From a Year-long Delivery Pattern to a One Semester Delivery Pattern, the Impact on Student Performance in a UK University
Increasingly UK universities are adopting a more US-based approach of teaching subject- matter in modules across semesters. This means that the teaching of a particular subject across a whole academic year is now changing to the same subject-matter being compressed into a single module taught in one semester (across twelve weeks). This study examines the effects of a transition over four years on 2,612 students at a UK university, changing teaching methods from a year-long (two semesters) method of teaching to a more compressed US-style of only one semester long module method. The main findings are that overall pass rates stay approximately the same but there is concern that the number of awards at a first class and upper second level has been diminished. This is potentially due to the students not having the time to assimilate the course-material, develop a deeper learning and understanding of the course materials.
