The practice of combining digital and face-to-face elements into blended learning courses is becoming the new normal in higher education and offers a promising learning format. While studies on the effects of blended learning have so far focused mostly on the online components of the blends, the success of blended learning also rests on the…

Predictors of student academic success do not always replicate well across different learning designs, subject areas, or educational institutions. This suggests that characteristics of a particular discipline and learning design have to be carefully considered when creating predictive models in order to scale up learning analytics. This study…

Ill-structured problem solving is widely believed to promote learning in higher education but its multiplicity (i.e. multiple solutions and evaluation criteria) is often seen as a challenge to manage. This study shows that the multiplicity can be managed as well as leveraged to enhance learning effectiveness through online co-creation. Three…

This study endeavors to identify ways to promote a productive learning culture in higher education. Specifically, we sought to encourage development of internal values in students' culture of learning and examine how this can promote their understanding of scientific content. Set in a high enrollment undergraduate biology course, we designed a…

In higher education learning environments, critical thinking is often an assumed skill; however, many students require explicit support to effectively achieve in this area. This research focuses on the application of scaffolded learning experiences to promote reflection and critical thinking in a post-graduate educational leadership course. It…

The literature on interdisciplinary higher education is influenced by two overall trends: one looks at the institutional level of specially designed interdisciplinary institutions, while the other assesses individual interdisciplinary educational activities. Much less attention is given to the processes of creating interdisciplinary education…

Group learning activities (GLAs) are commonly used curriculum activities in teacher education. The aim of this study was to determine which components of GLAs students perceive as significant for their learning. Student teachers from six Dutch universities of applied sciences completed a survey about GLAs they participated in. Findings show that…

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is widely considered instrumental in equipping new graduates with the required employability skills to function effectively in the work environment. Evaluation of WIL programs in enhancing skill development remains predominantly outcomes-focused with little attention to the process of what, how and from whom students…

This paper describes the impacts of work-integrated learning (WIL) curriculum components on general employability skills--professional work-readiness, self-efficacy and team skills. Regression analyses emphasise the importance of the "authenticity" of WIL placements for the development of these generic outcomes. Other curricula factors…

With rising vocational expectations of higher education, universities are increasingly promoting themselves as preparing students for future professional lives. This makes it timely to ask what makes professionalism meaningful to students. In addressing this question, we first identify aspects of professionalism that might represent appropriate…

This study investigated the impact of students' conceptions of constructivist learning activities on academic achievement and drop-out. Although constructivism represents an influential view of learning, studies investigating how students conceptualize this perspective have not been conducted before. A structural equation modelling approach was…

While in some higher education contexts a separation of teaching and summative assessment is assumed to be self-evident, in other contexts the opposite is regarded to be obvious. In this article the different arguments supporting either position are analyzed. Based on a systematic literature review, arguments for and against are classified at the…

The article argues that we make best use of learning technologies if we begin with an understanding of educational problems, and use this analysis to target the solutions we should be demanding from technology. The focus is to address the issue from the perspective of teachers and lecturers (the "teaching community"), and to consider how…

This article investigates the "preferred learning styles" and their relationship with grades for students undertaking sports-related undergraduate programmes at a higher education institution in the UK. Preferred "learning styles" in students in this discipline have been identified as auditory, kinaesthetic and group, although…

This study surveyed the time taken on learning activities by students enrolled in five Open University, distance-taught mathematics and computing courses. Students averaged an hour on each activity, more time overall than expected by course designers. Students motivated to learn the material spent more time than those motivated to merely pass the…