Utilising lectures with pharmacy, occupational therapy and nursing students: A pre-COVID-19 pandemic perspective

Background. Lectures are a fundamental aspect of teaching and learning in higher education, significantly impacting students’ academic achievements. Objective. To investigate students’ reasons for attending in-person lectures and identify the factors and traits they associate with positive learning experiences. Methods. The data were collected through interviews with 36 third-year undergraduate students from pharmacy, occupational therapy and nursing & midwifery enrolled at Monash University. Focus groups were reviewed, analysed and coded using a conventional content analysis approach. Results. Four major themes that influenced students’ decisions to attend lectures were identified: (i) consolidation of learning; (ii) use of visual and auditory techniques; (iii) opportunities for student input and (iv) the lecture’s relevance to their future practice. Conclusion. The present study found that students perceive live lectures as useful when they offer a thorough understanding of a subject, effectively incorporate audio-visual materials, provide opportunities for engagement and interaction with lecturers and prepare students for exams and future careers. Utilising interactive quizzes and visual aids, facilitating access to educators for students to ask questions and lecturers’ use of varied tones and humour when covering difficult concepts were viewed as beneficial by students. These findings may assist faculty in improving attendance rates at live lectures.