Is there more to learning at university than reading? Learning on Screen joins the HE Enabled podcast
Is higher education making full use of the different ways students learn?
That’s one of the questions explored in a special bonus episode of the HE Enabled podcast, featuring Learning on Screen CEO Kerry-Jane Packman in conversation with host Cath Brislane.
In “Is there more to learning at uni than reading? The Teach Beyond Text study says yes”, Kerry-Jane and Cath discuss findings from Learning on Screen’s Teach Beyond Text research and what they could mean for more inclusive teaching and learning in higher education.
It’s not about replacing reading
Books, academic papers and reading remain fundamental to higher education. Teach Beyond Text isn’t arguing otherwise.
As student populations have become increasingly diverse, the research asks whether education has become overly reliant on a single approach to helping students access and understand complex ideas.
More than 1,100 students across schools, colleges and universities contributed to the Teach Beyond Text research, with hundreds also sharing detailed comments about what helps them learn.
The message isn’t to stop giving students books; students are asking educators to “help us understand in more ways”.
Film, television and radio can sit alongside established academic resources, helping students encounter concepts from another perspective, connect theory with the real world and engage critically with their subject.
As Kerry-Jane puts it during the conversation:
“It’s not about replacing traditional education. It’s about expanding it”.
Designing learning that works for more students
This conversation has particular relevance for HE Enabled, as the podcast shares the lived experiences of disability, neurodivergence and long-term health conditions across UK higher education.
Cath describes this bonus episode as something a little different: an opportunity to explore research with significant implications for neurodivergent students and to consider what it might tell us about making learning more inclusive.
Teach Beyond Text found that the benefits students associated with film and television were consistently stronger among neurodivergent learners. But one of the key points Kerry-Jane makes in the episode is that this shouldn’t be understood as creating a separate approach for one group of students.
Instead, it is about designing teaching that works better for everyone while removing unnecessary barriers for people who process information differently.
Academic rigour is about thinking, not format
The conversation also tackles an important question: does incorporating more audiovisual materials risk reducing academic rigour?
Kerry-Jane argues that rigour doesn’t come from the format of a resource but from what students are asked to do with it.
Critically analysing a documentary, evaluating the evidence it presents, identifying bias, comparing archive footage with written accounts or examining how a television programme represents a social issue can require the same analytical, evaluative and critical-thinking skills we expect elsewhere in higher education.
The learning comes from what happens around the resource: the questions educators ask, the discussions they facilitate, the connections students make and the arguments they develop.
Film, television and radio, therefore, don’t need to compete with books and academic papers. When used purposefully, they can provide another route into the same intellectual challenge.
From research to practice
Kerry-Jane and Cath also explore some of the barriers preventing wider use of audiovisual resources in higher education, from confidence and academic culture to copyright and simply knowing where to find appropriate material.
And there’s practical advice for educators who want to experiment with their teaching without redesigning an entire module: start with one thing.
Try incorporating an audiovisual resource with a clear learning purpose. Create discussion around it. Connect it to existing reading. Ask students what worked and what didn’t.
Because teaching beyond text isn’t about abandoning what works.
It’s about asking what else we can add to help more students understand deeply, think critically and succeed.
Find the “Is there more to learning at uni than reading? The Teach Beyond Text study says yes. (Bonus Episode)” with HE Enabled on your preferred platform.
Available on:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | YouTube | Pocketcasts | Goodpods
Explore the research:
Read more about Teach Beyond Text and its findings and discover what students told us about the role of audiovisual resources in learning.