Current forms of marketisation in university systems create pressures towards purely ends-focused expectations among students and have implications for learning and assessment processes. The potential harm that these trends have on "learning" should be resisted by educators and students alike. Critical Pedagogy approaches offer one way…

Curriculum sequencing is central to promoting a coherent student experience. Yet in the higher education context, the concept and practice of curriculum sequencing have not been fully explored. This research examined how seven programme teams approached the issue of sequencing across two Irish higher education institutions. A phenomenological…

The purpose of this disquisition is to add to the body of educational research through practitioner, quantitative, and qualitative inquiry on the topic of academic debate. In a three-tiered study, the author conducted research for this dissertation with the intent to examine argumentation and debate in higher education. The settings for this…

This article focuses on one strand of community engagement: community-based learning for students. It considers in particular Interchange as a case study. Interchange is a registered charity based in, but independent of, a department in a Higher Education Institution. It brokers between undergraduate research/work projects and Voluntary Community…

At the University of Delaware there has been growth in the use of multimedia technologies to facilitate the process of learning. However, many students entering higher educational institutions today, despite growing up with access to these tools, do not use them in interesting and meaningful ways. When given the opportunity to create multimedia…

In the current digital environment, it is vital for learners to develop digital literacy skills. The UK's Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (HE) requires graduates to demonstrate digital literacy. Employers consider these skills essential. With the high cost of HE in the UK, learners themselves also expect university courses to…

This article draws on developing theory regarding assessment and marking to explore the impact of staff values regarding widening participation on grading decisions. It reports on an innovative creative arts module delivered for students with complex disabilities. Data collection included observation of teaching, interviews with staff, students…

This article discusses the processes and outcomes of an attempt to encourage academic staff to use a web-supported learning package in a UK post-1992 university. The researcher adopts an "insider" approach to research, drawing on participant observation, an analysis of policy documents and a small number of semi-structured interviews.…

The article reports on and discusses findings from a project to investigate students' perceptions and understandings of creativity as an assessment criterion within a specific context within the higher education curriculum. The study found that, although students were familiar with creativity as a requirement of course assessments across a great…

A set of instructional materials for acquisition of clinical reasoning skills through independent study has been developed that uses simulation of patient encounters and addresses both medical and psychosocial issues. Small group instruction with the materials is preferred over individual use. (MSE)

The use of the Interpersonal Communication Inventory (ICI) with urban undergraduate social work students is described. ICI measures the patterns, characteristics, and styles of communication along the dimensions of: self-concept, listening, clarity of expression, coping with angry feelings, and self-disclosure. (Author/MLW)

Intended for use by business education as well as speech communication instructors, this manual describes a unit designed to increase college students' confidence in themselves as communicators in employment interviews. The introductory section of the manual provides general objectives, instructor guidelines, and general guidelines for the unit.…

Describes the development, design, and implementation of study units for computer-assisted distance learning at the Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong that provides higher education opportunities to working adults. Discusses evaluation of the system, including questionnaire and interview results. (LRW)

A diagnostic-prescriptive teaching module on basic interviewing skills for first-year medical students is presented. The goal of the module is to help students refine interpersonal communications skills relative to the medical interview. The module provides information on the following skills: eliciting patient responses, interviewing techniques…

Describes a summer mathematics institute designed for the professional development of practicing elementary teachers who need to implement NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) standards in mathematics education. Highlights include task analysis, manipulated mathematics, computer transition activities, curriculum-based assessment, and…