17 Scholarship Matters The teaching of large cohorts can be extremely challenging and has been widely discussed by the likes of Hornsby and Osman (2014), Maringe and Sing (2014), and Clarke (2011), to name but a few. However, there is very little advice available for those required to deliver modules to both large and small cohorts at the same time. This is a pressing challenge for teaching teams, as the internationalisation agenda has led many universities to offer the same courses across a diverse campus network where enrolment numbers can vary widely. Teaching context MKTG234 Social Media Marketing is one of the largest modules taught in the Marketing department in Lancaster University Management School. Cohort sizes vary by year, but we typically have up to 400 students in their second, third, or in some cases, fourth year of study. These students come from a range of different disciplines, from Marketing and Management to the likes of Sociology and Cultural Studies. The sheer size and diversity of the cohort poses many challenges – not least in terms of the varied experiences and expectations of the students enrolled on the module. To add to these challenges, the module is now taught concurrently at our sister campus in Leipzig, Germany. The module is still led by the UK campus tutors, but the same lectures and seminars delivered in the UK are also then delivered in person by a colleague based in Leipzig. The material is delivered in English, however, the teaching context is quite different. The first three cohorts at our German campus have been significantly smaller than that in Lancaster, with the total number of students enrolled (13), smaller than a single UK seminar class. Lessons from practice At the time of writing, we are in our third year of running the module across two international campuses. From our experience, we have identified four areas of focus that allow us to succeed. Planning and preparation: The core teaching team plan the module together to ensure leaders of both cohorts can shape the content year-on-year. This helps us identify where the difference between large and small cohorts needs to be reflected and adjusted for the benefit of students. Working with Leipzig-based colleagues, we can also adapt for any specific cultural differences. Examples include lecturerstudent communication channels and assessment questions reflecting the local market. Assessment: Students are required to conduct a social media analysis of a local business, which we tailor each year to the cohort and campus. This way students can observe social media practices in the country in which they are based, and reflect on any differences where appropriate. Assessment support: To create an equitable experience, we use a shared Google Doc where all students can post their questions anonymously and can also read the answers already given. This has proven to be a most effective way of handling questions as students receive the same experience no matter where they are studying. This also reduces the workload for seminar tutors and removes the risk of students receiving differing advice. Lectures and seminar activities: Even though the core module content is identical for both cohorts, we have introduced localised differences for the optimal learning experience. Capitalising on the benefits of small group learning (Steinert, 1996), more interaction and dialogue is used with the smaller cohort in our German campus; while these approaches tend to be less effective with the large lectures of our UK campus, where students are often more unwilling to interact (Saunder and Gale, 2012). We have also introduced other located differences, such as invited industry guest speakers, to ensure that both cohorts receive content relevant for their local industry market and feel equally valued with in-person speakers. This approach has proved quite effective so far, with both campus module teams receiving positive evaluations from students. Conclusion As a result of our work on this module, the module leadership team won Lancaster University’s Pilkington Award for Teaching in 2023, demonstrating our commitment and contribution to the University’s internationalisation agenda. This has also proven a major boon to our colleagues in Leipzig, as at an institutional level at least, it can sometimes feel as though each campus exists in isolation.
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