'I Don't Get it': A critical reflection on conceptual and practical challenges in teaching qualitative methods

Abstract

This article is a reflective piece that concentrates on facilitating student learning styles and reflexivity when teaching qualitative methods. It elaborates specifically on the challenges of deep and surface learning, and managing these differences in conjunction with the practical challenges posed by qualitative research. The introduction of reflexivity to undergraduate students and how this can be conveyed effectively is also discussed in connection with learning how to execute qualitative work. The teaching context was a section on qualitative methods that formed part of a larger research methods module. Student feedback indicates that time constraints and group-work affect the learning process. In conclusion, improvements can be made by attending more closely to deep learning strategies and reducing the number of activities in class, to ensure that the quality is maintained within the teaching of qualitative research.