The Effects of Short Online Pedagogical Courses on University Teachers' Conceptions of Learning and Engaging Students During Lectures

Abstract

Pedagogical training has been seen as an efficient tool to train university teachers to understand and foster active learning. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a short online pedagogical training course on the development of university teachers’ conceptions of active learning from two perspectives: the role of prior knowledge and engaging their students during lectures. The effect of the training was measured through self-reports questionnaires of university teachers before and after the pedagogical course (N=108). The results showed an increase in the teachers’ perception of the importance of prior knowledge in the learning process and a decrease in the idea of learning as remembering. Additionally, the awareness of developing engaging lectures increased after completing the course. The outcomes indicate the benefits of short pedagogical courses for pedagogical development and especially for academics who have not had any prior studies on pedagogy.