This study aims to gain a better understanding of the practices of first-year university teachers by considering the distinction between direct instruction and active learning. It is based on the responses of 356 teachers to questions relating to three areas of teaching practice: preparation, implementation and use of digital technology. Principal…

As a response to the increasing number of Chinese students seeking higher education in Western countries, joint programmes have been set up between universities in these destination countries and China. The unfamiliar host academic cultures can pose challenges for international students. Using the 'acculturation model' to frame the study, we…

A challenge for providers of work-integrated learning courses is delivering a meaningful learning experience for students, while collaborating with organisations to ensure adequate support. Evaluating student experience has traditionally been about collecting feedback on teaching methods, course content and learning outcomes, rather than the…

Recent focus on graduate employability has exposed the inadequacies of work preparation for science students, who need an employability toolkit to navigate the modern work landscape. An established mechanism to develop students' employment awareness is Work Integrated Learning (WIL), but Australian mathematics and science students participate in…

During the last 20 years, we have witnessed a growing interest in research in teaching, learning and educational development in higher education (HE). The result is that "Higher Education Didactics" has established itself as a research field in its own right. This article explores Higher Education Didactics as a framework for academics'…

Inclusive learning environments have been described as a crucial factor for fostering disabled students' sense of belonging in higher education. However, few empirical studies have elaborated on how learning environments contribute to disabled students' belonging. In this study, we have taken a socio-political approach and widen the theoretical…

This article identifies the profiles of students whose performance is improved by the PBL method, and the influence of certain student-dependent factors that lead to improvement. Effects on performance vary from one student to another, so we distinguish between outcomes among low-performing, average-performing, and high-performing students. To…

Problem solving has been characterized as one of the 'employability skills' due to the high demand for such abilities in a modern workplace. Most universities do not monitor progress of the generic problem-solving skills (PSS) of their students due to a lack of available assessment tools. We used previously reported 15-min tests to measure the…

Transnational education and English medium instruction (EMI) has grown in Asia in response to rapid globalisation. As a result, Vietnam has invested in creating new model universities that partner with international institutions as a way to supply the demand for quality higher education. Yet, few studies examine the influence of EMI on student…

Recent studies on active learning classrooms (ACLs) have demonstrated their positive influence on student learning. However, most of the research evidence is derived from a few subject-specific courses or limited student enrolment. Empirical studies on this topic involving large student populations are rare. The present work involved a large-scale…

The aim of this article is to explore student participation in teaching and learning, focusing on third-year students' experiences in a Swedish teacher education programme. Student participation is here defined as students being active and engaged in the classroom; students impacting on curriculum design; and students' feeling of belonging to a…

This study reports on an educational development initiative where peer instruction was used instead of traditional lectures in a calculus course for first-year engineering students. The aim of the study was to explore students' experiences of this method. Data were collected by means of an open-ended questionnaire on two occasions: early and late…

The use of humour in teaching and learning can be contentious, with some authors suggesting that the efficacy of humorous materials is mediated by the culture of the student. Nevertheless, humour represents a potential vehicle for the introduction of active learning in a classroom setting, as judicious use of humour may lead to a more relaxed…

The conventional lecture has significant limitations in the higher education context, often leading to a passive learning experience for students. This paper reports a process of transforming teaching and learning with active learning strategies in a research-intensive educational context across a faculty of 45 academic staff and more than 1,000…

The twenty-first century has seen the rapid emergence of wireless broadband and mobile communications devices which are inexorably changing the way people communicate, collaborate, create and transfer knowledge. Yet many higher education campus learning environments were designed and built in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries prior to…