Assessing and prioritizing interactive teaching modes based on student satisfaction in higher education: A case study of a freshmen class

Prioritizing student satisfaction in higher education is crucial for delivering an educational experience that caters to students’ needs, ultimately leading to improved learning outcomes and fostering gradual progress. In this paper, to identify the interactive teaching approach that best aligns with student expectations for a class of freshmen majoring in project management, a multi-criteria evaluation framework based on the best–worst method (BWM) and TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese for interactive and multi-attribute decision making) algorithm is applied. Initially, the BWM is applied to ascertain the weight distribution among the identified criteria through a process of pairwise comparison. Subsequently, the TODIM method is leveraged, considering the instructors’ aversion towards the risks of teaching quality decline, to identify the blended teaching mode (A₂) as the most suitable choice for the class. Upon a more in-depth individual analysis, it is observed that the blended teaching mode (A₂), the online collaboration mode (A₃), and the flipped classroom mode (A₄) are all favored equally by the students as their top preferences. With its reliability confirmed through comparative and sensitivity analyses, this framework emerges as a strategic alternative to arbitrary selection, empowering instructors to select a personalized, hybrid, or class-wide preferred teaching mode, thus enhancing curriculum design and ensuring ongoing alignment with student needs.