Both attitude and previous experiences play a large role in shaping a student's approach to and achievement in a given subject. Similarly, students' enjoyment of their learning experiences is an important factor in determining their retention in their course of choice. Here, we explore the attitudes toward the study of chemistry amongst a cohort…

COVID-19 has affected university students' learning experiences on a great scale. The aim of this study was to understand the enablers and barriers to the effectiveness of online learning in a university course during the COVID-19 pandemic, using a qualitative case study approach. Participants were 44 first-year university students enrolled in a…

In Australia, a significant number of students enrol in first-year university biology without the benefit of high school biology. In order to help students support each other, the authors of this paper (a central unit academic developer and a biology coordinator of first-year biology) created a classroom activity that facilitated the distribution…

Writing from sources is an important academic skill but students find it a difficult skill to learn. The lesson study method was used to design and evaluate learning and teaching strategies aimed at improving students' writing from sources skills. The team developed a seven-part lesson plan and associated learning activities and practice…

This paper reports on the evaluation of an ambitious attempt to embed academic literacy support within a core content course for first-year students at the University of the South Pacific. The course is offered in both blended and online modes, catering for on-campus and off-campus students, respectively, using Moodle as the virtual learning…

Research involving student and tutor responses to a "pedagogy of the heart" approach in a first year university health science topic revealed anxiety, insecurity and perceptions of unpredictability in relation to an innovative arts-based assignment designed to elicit and assess experiential or imaginal knowledge. Using the lens of…

There is an abundance of literature on the importance of teamwork in undergraduate degrees; how to teach it, how to assess it and how to manage it. However, there is also much recorded about students' dislike of teamwork, especially where an early experience is unsatisfactory and builds resistance against such assessment. Accordingly, despite the…

This paper considers the two-year-long process of redesigning Art Theory: Modernism, the initial core art theory course at The University of Newcastle in Australia, with the aim of increasing the academic engagement of first year fine art students. First year students are particularly vulnerable to dropping out if they feel disengaged from the…

Purpose: A picture is worth a thousand words. Multimedia teaching materials have been widely adopted by teachers in Physics, Biotechnology, Psychology, Religion, Analytical Science, and Economics nowadays. To assist with engaging students in their economic study, increase learning efficiency and understanding, solve misconception problems,…

Literature pertaining to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) is growing but there are few studies dealing with disciplinary differences. The SoTL relating to History is a recently emerging development. But what use is SoTL for History if it can not be translated into improving teaching practice? This paper examines the process of…

Focused freewriting, broadly defined as writing without stopping and editing about a specific topic, has been viewed and used as a powerful tool for developing student writing in a wide spectrum of educational contexts. This study aimed to further explore the use of focused freewriting in the context of promoting students' academic skills…