A Future of Undergraduate Teaching

In various fora, I've been doing a lot of discussing and thinking about this lately and I think that this scenario is very likely.

 ... most teaching in the early years of an undergraduate degree will gradually cease to be via lectures and will instead take the form of online presentations produced by professionally trained presenters backed up by teams of academics. This online content will be paralleled by peer tuition (or teaching by questioning) which, when done well, is clearly effective (see here and here), and the associated growth of so-called learning analytics. Lectures may well become special occasions in which the best-known academics make their presence felt. Meanwhile, small group teaching will make a come-back in all years, especially in the best universities.

We've been saying for years that lectures are not a good way to learn except for a minority for whom it resonates with their learning style. And when we take on board the critique of our education system more generally that it is a huge university entrance system predicated on forming traditional research academics, then in GB it really is likely that the new fee regime is going to concentrate pedagogical minds on androgogical matters (though I prefer a term like mathetogogical). That is assuming that we are able to effect a culture change in British culture more widely to take away the prejudice that the only form of 'education' worth having is precisely invested in the system to produce research academics (even though simultaneously that is derided)

The fact is that HEI's will have to think hard about just what it is that they are 'selling'. I think that part of the answer will be 'accreditation' (largely about summative assessment and benchmarking) and another will be formative assessment and learning coaching.

The question in a barebones version of that future is about the way that those less able to access learning resources (including the human ones) of a traditional-ish form will be enabled to access it. Or will the 'total package' including access to counselling and other support services remain a kind of gold-standard?

The Future of Undergraduate Teaching - WorldWise - The Chronicle of Higher Education: