Increased specialisation of disciplinary cultures creates barriers for students who may not understand the genre, style and conventions of disciplinary writing. Academic literacies research recognises that literacy is a social practice where writing is inextricably linked to knowledge construction. Learning to write, therefore, requires…

Academic Literacies elucidates how undergraduate students with diverse skillsets can effectively engage with socially constructed and discipline-specific knowledge(s) "through" writing. Over the last two decades, language specialists and education researchers have developed a robust, student-focused epistemology. However, it remains…

The purpose of this retrospective case study was to examine the implementation of peer-review practices in a doctoral dissertation proposal course. Twenty-eight doctoral candidates' perceptions of peer feedback on the dissertation writing process and themselves as academic writers were explored through our anecdotal notes from class discussions,…

Teaching and learning in higher education can integrate and accomplish student developmental goals in addition to promoting student learning of subject matter knowledge and transferrable skills. Drawn from the theoretical concept of self-authorship, the Learning Partnerships Model was implemented in teaching a graduate-level course on social…

This paper explores how strategic management concepts, especially the notion of 'wicked problems', can be useful in analysing the professional practice of teachers in higher education. The keeping of a dialogical journal with a colleague helped illuminate that strategic management and education have much in common. Both are situated in…

This study adopted a longitudinal retrospective case study approach to investigate Chinese business students' transitional learning experience in a problem-based learning (PBL) course with innovative assessment practices. The study focused on students' beliefs and strategy use in a constructively aligned PBL course for business communication.…

This paper documents the ongoing development of a framework for reflection for undergraduate learners new to the reflective process. Motivated by the gap between students' abilities and experience of reflection and the expectations of them at undergraduate level, the author experimented with a variety of approaches over a number of years. After…

The study investigated the reflective dairies and epistemological beliefs of sophomore elementary preservice teachers (PTs) who were taking a "science laboratory" course. Twenty volunteers were participated in the study. The data were collected through the reflective dairies and open-ended questions about their epistemological beliefs.…

Recent studies suggest that the quality of reflective practice being achieved in educational settings is inadequate. Our study aims to determine the level of reflection present in written student reflections in a nonprofessional undergraduate course. We also seek to explore student and instructor perspectives on the value of reflective practices.…

This article considers how course design accommodates the adaptation of L2 students into the early stages of the master's dissertation (Social Sciences and Humanities) at a UK university. I present a contrastive process-oriented analysis of two students' experiences on different courses, extracted from a 13-month ethnographic study in which…

The focus of this article is on the experiences of staff members involved in a student support programme. The experiential, social, and student-centred approaches incorporated in this programme provided not only students, but also academics with pathways to lifelong learning. Functioning in a community of practice (CoP) (with students and also…

This paper explores problem-based learning (PBL) as a vehicle for developing critical management skills and preparing students for their future careers. Using student reflections and facilitator observations the paper presents the nature of individuals' experiences with learning and teaching in a PBL setting in the management discipline. The study…

Reflective journal writing is acknowledged as a powerful method for promoting student learning in higher education contexts. Numerous scholars highlight the benefits of reflective writing and journaling for students and teachers in a wide range of teaching areas. There is however, little discussion of how reflective writing is used in teaching and…

This study looks at the fairness of assessing learning journals both as the fairness in creating a valid and robust marking process as well as how different student groups may have unfair disadvantages in performing well in reflective assessment tasks. The fairness of a marking process is discussed through reflecting on the practical process and…

This article explores the beneficial and sometimes unpredictable implications of a daily reflective writing exercise for introductory literature courses: the learning log. Pseudonymous samples of student writing, coupled with instructor commentary, gesture toward ways in which the learning log's continual implementation and modification foster a…