The Future of Education

This paper explores teacher responses to student perceptions and experiences of digital learning in a previous study. It explores implications for teacher responses in terms of course design. This paper is part of a series of studies carried out in Norway and Sweden over a three-year period from 2019 to 2022 (Haugestad & Keeling, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023). It introduces and compares research and results from during and after the Covid-19 pandemic and course design implications for after it. The main focus is teacher perceptions and experiences in digital learning. Respondents come from four main groups of university lecturers taking English courses with students in pre-service trainee teachers, science majors, in-service teachers, and foundational-year English students. Data was collected at four main institutions: University of Southeast Norway (USN), Chalmers Technical University in Sweden, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) and University College Ostfold (HIO) in Norway. A qualitative approach was used across multiple case studies using focus groups and allowing teachers to review quantitative data from student perceptions and experiences from the previous study. The research is relevant in terms of mapping teacher responses to student perceptions and experiences. Moreover, teachers were encouraged to share their own perceptions and experiences in order to explore effective and responsive course design for higher education. Does course design need to change? If so, what evidence-based measures and factors can be taken into consideration by educators when designing courses? This conference paper can provide a basis for further reflection and studies on digital learning in higher education.