Calls to increase active learning, an approach that positions students in the center of their learning experience, have increased considerably in recent decades. In response, there has been substantial work to expand our understanding and implementation of active learning approaches in many educational spaces. However, much of this instructional…

The results of a 3-year fieldwork study within France's National Centre for Distance Education are presented, specifically detailing the impacts on higher education middle management overseeing curricula design for a series of French 3-year degree programs undergoing revision in how students are financially charged for the programs. Following the…

This article presents a critical reflection on how we, instructors of a graduate-level course in higher education administration, sought to integrate theoretical and subject-matter content and research methodology. Our reflection, guided by autoethnography and teacher reflection, challenged both our assumptions about curriculum design and our…

Educators have been challenged to identify threshold concepts and develop transformed students. This stands in stark contrast to many curriculum design and delivery models that currently view students as repositories of knowledge. In this article, we argue that educators can reach both goals, identify stumbling blocks and transforming students,…

Easing access to higher education (HE) for those engaging in lifelong learning has been a common policy objective across the European Union since the late 1990s. To reach this goal, the transition between vocational and academic routes must be simplified, but European countries are at different developmental stages. This article maps the…

Open distance learning is viewed as a system of learning that blends student support, curriculum and instruction design, flexibility of learning provision, removal of barriers to access, credit of prior learning, and other academic activities such as programme delivery and assessment for the purpose of meeting the diverse needs of students.…

The discipline of education is a multi-faceted system that must constantly integrate new strategies and procedures to ensure successful learning experiences. Enhancements in education provide learners with greater opportunities for growth and advancement. "Open Learning and Formal Credentialing in Higher Education: Curriculum Models and…

The 2013 US college/university policy agenda, "Making College Affordable: A Better Agenda for the Middle Class," highlighted the role of developing technologies, institutional curriculum-design processes, and new delivery methods as keys to providing quality, affordable postsecondary education. Competency-based education (CBE) is given…

In 2012, CAEL released the report "Competency-Based Degree Programs in the U.S.: Postsecondary Credentials for Measurable Student Learning and Performance," which examined the current state of competency-based postsecondary education in the U.S., profiling the various types of competency-based, or competency-focused, models that…

Today the U.S. higher education system is facing a crisis regarding its perceived quality. One model for improving quality is competency-based education, in which an institution clearly defines the specific competencies expected of its graduates. A key challenge is how to help more people, particularly adults, succeed at the post¬secondary level…

This paper explores role-play pedagogies in learning and communicating about cutting-edge flood science by flood risk management professionals in local government. It outlines role-play process/structure and evaluates participant perceptions of their learning experiences. Issues were impacts of prior role-play experience on attitudes brought to…

Seven dimensions for characterizing a curriculum in higher education are suggested. They include: prior knowledge; institutional response to prior knowledge; primary teaching mode; rates of learning; styles of learning; content openness; and assessment. This characterization is applied specifically to chemistry departments. (LBH)

Discussion of changing curricula in higher education focuses on a new curriculum design for intermedia specialists that should evolve from the more traditional field of instructional technology. The need for appropriate undergraduate and practical experience is considered, and courses that combine computer education, cognitive systems, and other…

A University of Limburg (Denmark) study investigated the effects of tutor expertise on medical student performance using curricular materials that have high or low levels of structure and that are poorly or well matched to students' levels of prior knowledge. The study found neither expert nor nonexpert tutors compensated for lack of curricular…

This report explores the development of modular education and its application in the Dutch Open University. The origins of modular education are examined from the first applications in American higher education and the development of electives and the credit system to the role of modular instruction as the basis of higher education curriculum.…