A part of 5.3 Inquiry on Teaching and Learning Poster + Talk
Molly Metz, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Psychology, FAS
Reina Trujillo-Stryzak, Undergraduate Student, Psychology, FAS
How did our students experience their courses in AY 2020-2021? Self-determination theory (SDT) is a motivational framework that highlights the importance of basic psychological need satisfaction in fostering autonomous motivation and ultimately optimizing functioning, and well-being (Ryan & Deci, 2000). In educational settings, teaching practices and policies that support students’ basic needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy have been shown to enhance student engagement and learning (Jang, Kim, & Reeve, 2012). Though it has been proposed that using SDT as a framework upon which to build our courses may uniquely prepare us for future instances of upheaval (Masland, 2021), is it the case that the things that stood out to students when reflecting on their best and worst classes during the pandemic are in fact consistent with this perspective? Our goal for the current project is to explore qualitative reflections from students on their best and worst courses using thematic analysis, which will allow us to paint a picture of common student experiences, analyse these within an SDT framework, and propose areas of focus for ongoing course development in the interest of course resilience and student experiences.
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