The authors are both professional practitioners (law and social work, respectively) who entered the university as discipline-based scholars. Their respective interests in teaching and learning have led them both down a path where they have transitioned from a discipline-based orientation to organizational roles grounded primarily in teaching and…

The summary of a Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia conference identifies significant themes in the presentations concerning theories of learning, and comments on them. It is noted that, despite the diversity of presentations, important areas of agreement emerged. (MSE)

The relationship between phenomenography, an approach to research that aims to identify and describe individuals' qualitatively different experiences, and learning is examined. A number of problems in teaching and learning are then explored from this perspective. It is stressed that students' unique experiences are fundamental to what they learn.…

A discussion of hermeneutics focuses on the central role of language in learning. Four areas of understanding, all realized through language, are identified. It is argued that, with a hermeneutic approach, both cognitive and student-centered approaches to teaching are transcended and fused into a broader conception of understanding. (Author/MSE)

A model of higher education learning and teaching based on systems theory, in which all parts of the teaching-learning context are seen as seeking equilibrium, is proposed. The task of the teacher is seen as achieving good teaching practices that are workable within the existing matrix of systems and subsystems. (Author/MSE)

Two kinds of teaching/learning theories in higher education, formal and informal, are examined critically. It is argued that the contribution of formal theory is often ignored in favor of an amateur approach to instructional improvement driven by institutional imperatives, the rewarding of compliance over risk taking, and trivialization of the…

The organization and role of higher education research and development units (HERDUs) are described, and international perspectives on educational development theory and practices are examined. Factors constraining educational development operations in HERDUs are discussed, and recommendations for addressing current concerns are offered. (MSE)