The "Excellence in Assessment" (EIA) designation's purpose has been to recognize institutions of higher education that demonstrate an ability to integrate assessment practices throughout the institution, provide evidence of student learning outcomes, and use assessment results to guide decision-making and improve student performance.…

This account of practice tells the story of how engaging in a critical action learning set helped us address problems with student engagement in a postgraduate module. On the surface, this seems fairly straightforward following Revans' model (1971). However, what we actually have are multiple layers of self-reflection, a visual metaphor and its…

When engaging in community-based research, it is important to consider ethical research practices throughout the project. While current research practices require many investigators to obtain approval from an ethics review board before starting a project, more is required to ensure that ethical principles are applied once the investigations begin…

Being happy both at home and at work means we are not just cheerier, but more clear-eyed and effective at what we do. But happiness takes practice and ongoing contemplation. In this inventive new book--part professional development resource, part personal journal--educator, author, and podcaster Suzanne Dailey contends that "small shifts…

Pre-service teachers play a crucial role in fostering critical thinking among students to enhance their effectiveness in the 21st century. This systematic review examines 43 empirical studies to gain deeper insights into the concept of critical thinking in teacher education. We identified two primary definitions of critical thinking: the logical…

Curriculum matters far more than most people realize. In this booklet the author shares foundational and fundamental curriculum concerns that teachers should consider and build upon in the hope that they can regain their rightful position of curricular experts. Practice-oriented versions of scholarly matters (not watered-down ones) are what…

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore self-reported growth areas during Fall 2020 in a sample of undergraduate juniors and seniors. Participants and methods: Undergraduate students (N = 124, 65% female, 78% white) completed an online survey responding to the following question, "Reflecting back on Fall 2020, how have you grown…

Critical thinking is embedded in national university graduate outcomes and included in international bodies' statements on higher education. At the same time, there are tensions surrounding critical thinking in higher education, such as its commodification, Eurocentrism, and relationship to rapidly digitalising cultures. Drawing from the…

Purpose: Expanding on Harris and Sinclair (2014, p. 5) claim that "the writing of a play is an act of inquiry", this paper aims to consider the joyful entanglements, messiness and friction-led use of creative methods within the context of a PhD in education studies. Design/methodology/approach: Amplifying the voices of both doctoral…

Emotion is essential for learning, but brain evidence shows how not all emotional engagement is equivalent. New research by Mary Helen Immordino-Yang and the research team at the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning, and Education finds that adolescents' dispositions toward emotionally engaged "transcendent…

Background: Vocal music education is a skill-oriented course. Students not only need to improve their skills through repeated practice, but also need to learn self-reflection on their singing skills to achieve improvement in their vocal music performance. To promote students' reflection, previous studies have introduced peer assessment (PA) in…

An imaginary divide exists between academic affairs and student affairs, fueled by disagreements over responsibility for the educational mission of a university. Some in academic affairs doubt the capability of student affairs professionals to promote rigorous learning, because student affairs is often viewed as the realm outside of the classroom.…

This article engages in an examination of reflecting upon a researcher's honesties within the context of conducting an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The purpose of this article is to outline how a researcher's reflexivity and awareness of emotions is central to IPA research which investigates Further Education practitioners' lived…

This dissertation examines the transformative potential of reflective practice in student assessment and feedback, while also developing tools to gain a nuanced understanding of teacher feedback dispositions and practices. It outlines the development and refinement of three novel tools: the Reflective Classroom Assessment Protocol (ReCAP), the…

As a case study that consists of two parts, this research investigates how a pro-c class expert artist thinks and acts during art making, paying special attention to exploratory behaviors and task completion processes. In Part 1 of this case study, we videoed an artist's authentic creative process in his studio. We interviewed him about his…