Introducing “block teaching” has proved popular with students and has helped boost attainment and retention but staff have tended to be less enthusiastic, according to university leaders who have made the switch.
Early evidence from De Montfort University, which implemented a model whereby students study just one course per seven-week block in 2022, showed nine in 10 students said it helped with their work/life balance, the university’s pro vice-chancellor for education and equalities, Susan Orr, told Times Higher Education’s Digital Universities UK event.
Nine in 10 students also said that the promise of being taught “on the block” had been an important determining factor in them deciding to go to De Montfort over other options, she added.
There was also evidence that students’ sense of belonging has gone up and they reported it easier to make friends, which Professor Orr said had been part of the motivation for the change, especially for the generation that started university directly after the pandemic.
