaller groups really help as you are able to ask more questions and get a better quality of learning,” said one student.

Stem subjects

The survey also included an in-depth examination of students’ experiences of studying Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects, which produced some surprising results.

A total of 25 per cent of non-Stem respondents reported their coursework emphasised “evaluating a point of view” very much, compared to 15 per cent of Stem students.

Overall, most students reported they had developed key skills such as clear and effective writing or skills that would boost their employability.

A majority also felt they were well supported to help them succeed academically and had worked with other students on projects or assignments

Almost two-thirds said they often or very often combined ideas from different subjects/modules when completing assignments.