Active-learning pedagogical practices are encouraged in the education literature to improve academic outcomes. The research reported in this paper explored the effect of real-time interactive polling--a type of active learning--on three measures of academic outcome: final marks, student engagement, and failure probability. To provide credible…

This paper reports on experiences of Indigenous students and staff involved in Bond Indigenous Tutoring (BIT). It aimed to gain insight regarding topics including challenges faced by Indigenous students, why some students discontinued their studies, and concepts of success at university. Findings revealed the main challenges included the…

This paper investigates the effectiveness (measured using assignment and examination performance) of an assessment design incorporating formative feedback through summative tutorial-based assessments to improve student performance, in a second-year Finance course at an Australian university. Data was collected for students who were enrolled in an…

This article discusses a Design for Learning project in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, where academic and personal support for students was interwoven in their first semester. Staff of the Academic Language and Learning Unit (ALLU) worked with discipline staff to develop their students' capabilities across a range of disciplines,…

Individual oral tutorial presentations have been utilised in numerous undergraduate courses to develop and assess students' skills in organising and communicating ideas and information to a select audience. However, evidence from the literature, interviews with academics (n=5), and the author's own experiences have demonstrated that these…

This article examines the impact of an adjunct English language tutorial program on the academic performance of first-year Architecture students. With increasing numbers of international students enrolling in Australian universities, language and academic skills programs have shifted from generic to more discipline-specific models; however, there…

Results from 291 first-year Australian college students with learning and writing difficulties (language minorities or students from other countries) suggest a direct effect of those difficulties on performance in first-year biology. College language and learning services that address areas in which students recognize their difficulties may…

In response to the need for the tertiary sector to ensure the ongoing quality of teaching and learning, a Western Australian university has implemented a divisional strategic plan in order to gain quality student feedback and support staff professional development. In 2000-2002 the Business Division within the university established a systematic…