Feature article

Embracing generative AI as a co-design partner for designing and developing courses

Generative AI is here to stay, so what opportunities are there for educational developers and learning designers to leverage it as a partner when designing courses?

Richard McInnes

University of Adelaide

Using co-creation to make young people equal research partners

Based on her experience developing a youth panel, Kathryn Woods-Townsend explains how her team collaborated with, employed and learned from the teenagers who are their lived-experience experts

Kathryn Woods-Townsend

University of Southampton

Help students make the most of studying overseas at branch campuses and beyond

Chris Pirie offers advice on how to run a smooth international student exchange programme

Chris Pirie

Heriot-Watt University

A young woman looking happy as she works at a laptop

A reflexive writing workshop to enhance engagement with learning

Reflexive writing workshops can help boost students’ interest and motivation in relation to their studies. Aspasia Eleni Paltoglou explains how these can work

Aspasia Eleni Paltoglou

Manchester Metropolitan University

How to make your university more neurodiverse friendly

With one in seven people in the UK being neurodiverse, a group of lecturers and students from Arden University lists ways in which universities can better cater to neurodiverse students

Finola Farrant, Emma Owen

Arden University

Student ambassadors, key players in widening participation

How to design and run an effective student ambassador programme to support widening participation initiatives

Ellie Nik

University of Technology Sydney

Two male Asian students in a lecture theatre

The art of bringing humour into the classroom

A laugh or smile can lighten a lecture and make students more willing to speak up in class. Here are tips for using this nuanced, subjective tool in your teaching

Cheong Fan

Macau University of Science and Technology

Alumni as a benchmark of student success

Three focal areas by which universities can track student success by looking at what graduates go on to do after completing their courses

Adeola Matthew

The University of the West Indies

Tips for applying universal design for learning in healthcare practice placements

Ailish Malone and Fiona Daly offer tips on implementing UDL in the busy and variable environment of students’ practical placements

Ailish Malone, Fiona Daly

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

Robot and human connecting over light globe

Universities, AI and the common good

Higher education must find paths for meaningful engagement with artificial intelligence, to leverage its potential, explain the problems and mitigate the hazards, writes Rajani Naidoo

Rajani Naidoo

University of Bath

Seven questions about storytelling in the classroom

Ng Lee Keng explains why and how telling stories in class can transform student engagement and make your lessons more interesting

Ng Lee Keng

Singapore Institute of Technology

How can universities disrupt the gender investment gap?

Engaging with stakeholders beyond higher education and debunking myths around women and innovation can open spin-out opportunities to more women, writes Simonetta Manfredi

Simonetta Manfredi

Oxford Brookes University

Six lessons from facilitating a formalised mentoring programme

An institutional formalised mentoring scheme can offer invaluable career guidance for early- and mid-career academics. Here, based on 15 years of managing a programme for academic staff, Karen Mather offers her key takeaways

Karen Mather

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

The benefits of having a web presence as an early career researcher

If you can be easily found online, you’re more likely to raise your research profile, receive media requests, get involved in peer review – or even just get nice emails from the public, writes Ashleigh Johnstone

Ashleigh Johnstone

Arden University

Inclusivity versus devotion to the cult of STEM

Is an underlying global STEM culture of devotion getting in the way of a more inclusive academy, asks Andrew Pye

Andrew Pye

The University of Exeter

Brainstorming in the university classroom

Brainstorming can breathe new life into your classes

In education, brainstorming has been regarded mostly as a classroom engagement tool, but it can be so much more than that, says Mattia Miani

Mattia Miani

The University of Nottingham Ningbo China

A diverse group of people representing different potential students

Bring your learners to life through personas

Understanding your learners and their needs enables you to develop more engaging courses, and personas are a great tool to help you achieve this, as Andrés Ordorica explains

Andrés Ordorica

The University of Edinburgh

Engaging students with careers resources early and often

Here’s how career centres can reach out to students before they’ve even set foot on campus, and why it matters for their future job search and development

Amaka Nwoko, Widalys Santiago, Davia Woulard

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

A young woman recording herself presenting on camera

Life after publication: promote your work for maximum impact

Seeing your work in print is by no means the end of the story. Chris Tancock offers advice on how you can make your published work stand out and benefit from the broadest visibility

Christopher Tancock

Elsevier

Why micro-mentoring works for Generation Z

Breaking the support experience into bite-size exchanges does more to increase younger students’ appetite to keep going than the traditional one-to-one mentoring model

Raphaella Prange

Maryville University

Move student communication from passive to active using ‘I like, I wish, I wonder’

Rebeca Elizabeth Alvarado Ramírez introduces a methodology that encourages effective communication in digital learning processes

Rebeca Elizabeth Alvarado Ramírez

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Life cycle assessment depicted by icons on wooden balls.

Circular impact: a call to action for research on grand societal challenges

How to enact a ‘circular’ approach to research and impact so outcomes feed back into the work to inform ongoing planning and improvement

Ryan Nolan

The University of Exeter, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

Pathways to prosperity in casual academia

The journey from adjunct to permanent requires adaptability, foresight and self-awareness. Here, Andrew Stapleton offers tips – such as diversifying skills, strategic branding and mobility – to enhance an academic career

Andrew Stapleton

Independent academic

How can generative AI intersect with Bloom’s taxonomy?

Like in a video game, AI allows us to jump multiple levels, but that doesn’t mean the much-used framework becomes obsolete – we might just need a new approach

Christine Rivers, Anna Holland

University of Surrey

Aerial view of students sitting on steps

Perfect doesn’t exist and other lessons from developing a whole-university well-being strategy

Challenges to staff and student well-being are part of university life, regardless of how much support is in place. But iterative strategies can improve the entire community’s experience, write Ben Goose and Cassie Wilson

Ben Goose, Cassie Wilson

University of Bath

Using active learning to increase student engagement and understanding

Creating an active learning environment in a large group setting is challenging. Ingrid Sierp shares ways to increase engagement, encourage attendance and gauge understanding in real time

Ingrid Sierp

University of Adelaide

A woman working at her laptop in her kitchen

Free your content! A guide to creating sustainable open licensed media

A guide to creating teaching and learning materials as open educational resources that can be shared and reused by all

Lorna Campbell

The University of Edinburgh

International students showing off their national flags

How to support more international student applications

UK universities can increase their appeal for international students with better transparency and support through the application and enrolment process, Christina Matthews explains

Christina Matthews

Aston University

Male Asian student making heart symbol with his hands

Teaching from the heart in 13 steps

Engaging your students through empathy requires teachers to share their own stories and vulnerabilities and foster a safe space for learning. Here, Beiting He offers 13 ways to create a caring classroom

Beiting He

Macau University of Science and Technology

Using film to prompt discussion in legal studies

Movies and television programmes can challenge students’ perceptions and enrich their understanding of the law. But designing an effective module requires more than a must-watch list, writes Michael Randall

Michael Randall

University of Strathclyde

How ‘service learning’ can improve outcomes for students, educators and local communities

A guide to using service learning, in which students oversee projects in the community, to enhance theoretical classroom teaching

Tachagorn Chansema

Siam University

Collaborating with artificial intelligence? Use your metacognitive skills

Metacognition in humans holds the key to ‘collaborative intelligence’ – making the most effective use of the complementary strengths of human and artificial intelligence

Claire Mason, Sidra, Andrew Reeson, Cécile Paris

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

A look back over 10 years of Moocs

Lessons learned over a decade of developing and delivering massive open online courses (Moocs)

Melissa Highton

The University of Edinburgh

Asian student reading and studying at home for flipped classroom

Show students that the flipped classroom is much more than self-directed learning

Tan Bhing Leet provides three suggestions to help educators maximise the benefits of flipped classrooms

Tan Bhing Leet

Singapore Institute of Technology

Mother congratulates daughter on university admission

It’s time to change the narrative on affirmative action

Public institutions are doing the heavy lifting of levelling the playing field, writes Jonathan Koppell, so let’s amplify access-oriented institutions as instruments of social mobility and equity

Jonathan Koppell

Montclair State University

Four strategies that rethink whole-group discussions

A guide to organising class discussions in different formats so that all students feel able to participate, based on insight from Harvard educators

Jeremy T. Murphy , Meira Levinson

College of the Holy Cross, Harvard University

Online teachers need professional development, too

Teacher presence significantly influences students’ engagement, satisfaction and learning. So educators need professional development focused on adjusting their classroom teaching skills to online learning environments

Jay Cohen, Andrew Vincent

La Trobe University, Australian Catholic University

Universities need to show – not just tell – students what they stand for

Modern institutions must adjust their recruitment approaches from data-driven to values-driven and realise the importance of putting people, not spreadsheets, first, says Dan Barcroft

Dan Barcroft

University of Sheffield

A guide to evaluating and managing climate risks to universities

In the third part of their series, Rob Wilby and Shona Smith explain how universities can determine their climate risk exposure, then identify actions to reduce associated threats to people, property and operations

Robert Wilby, Shona Smith

Loughborough University, University of Leeds

Supported social groups and student belonging: how do I get started?

Connecting students who share a lived experience such as bereavement, family estrangement or loneliness can help to foster a sense of community and belonging at university, explains Hannah Moore

Hannah Moore

University of Bath

How to promote primary interest in basic medical education at the undergraduate level

A major challenge for educators is to present the theoretical beauty of medicine to students who have a broad spectrum of prior experience, ability and motivation – whether their interest is clinical or theoretical

Attila Mócsai

Semmelweis University

The benefits of leveraging student interest groups

Kelly Lam shares how universities can work with student interest groups to add value to the university and aid student development

Kelly Lam

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Young women campaigning for more action on climate change

A practical approach to tackling eco-anxiety

We induce eco-anxiety by teaching students about climate change, so training them in practical and achievable solutions to it are needed, too, write Helen Hicks and Dawn Lees

Helen Hicks, Dawn Lees

The University of Exeter

How to encourage students to engage in the broader university offering

Getting involved in campus life beyond the classroom brings multiple benefits for students, so how can universities encourage greater participation in the range of activities on offer?

Irina Shcheglova

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Muslim student working on engineering project

How to work with industry in mutually beneficial ways

Collaboration through professional societies offers students real-world learning opportunities and universities a way to enhance graduate employability. Here’s how to do it

Ali Zwain

Al-Mustaqbal University

An eviction notice on a student's rented accomodation

Food insecurity and homelessness affect all our campuses. Here’s what we should do about it

Nearly a quarter of undergraduate students will experience food and housing insecurity in the US. Sara Goldrick-Rab suggests ways faculty and institutions can intervene before it’s too late

Sara Goldrick-Rab

Education Northwest

The scramble to push students towards internships is troubling

With employability at all costs now dominating HE, we seem to be ignoring the very real problems of a system built on free labour and work placements, says Anne Hewitt

Anne Hewitt

University of Adelaide

A white male academic talking to a young Black female student

Tips and tricks for impactful reverse mentoring

How to structure and manage effective reverse mentoring programmes which can bring benefits for participants and the wider sector

Rachael O’Connor

University of Leeds

Nudge technology can help students re-engage

Early-intervention initiatives to tackle student disengagement can be challenging to implement. A centralised, targeted approach using a communication nudge can encourage students to re-engage with online learning

Ellie Kay

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

Practical tips for designing activities using ChatGPT

Including generative AI in students’ learning is still in its early stages. Agustín Rodríguez Hernández provides general considerations he has picked up thus far

Agustín Rodríguez Hernández

Tecnológico de Monterrey

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