Online learning in undergraduate and postgraduate education is ubiquitous the world over, but questions remain about whether it can effectively teach the transferable skills that are so important in a dynamic job market.
With AI-integrated, hybrid workplaces becoming the norm, arguably these skills – compared with, say, knowledge recall – will be key to future graduate employability. Transferable skills, which include communication, teamwork, adaptability, self-motivation and self-management, as well as technical and digital skills, critical thinking and problem-solving, are already integral to employability and career path progression.
In face-to-face learning, technical skills are typically taught through a mix of theory and hands-on application to real-life scenarios and even work placements, while soft skills such as teamwork and oral communication are usually developed through presentations and tutorial sessions. So, you might doubt that online learning can replicate that practice and experience. But, thanks to virtual learning environments (VLEs), many in academia see no reason why these essential employability skills can’t be taught effectively online.
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Moreover, the opportunity that online learning offers to build digital and distance communication skills is increasingly in tune with modern workplaces that are ever more technology-centred and global. Almost five years after Covid-19, 28 per cent of working adults in Britain are hybrid working, according to Office for National Statics figures, and this type of working is a new norm in most English-speaking countries. As more communication is done online, teaching these skills online can, in some cases, provide a more authentic learning environment. Even body language can be caught through a VLE.
Challenges and workarounds for teaching soft skills online
A prerequisite to teaching transferable skills online, and indeed a key challenge, is ensuring that students engage with the learning. So far, relatively few studies have compared student engagement and outcomes between face-to-face classrooms and distance learning. It is important also to bear in mind that distance learning takes many forms, including synchronous – for example, online tutorials and live guest lectures – and asynchronous, which can range from students watching a recorded lecture to participating in interactive forums and workboards.
A 2022 study from the University of Bordeaux found little difference in average knowledge acquisition and student interaction with their educator and peers when comparing face-to-face and synchronous distance learning, but it did suggest lower cognitive engagement and reduced social presence (meaning the sense of feeling present as part of a community) in the case of the latter.
This feeling of student detachment is heightened if, as online educators often report, students are reluctant to switch on their cameras or even to use their microphones. Possible reasons for this, among many, include student anxiety, cultural or social sensibilities, or fear of being recorded without consent. Online “invisibility” (such as that which might take place during a “relaxed tutorial”) can be an advantage if it attracts less-confident or neurodivergent students who might otherwise not have attended a class at all, whether in person or online. However, student satisfaction tends to increase with higher engagement.
A range of opportunities and strategies can be deployed to improve online engagement in synchronous distance learning. Educators can foster a relationship with students by:
- having their own camera on
- spending the first part of a session on informal exchanges to help build community
- being open to a wide range of communication, including chat and emoticons
- using interactive digital tools such as polls and whiteboards to prompt responses
- building in small-group activities using breakout rooms.
All these options are readily available in VLEs.
In an asynchronous setting, too, active learning will promote genuine engagement with the module materials. Interactive forum activities and discussions can be a useful tool to develop teamwork and allow students to practise their written communication skills at the same time as learning from their peers. The opportunity to design activities based on real-world events, using news articles and other media, can help engage students with module content in forums. Educators can also ask students to draw on, and connect module concepts to, their own experiences to prevent forum fatigue.
Online curriculums also need to embed and integrate the teaching of transferable skills alongside discipline-related knowledge in interesting and creative ways and scaffold these so that skills are developed to higher levels as students proceed through their studies. For example, introductory social science modules might develop numeracy and digital skills through teaching students how to solve problems using Excel, and later hone these skills with training to use more advanced statistical software such as SPSS or STATA, or how to prompt and critique AI when used for these types of task.
Designing online assessments and activities that authentically replicate work-based activities is also key to ensuring students have the appropriate adaptable employability skills – for example, designing assessments that require students to compose social media posts and blogs reviewing policy developments can replicate the type of work that professionals do in many industries. Also, asking students to reflect on how they would use the transferable skills they are acquiring in a future career can raise engagement.
It goes without saying that no two learners are the same. And, for the foreseeable future, work environments will likely be a combination of on- and off-site interactions. It is thus key to aim for a blended, flexible and mixed learning environment wherever possible.
Emilie Rutledge is head of economics and senior lecturer at The Open University and managing editor of the Journal of Gulf Studies. Jonquil Lowe is senior lecturer in economics and personal finance at The Open University.
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