Why teaching innovation matters: Evidence from a pre- versus peri-COVID-19 pandemic comparison of student evaluation data

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has robustly affected global education environments, so higher education institutions need to emphasize innovation and creativity in educational methods for teachers to improve their teaching performance as well as enhance the engagement and motivation of students in this changing environment. Accordingly, it is essential to discuss the role of teaching innovation in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. The aim of this study is to empirically validate the importance of teaching innovation in student evaluation of teaching before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from the medical college of a comprehensive university in Taiwan and were subjected to t-tests and multiple linear regression analysis. Findings from a quantitative study with 44 teachers revealed that teaching innovation was positively correlated to student evaluation of teaching. We also found that teachers who implemented teaching innovation strategies performed better than those teachers who used conventional teaching strategies on student evaluation of teaching. In particular, teaching innovative teachers had improvement in student evaluation of teaching during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, but not non-teaching innovative teachers. The evidence from this study suggests that teaching innovation can not only enhance teachers’ teaching development and performance but also boost students’ motivation for learning, especially in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings have important implications for future research on teaching innovation and for higher education institutions and faculty wishing to provide high-quality learning environments to their students.

Formation of professional competence for future social educators based on an integrated approach

“…Studies that are currently available also show strategies for university students to develop their professional competence (Adams & Blair, 2019;Guraya & Chen, 2019). There is evidence that a variety of innovative student teaching methods are highly effective in developing professional competencies (Calma & Dickson-Deane, 2020;Lin, Huang, & Lin, 2022;Naz & Murad, 2017). Our research also shows that the formation of the competencies needed by social educators is highly effective in the context of an integrated approach and the enabling conditions created in the classroom.…”

Team- and Problem-Based Learning in Health Services: A Systematic Literature Review of Recent Initiatives in the United States

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, teacher stressors soared globally, including technical barriers, as well as the time required to manage an online classroom [16]. However, the implementation of innovative teaching practices during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in improved student evaluations, compared to non-innovative methods [17]. Adaptations to PBL and TBL in the online milieu have been proposed in various student populations [18].…”

Beyond the Classroom: An Analysis of Internal and External Factors Related to Students’ Love of Learning and Educational Outcomes

“…This is largely driven by classroom digitization and faltering student motivation post-COVID-19 [36,37]. In turn, developing an interactive and pro-social learning environment is extremely important, both in the online and inperson context, with innovative teaching being a primary driver of in-classroom motivation to learn in the modern classroom context [38]. One such example of an innovative teaching strategy is classroom gamification, where presently pedagogical frameworks are being developed for novel classroom environments like the educational escape room [39].…”