The ambiguous identity of the digital media field, the ubiquity of media, and rapid and persistent technological change and innovation pose inimitable challenges for academic programs in digital media. Digitization of media is an underlying impetus for today's rapid innovation that compels related academic programs in higher education to…

The purpose of this study was to describe the design and evolution of a unique and successful Master of Science program in anatomical sciences at one Canadian post-secondary institution and to evaluate its long-term impact on student learning. This program prepares students to teach anatomy and design curricula in the anatomical sciences and is…

In recent years, Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes and their curricula have been subjected to substantial scrutiny. However, the majority of studies have been confined to business schools in Western countries. By comparison, much less research is available on MBA programmes in developing countries, particularly those in Africa. In…

In response to calls for curricular change in foreign language programs and institutional requirements to evaluate programmatic effectiveness, this article presents a backward design approach to the redesign of an introductory French curriculum grounded in the framing concept of cultural literacy. In addition, data from student evaluations,…

The study examines the impact of the AUN-QA assessment at the programme level on quality improvement from the students' perspective. Data was collected through a survey questionnaire distributed to 439 participating students in the third and final years of the three programmes from three universities that were assessed and recognised by AUN-QA in…

Within English for Academic Purposes (EAP), writing instruction has often been of primary interest with a focus on curricula design and implementation. This especially holds true in East Asia where many universities operate EAP writing programmes. This study is located within this region, taking an inquiry stance in a small-scale case study of…

As Brian Huot and Ellen E. Schendel assert, when assessment has more than validation in mind, it "can become a means for proactive change" (208). In response to this idea of assessment as an optimistic and opportunistic enterprise, this article describes how the structural design of our "equal opportunity" writing program and…

This paper describes the result of a design study in which a geography course was developed and tested aiming to develop the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) of first-year primary student teachers. This resulted in a course called "Consciously Teaching Geography" with characteristics as (1) starting from students' preconceptions and…

Systematic changes to higher education curriculum typically occur within the extended timeframes of formal curriculum review processes. Programmes need to be reviewed periodically for internal and external accountability or to determine whether the curriculum has lost its coherence due to the accumulative effect of continual small-scale changes.…

Research on the impact of study abroad curricula on student learning is limited. In this study, data were collected from students the last day abroad and 2 weeks and 6 to 9 months after returning home from a study abroad program. Eight codes conceptualized a grounded theory of student learning during and after completion of the study abroad…

The school population in England is linguistically diverse; according to official data, over one million pupils do not speak English as their first language. All teachers are expected to support English as an additional language (EAL) development as part of their professional responsibility. At the same time, there has been little specific…

This article presents a case study that illustrates the paradigmatic shift in higher education from content-centered teaching to learning-centered academic programs. This pragmatic change, triggered by the STEM movement, calls for the introduction of success measures in the course development process. The course described in this paper illustrates…

Portfolios have long been a staple in professional writing courses: both in employment materials assignments and in entire classes that ask students to reflect on their experiential learning. Portfolios may also be used effectively in business communication teaching methods courses. This article details the justification and methodology for having…

For disciplines heavily reliant upon traditional classroom teaching, such as medicine and health sciences, incorporating new learning models may pose challenges for students and faculty. In an effort to innovate curricula, better align courses to required student learning outcomes, and address the call to redesign health professions education,…

Purpose: The EU-funded research project "Fifobi--Fit for Business--developing business competencies in school" (2009-2012) focused on the implementation of economic education in seven European countries. The purpose of the project and this paper is to investigate the current programmes that exist within the final two years of compulsory…