Motivation
Radboud University’s educational vision focuses on face-to-face teaching on campus, as personal interaction is indispensable in education. Research shows that attending teaching sessions contributes to students’ learning and academic success. Moreover, since the emergence of generative AI, face-to-face contact in education has become even more important. At the same time, lecture halls – both nationwide and within the Faculty of Social Sciences – regularly remain empty. How can we ensure that students actually attend their classes?
Hypothesis
This study identifies the factors that contribute to high student attendance at seminar-based teaching within the Artificial Intelligence degree programme. It examines policy, teaching methods, organisation and socio-economic circumstances. Examples include a form of compulsory attendance, the course design, the role of lecturers, timetabling and the availability of affordable accommodation in the vicinity of the university.
Desired solution
Miranda is investigating which factors are associated with attendance at seminar-based teaching sessions. Based on the results, she is developing practical guidelines for the AI programme to further increase student attendance. In addition, the research provides a practical method that other degree programmes can use to systematically analyse and improve attendance at seminar sessions. This gives degree programmes a better understanding of the factors that influence student attendance and of what they themselves can do to change this.
Plan of action
The research consists of two parts. In the first part, Miranda will map out all courses involving seminar-based teaching in the first two years of the AI degree programme over the course of one semester. In doing so, she will examine student attendance, factors that may be related to it, and any patterns that emerge. The second part focuses on a number of courses with relatively high or low attendance rates. To this end, teaching materials will be analysed and interviews conducted with lecturers and students. The aim is to investigate which factors influence attendance at seminars and how these play out in practice. The analysis draws on insights from previous research, whilst allowing scope for additional explanations that emerge from the case studies themselves.
