Critical thinking is important for higher education yet challenging to teach. Despite much research and conceptual analysis, the practice of teaching remains both difficult and contested. Studies often draw on the experiences of teachers, or research by teachers on student experiences. Here, we argue that student voice in critical thinking…

While critical thinking is widely regarded as a key outcome of higher education, research has shown that in practice it is only developed when certain conditions are in place, relating to the pedagogical approach, the nature of the curriculum and the level of challenge, amongst other factors. This article reports on findings from a four-year mixed…

This paper examines how students' employability develops during undergraduate studies at a Dutch liberal arts college compared to a conventional bachelor's programme in law at the same university. Drawing on the graduate capital model, the study focuses on six skills that enhance employability: creativity, lifelong learning, career decidedness,…

This essay challenges conventional understandings of how research methods courses are taught in the social sciences and the humanities. Currently, students in American Universities are trained in techniques on how to conduct and disseminate research. While these skills are essential, we argue that, as educators, we need to teach students to…

Research-based learning in taught courses develops the skills needed to judge knowledge sources and think critically in a post-truth world. In viewing research skills as threshold concepts, the paper argues that transforming a student cannot be a one-off event. Research capacity must build over a programme and this requires coherent research skill…

Capturing progression in students' formal knowledge and employability skills is essential in higher education but evokes questions concerning how to assess and monitor progression. While methods for capturing students' formal knowledge progression have traditionally been at the forefront, methods for capturing employability skills have been less…

This article examines the challenges experienced by students when developing referencing practices. There has been minimal research into students' development of their referencing skills, with referencing often considered a mechanistic skill and not worthy of attention. This paper argues that, rather, referencing is an area of practice imbued with…

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…

In order to self-regulate, students need to honestly reflect on their learning and to take appropriate corrective action. A simple procedure to cultivate student skills in self-regulated learning, known as the Task Evaluation and Reflection Instrument for Student Self-Assessment (TERISSA) is discussed in this paper. TERISSA guides students through…

Most Australian Universities offer a selection of research-intensive pathways at the graduate level, which provides opportunities for independent inquiry and intellectual autonomy. Undergraduate students, however, are somewhat short-changed in their experience in research. They are exposed to a variety of areas and disciplines, which forms a…

In this paper, I advocate for enhancing critical thinking skill development in undergraduate education by taking advantage of the increased experiential maturity of today's students. I argue that many undergraduates are in fact "adults", by virtue of their age or experiential maturity, and they should be educated as such. Undergraduates who have…

The paper draws on an extensive literature search about the 'research-teaching nexus', insights from interviewing twelve university history lecturers about student progress in undergraduate degrees, and ideas about the role of disciplines in student learning to argue (i) that the educational goal for students of 'becoming a practising historian'…