The COVID-19 pandemic caused a rapid seismic shift to online delivery in otherwise face-to-face higher education settings worldwide. This quantitative research study sought to investigate the effect of different delivery styles and assessment types on student outcomes. Specifically, grades achieved by first year undergraduate Biological Science…

An innovative series of dissections of the canine abdomen was created to facilitate social distancing in the dissection room following COVID-19 restrictions imposed in the UK. In groups of six, first-year veterinary students took turns dissecting selected parts of the canine abdomen while maintaining social distancing and documenting their work…

The pandemic forced many education providers to pivot rapidly their models of education to increased online provision, raising concerns that this may accentuate effects of digital poverty on education. Digital footprints created by learning analytics systems contain a wealth of information about student engagement. Combining these data with…

Integration of research into undergraduate degree programmes has been shown to have a beneficial effect on student learning, however, integrating activities which help first-year students to feel engage with research activity within their discipline has proved challenging. This study describes the use of Impact Case Studies created for the…

Debates about how best to support students' transition from school to university have re-emerged periodically since at least the 1970s. This paper focuses upon one aspect of this transition: how to develop the quantitative skills students acquire at school throughout the first year of their degree. We report on an attempt to inject pedagogic…

Laboratory practicals are used throughout science and engineering education as it allows students to undertake active learning and develop technical skills. It is therefore important that students arrive to these sessions as prepared as possible to maximise their learning potential. This paper analyses how student preparation affects how prepared…

This study investigates the impact of peer assessment on students' engagement in their learning in a group work context. The study used regression analysis and was complemented by qualitative responses from a survey of 165 first-year undergraduates in a UK university. Findings suggest that students' perception of their contribution to group work…

Specific learning and attention difficulties are often first identified in childhood, but they can cause lifelong academic and occupational challenges. We explored the prevalence of these difficulties and the representation of sex and ethnicity amongst all first-year students in United Kingdom (UK) higher education (HE) across 12 years--almost 5.7…

Students in their first semester at university were asked to pose their own questions, known as quecture questions, for each learning topic. This was as part of their weekly preparation for flipped lectures on two parallel compulsory biology courses. Quecture questions are intended to engage students, particularly those with educational…

Enhancing students' assessment literacy is essential in enabling all students to manage their learning successfully. Understanding of the assessment standards required and how to meet them impacts students' learning outcomes within higher education (HE). However, there are many different conceptions of what assessment literacy comprises, making it…

Universities are under increasing pressure to equip graduates with a broader set of competencies, such as communication, teamwork and leadership skills, that go beyond subject-specific knowledge. This, alongside growing student numbers in higher education, creates pedagogic challenges, especially with regards to assessment design. Conventional…

In the UK, psychology degrees are designed to equip students with skills such as critical thinking, research methods, and analytical debate. Many of the key skills and subject-specific content that is taught in the first year of a psychology programme is also introduced in A-level and AS-level study of psychology. Therefore, one would expect…

This qualitative study explored the interactions of six triads of Year One students in the United Kingdom (n = 18; mean age = 5 years, 7 months; 9 female) investigating interpersonal regulation of learning, social dynamics, and "group dialogue," evident in instances of productive collaboration during problem-solving activities. Group…

Effective use of learning analytics systems has been purported to confer various benefits to learners in terms of both attainment and retention. There is, however, little agreement on which data are meaningful or useful. Whilst measures of engagement might correlate with outcomes, thereby retrospectively 'predicting' them, there are fewer studies…

The UK's HE system is mired in public debate around 'grade inflation', and there is substantial pressure to address the perceived devaluation of degrees through blunt policy measures such as modifying classification algorithms. Policy-makers should be aware of the impact of their actions upon students' learning; this article frames some of the…