Feature article

Group of international students’ showing their national flags

In support of international students’ journey through higher education

International students embark on a challenging personal and educational journey when they enrol overseas. Fiona S. Baker outlines support inside and outside the classroom that can help them succeed

Fiona S. Baker

Durham University

What’s next for AI in higher education?

From assessment to ethics and job security, a new Jisc report highlights AI’s challenges and successes and provides insight into upcoming developments

Michael Webb

Jisc

Address STEM inequality by reconceiving merit

The cultural yardsticks used to measure merit in STEM are warped with bias and often devalue women, people of colour and LGBTQ+ scientists with records equal to white heterosexual male peers. To fix STEM inequality, academia must reconceive merit

Mary Blair-Loy , Erin A. Cech

University of California San Diego , University of Michigan

Podcast starter kit: what you need to get recording and posting now

Podcasting is like chess – easy to begin and hard to master. Here are the basics about equipment, software and hosting sites to get you off to the best possible start

John Weldon

Victoria University

Image showing collaboration between doctoral students and supervisors

Co-creation: how to find the ‘super’ in supervision

Co-creation can bring together research supervisors and doctoral students to unpick the tensions and challenges in the supervisory relationship and seek solutions, researchers from the University of Warwick explain

Elena Riva, Louise Gracia, Rebecca Limb

The University of Warwick

Inclusion of thought v inclusion of feelings: a showdown

In the pursuit of inclusivity, should we adjust what we teach to include students’ sensitivities or expose them to the full range of serious ideas? asks Arif Ahmed

Arif Ahmed

University of Cambridge

Don’t be cruel: how to write a fair peer review report

Not every comment in a peer review report will be positive, but it is possible to highlight weaknesses and errors in a journal article while being constructive. After all, behind every manuscript are authors who have ploughed time and effort into the submission

Sin Wang Chong, Shannon Mason

The University of Edinburgh, Nagasaki University

A step-by-step guide to implementing an agile curriculum

Flexible, innovative and creative, agile curricula offer many advantages over traditional approaches – here’s how to get started, says Olufunke Aluko-Daniels

Olufunke Aluko-Daniels

University of Huddersfield

Creative projects as a way of bringing students together

An institution-wide creative project is an opportunity for students to make friends and learn from one another, writes Karen Amanda Harris. Here, she shares tips for developing an extracurricular language-art project

Karen Amanda Harris

University of the Arts London

There are many simple, free tools in a lecturer's arsenal for making lectures more inclusive

Tips for new lecturers on the human elements that make students feel included

Forget constructive alignment and instructional scaffolding, things like saying ‘hello’ and being encouraging are the real key to good, inclusive lectures, says Andy Grayson

Andy Grayson

Nottingham Trent University

Student-led knowledge exchange using Wikipedia

Challenging students to draft or enhance Wikipedia entries is an effective way to develop their subject knowledge, research and writing skills, as Adrian Man-Ho Lam explains

Adrian Man-Ho Lam

The University of Hong Kong

Block to the future: why block scheduling has taken so long to catch on

Block teaching has been around since the mid-noughties, but those short-lived early trials were ahead of the curve. Simon Thomson and Carl Flattery explore why block planning might finally be having its day

Carl Flattery, Simon Thomson

Leeds Beckett University, The University of Manchester

Universities need bigger and better data on the promotions process

The promotion process needs bigger, better data if we’re to make it fairer

Enough of the tiny sample sizes at institutional level – if we want to identify the issues that hold back careers, we need sector-wide figures and cooperation

Patrick Bailey

London South Bank University

Image showing people engaging through social media communications

Why universities in emerging countries should invest in social media marketing

Why should higher education institutions in emerging countries invest in social media rather than flashy marketing campaigns to develop brand credibility and brand equity? Charitha Harshani Perera, Rajkishore Nayak, and Long Thang Van Nguyen explain

Charitha Harshani Perera, Rajkishore Nayak, Long Thang Van Nguyen

Northumbria University, RMIT University Vietnam

Illustration of student career development and Lego

How block teaching supports students from under-represented groups

Shorter, more immersive units are helping raise attainment and success for students with complex and diverse needs

Thomas Roche, Liz Goode, Erica Wilson

Southern Cross University

illustration of written and online resumes

ECRs can still evidence leadership and management skills on their CVs

Even when you’ve ‘just’ been a postdoc, the key is correctly labelling your skills and experience so potential employers understand what you bring to the table

Emma Williams

EJW Solutions

It is time to bring back peace studies

Recent world events point towards the need for a commitment to peace at every level of society, writes Annelise Riles, as she explains how universities can promote peace-making and related skills through teaching, research and collaboration

Annelise Riles

Northwestern University

Image depicting a story emerging from the pages of a book

The transformative potential of narrative writing explained

Narrative writing is one way academics can meaningfully communicate their work to the public but it can be hard to master. Steven Beschloss shares a guide to improve narrative writing skills

Steven Beschloss

Arizona State University

Academics and lecturers should not conflate interesting with entertaining

Beware the pitfalls of making lectures ‘interesting’ and focus on curiosity instead

Conflating ‘interesting’ with ‘entertaining’ and getting caught in a never-ending loop of shinier and shinier edutainment should be shunned in favour of cultivating sustained interest

Lee Li Neng

National University of Singapore

Lessons in running workshops to train students in basic electronics

Workshops that train pre-university students in open-source electronics and programming platform Arduino can broaden access to and knowledge of readily available technology. Here‘s a guide for how to design them

Jorge N. Gutiérrez

Technological University of Uruguay (UTEC)

Gamification brings great benefit to online university classes but has negatives too

Next level? The pros and cons of game-based learning

Using gamification in the classroom can work wonders for engagement, but does it come at too great a cost to deep thinking, asks Frederik van Dam

Frederik van Dam

Radboud University

Go green, AI!

Can artificial intelligence be as green as it is integral to solving complex problems? As universities integrate courses on AI into different fields, they also need to show students its risks and costs, particularly for the environment

Inès Chihi, Inma Peral

University of Luxembourg

Many academics are far more comfortable using new tech than previously thought

It may be time to rethink the ‘edtech adoption curve’

A new survey of higher ed faculty reveals more early adopters of edtech than previously thought, says Nicole Barbaro

Nicole Barbaro

WGU Labs

What ‘norms’ support successful learning design collaborations?

How to promote consistency of processes and expectations among university course designers and external edtech providers, explained by Rae Mancilla and Nadine Hamman in the third part of a series looking at strategies for successful learning design partnerships

Rae Mancilla , Nadine Hamman

University of Pittsburgh, University of Cape Town

Awaken your students’ interest in your online course

Are you struggling to motivate students in your online class? Angeles Carolina Aguirre-Acosta provides strategies to generate greater motivation and participation

Angeles Carolina Aguirre-Acosta

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Image depicting the need for the public to understand evidence and fact

How to improve the public understanding of evidence

The ability to critically analyse information and differentiate fact from fiction is a skill needed far beyond higher education. So how can academics trained in evaluating evidence engage the wider public in this important process?

Rebecca Dewey

University of Nottingham, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

How universities should tackle EDI and anti-racism work

How to support EDI work at departmental and institutional level

Yaz Osho explains how universities can translate a stated commitment to EDI and anti-racist work into practical, operational delivery

Yaz Osho

University of Westminster

Image representing critical analysis of research

Great citations: how to avoid referencing questionable evidence

Researchers don’t always stick to careful citation practices and occasionally cite evidence that has been questioned or even retracted. Find practical tips on how to avoid citing faulty evidence and maintain good citation hygiene

Dmitry Malkov

Elsevier

Image depicting barriers to digital access

How to improve digital accessibility at your institution

Actions institutions can take to improve the digital accessibility of their websites and online materials and comply with relevant legislation, by Baba Sheba

Baba Sheba

St George’s, University of London

Anxious students can be helped in the university classroom by using tech and empathy

Using tech (and a little empathy) to help anxious students

Amber Phillips shares some high- and low-tech tips for supporting anxious students and improving inclusivity in the post-pandemic physical classroom

Amber Phillips

University of the West of England Bristol

The rise and rise of the lecture-tainer

Falling class attendance and shorter student attention spans present challenges for university teachers. Sandi Mann offers advice for tackling the boredom conundrum

Sandi Mann

University of Central Lancashire

The evolving meaning of ‘corresponding authorship’ in research

How the role of the corresponding author is changing in terms of research team dynamics and the perception of its meaning, and the implications for assuming the role

Rachel Herbert, Alison McIntosh

Elsevier, University of St Andrews

Academics and students should not require rhino-thick skin to succeed

Being inclusive also means remembering not everyone has rhino-thick skin

The way we give feedback, from the undergraduate essay right through to peer review, provides opportunities to unconsciously exclude people, says Hugh Kearns

Hugh Kearns

Flinders University

Outside in: use your students’ curiosity to invigorate your teaching

Breaking up the classroom routine with field trips and visiting experts is an essential teaching tool. Here’s how university educators can use physical and virtual resources to make lessons more engaging

M. C. Zhang, Aliana Leong

Macau University of Science and Technology

An exciting project to guide students to cultural self-definition

Everyone, at some point, experiences conflicting representations of their culture. Stone Meredith explains how to explore those conflicts in your classroom

Stone Meredith

Colorado State University Global

Animation showing students working together to answer a question

Tech tools that boost student engagement through competition and interaction

Digital tools that promote interaction and competition in class can have notable benefits to learning, as Yuyang Zhao explains, based on her use of quizzes

Yuyang Zhao

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Using comic books can be a great way to teach complex topics to university students

Picture this! Teaching difficult concepts through comics

David Brown and Mark Giancaspro explain how they use visualisation to maximise engagement and student success when teaching complex topics

Mark Giancaspro , David Brown

Adelaide University

The role of peer mentoring in the design and development of online learning

Peer mentoring is an effective way to support faculty in the development and delivery of quality online courses. Jonathan Muir explains when and how best to use it

Jonathan Muir

University of Leeds

Yes, online learning can teach you to think

The idea that online learning ‘doesn’t teach people to think’, which was suggested by one of our peers recently, is short-sighted and false

Valerie Wood, Laura Shannon

Queen's University

Image showing one person striding off with a crowd following

Build your teaching presence to better engage students

A strong ‘presence’ in the classroom can help imbue students with a passion for your subject and willingness to learn. Catherine Wehlburg explores simple ways to enhance teaching presence

Catherine Wehlburg

Athens State University

Peer review is frustrating and flawed – here’s how we can fix it

What would peer review 2.0 look like? Mark Humphries offers ways to optimise the process for better efficiency and research outcomes

Mark Humphries

University of Nottingham

Academic research and publishing can be difficult to navigate for early career researchers

Are you ready to publish? Top tips on how to prepare your manuscript

From explaining the publishing cycle to outlining what makes a strong manuscript, Jing Tang walks ECRs through key steps when preparing to publish for the first time

Jing Tang

Elsevier

A student watching a lecture online at home

Strategies to motivate students in asynchronous learning

The self-directed nature of asynchronous learning makes it easy for students to disengage. Guhuai Jiang and Jiayu Zhou offer strategies that boost students’ motivation when working on their own

Guhuai Jiang , Jiayu Zhou

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

What is tenure in higher education – and how to get it

For many scholars, permanent employment is the light at the end of a years-long tunnel. Here, Henry Reichman explains the US tenure system and why it is key to protecting academic freedom

Henry Reichman

California State University, East Bay

Russia’s intellectual isolation presents opportunities for Central Asian HE

Major universities in this region are now uniquely positioned to build new international partnerships with academic institutions that have lost access to Russia

Daniel Scarborough

Nazarbayev University

Image of medical students being taught using a mannequin patient

Assessing science students’ practical skills – can we learn from healthcare education?

Healthcare educators have developed effective ways to assess a range of practical skills in their learners. What can other science educators learn from their example?

Derek Scott

University of Aberdeen

The US should admit Ukrainian medical students to help them rebuild their country

A caveat for recipients of such aid would be committing to moving back to Ukraine to practise after they have completed their studies

David Lenihan

Ponce Health Sciences University

Young woman pushing an older woman along in a wheelchair

An invisible minority: what is needed to support students with caring responsibilities

Students with caring responsibilities in the UK have no joined-up support. Jessica Iyamu and Ellie Brown make a call for policies to provide consistent help across all universities for this overlooked group

Jessica Iyamu, Ellie Brown

University Campus North Lincolnshire (UCNL)

socio-emotional learning, juggling emotions

Make social-emotional learning part of teaching: it’s easier than you think

These practical, achievable tips show how to incorporate social-emotional learning into everyday educational practices

Sasha Lynn, Alexandra Osika, Annemaree Carroll

The University of Queensland

Image depicting the use of technology to support teaching strategies

Use technology to hook students’ interest when teaching online

Used strategically, technology can be employed to make teaching more entertaining and engaging. Luqian Huang shares examples of how to use digital tools to support effective pedagogies

Luqian Huang

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

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