Given its close links to student success, universities are heavily invested in how they can positively influence their students' sense of belonging. One approach to this is through social belonging interventions, where universities attempt to develop student agency. This study takes a quasi-experimental approach by evaluating the impact of a newly…

This paper addresses the question of how classroom-based peer assessment practices can be improved in relation to student interpretations of subjective assessment criteria. To achieve this, this research study considers the possible pedagogic benefits and implications of using a comparative judgement (CJ) approach to the peer assessment of GCSE…

This article focuses on narrative interviews with mature students at one partner university that was part of the UK higher education (HE) Changing Mindsets project and research (2017-19). Changing Mindsets comprised workshops and training aimed at supporting students and staff in five participating universities to develop a growth mindset and…

A series of workshops offered to biology and health sciences students during June and July 2022 was primarily aimed to help students to understand and appreciate the employability benefits of engaging with practical science investigations. Such investigations are designed to help students develop not only practical, numerical and problem-solving…

The UN locates education at the heart of the process to achieve a more sustainable future and deliver the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) by 2030. Within this context, this paper outlines the experience of designing and delivering an international virtual mobility workshop which brought together university students from the UK and…

Across the United Kingdom, medical schools are acknowledging the need to respond to inequalities experienced by minority groups, racism within healthcare, and the need to decolonise medical curricula. Understanding the impact of structural racism is increasingly recognised as part of health professionals' training. In this paper we report the…

Background: In Physical Education (PE), trauma may manifest in a range of different actions/behaviours (e.g. small fouls escalating into physical conflict, students refusing to be part of a team, and struggling to adhere to the rules of the game). Without knowledge of the effects of trauma, teachers often defer to punitive responses, which…

What ethical and political considerations does zine-making raise in teaching and learning across knowledge systems and artful expression? This question guides the critical dialogue about a research project on teaching sustainability through traditional proverbs from Malaysia and Kazakhstan within a zine-making workshop in a UK university. Merging…

This article reports on a study with over 100 Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs), 69 of whom were international GTAs. We explore their experiences of 'cultural bumps' in their transition into one UK University. Following the principles of practice-based enquiry, data collection combined interviews with data generated in workshops, including…

Research on learning environments at the higher-education level has been quite sparse compared with studies at other educational levels. Because statistics is perceived as a difficult subject across disciplines, it suffers from low passing rates in many universities. This study involved validating questionnaires for assessing the psychosocial…

Despite being an established practice in Higher Education (HE), the collection of feedback from students, to improve their university experience, has yet to find a unified format. Literature shows that, besides enabling collection of data on aspects of the university journey, feedback collection should also be an engaging experience for students…

Sexual violence is a widespread issue on university campuses. Although not a new concern, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom (UK) have only recently implemented prevention strategies. Many approaches focus on increasing knowledge of consent and related harms, but are rarely evaluated, or sit outside of the curriculum. While…

Nurses and actors both require the ability to demonstrate empathy in their practice. Mastering communication skills and techniques can inform an empathetic response. This skill is particularly important for nurses working in paediatric palliative and end of life care but there is lack of consensus whether empathy can be taught. The process an…

Playmobil pro is an innovative modelling kit for adults that encourages creative thinking in the university/workplace. International multilingual students often disclose that they have little opportunity to develop their intercultural awareness, and cross-cultural and multilingual communicative competencies while engaging in meaningful activities…

Female students and those with a low socioeconomic status (SES) typically score lower in assessments of self-efficacy and ability in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In this study, a cohort of over 200 UK students attended an intensive, active learning, physics workshop, with pre- and post-assessments to measure both…