The move away from transmission-based lecturing toward a more student-centred active learning approach is well evidenced in STEM higher education. However, the examination of active learning has generally remained confined to formal timetabled contexts, with assumptions made that students independently manage the transition between timetabled and…

Traditional engineering education (Eng. Ed) has received criticism for restricting student learning and experiences to practical skills development while ignoring the significance of fostering cognitive skills that encourage higher order thinking, criticality, and self-reflexivity. Imaginative education (IE) has emerged as a consideration for…

The underdevelopment of a pedagogical culture for research methods education and the lack of a body of knowledge with the potential to influence practice have been highlighted by previous studies. This systematic review explores the pedagogic approaches and strategies evident in recent literature (2014-2020) on teaching social science research…

Industry 4.0 technologies are being applied in the teaching and learning process, called Education 4.0. However, there is no specification of what is being considered when developing technologies for education in the 4.0 context. Therefore, we performed a Systematic Mapping Study to investigate the information and communication technologies (ICTs)…

Tertiary institutions are migrating away from didactic and teacher-centred approaches, and instead, pivoting to lesson designs that encourage hands-on learning and student engagement. However, this practice is often "try and see", with few frameworks providing evidence-based approaches for practical application that demonstrates how…

Background: Since about 2010 e-learning has been embedded in educational practice and has become, surely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, increasingly important. Objectives: Although much has been written about e-learning, little is known about crucial didactic and pedagogical design principles for e-learning. This review tried to fill that gap.…

Given the immense role of the student-centred approach in enhancing students learning, this study explores the role of academic freedom in implementing a student-centred approach. To achieve this objective, the study relies on a qualitative case study research design. In this regard, semi-structured interviews and observation were employed as data…

This study explores how online instructors use different instructional strategies to engage learners, and the active learning indicators that they look for among their students. Additionally, it examines how modality--synchronous versus asynchronous--and instructor learner-centeredness relate to instructional strategy choices. Using a mixed…

Tertiary mathematics educators have been shifting towards an active learning approach to teaching. Many external factors support or hinder their transition towards evidence-based instructional practices, including, of recent international interest, the physical learning spaces. In this study in the U.S., I observed and interviewed instructors of…

Higher education institutions are increasingly looking to implement online and distance learning (ODL) options for students. Professional development for the design of ODL is needed to support these strategies. This study explores how, in what ways, and to what extent, design for ODL approaches from a series of Learning Design & Course…

The Student Participation Observation Tool (SPOT) is a web-based classroom observation protocol developed for higher education STEM courses and based on research on evidence-based practices. The low-inference and objective nature of the SPOT and visual outputs make it an optimal tool for teaching professional development. The SPOT allows novice…

The traditional teaching style in higher education is didactic. However, the current literature states that student learning improves when they are active players in the process, triggering the move to implement active learning within the curriculum. In accordance, Monash University (an Australian research-intensive university) introduced the…

Industry 4.0 advancements in technology are creating a dynamic and fast changing world that affects how we live and work. Educators need to rethink existing teaching approaches to better prepare learners for future careers that Industry 4.0 will create. The World Economic Forum defined a new education model, called Education 4.0, which contains…

Most of the contemporary critiques of university teaching are variants of a central argument that sets up a polarity between socalled 'traditional' teaching, often termed 'teacher-centred' and 'transmissive', and approaches that by contrast are considered 'student-centred', often also referred to with the phrase 'active learning'. This editorial…

Teaching with technology is the pillar of online Higher Education pedagogy. However, it remains unclear if and how online teaching practices influence the development of students' soft skills and the role of caring teaching in this process. To address this gap, this study examined the relationship between the domains of the Technological…