University Students’ Lived Experiences of Developing Active Empathic Listening Skills in Online Synchronous Learning

Abstract

In Higher Education, good relationships between peers are essential for students to learn from each other, develop critical thinking skills, participate actively and make friends. Good relationships may be developed in small group learning conversations, which can take place within timetabled learning sessions with a tutor present or can be arranged by students outside timetabled sessions. During and in the aftermath of Covid-19 Lockdowns, the process for students to learn and socialise together in small group learning conversations, as well as to build relationships with their peers was problematic because of continuing restrictions on meeting in person. Relationships needed to be built online, requiring some development of appropriate communication skills. The focus of this study was to encourage the development of communication skills between student peers in online synchronous academic conversation clubs in which Active Empathic Listening skills were facilitated by a tutor researcher. Active Empathic Listening is a set of skills chosen because these skills are likely to encourage attentive listening and active participation, which can create empathy and good relationships between group members. Active Empathic Listening skills were developed and practised by university students in small group learning conversations synchronously in these online clubs. Participating student club members, who were West Africans studying Nursing at a university in England, agreed to take part in two semi-structured interviews conducted by the tutor researcher. A reflexive approach informed by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was employed in the research. Findings suggest that learning and practising Active Empathic Listening skills in these online synchronous conversation clubs led to student participants perceiving an improvement in their ability to listen with attention, paraphrase orally to clarify understanding, think critically, actively participate in online synchronous learning conversations, as well as build good relationships with other club members. Student participants revealed that they could transfer these Active Empathic Listening skills into their academic speaking and writing, and use the listening and speaking skills they have gained within their professional practice while on placement in healthcare contexts. This study contributes to knowledge of the impact of Active Empathic Listening skills’ development in Higher Education.