Teaching and learning

Australian incident could reflect exasperation at ‘spike’ in misconduct detections

Practitioners have a lot to teach students, but the value of research training should not be dismissed lightly, says Sam Christie

Long-standing cost pressures exacerbated by the pandemic swamping Canberra’s efforts to mould university efforts to economic needs

Essay mills’ opportunism, preying on student anxiety about online assessment methods, strengthens the case for legislation, says Douglas Blackstock

Review says stall in the rise of firsts and widespread commitment to ‘statement of intent’ is already protecting degree standards

Murdoch gives the language another year and backs away from proposal to sideline some academics from research

Pandemic or no pandemic, academics should try to find time for regular rethinking of their curricula and methods, says Jessica Johnson 

Project shows that when students compare their work with others, it is more effective than lecturers providing comments

Australian analysis uncovers marked improvement in student performance but marginal and mixed impacts on satisfaction

THE’s new Careers Clinic series brings together the great and the good of higher education to answer a burning careers question

Institution aims to end national reluctance to ask about racial and ethnic identity, with other universities across the country showing interest in following suit

Professionalising university teaching and changing incentive structures are the first steps, says Steven Mintz

Survey of UK-based undergraduates reveals fears over spring term restart despite overall satisfaction with universities’ handling of Covid-19 pandemic

Evidence suggests that different personality types are drawn to – and excel at – teaching and research, says John Dreijmanis

Opposition, however, may be less about format and more about resource shortages

Inevitable examples of jargon or poor research are no reason to reject an entire discipline, say Debby Cotton, Elizabeth Cleaver and Dilly Fung

European survey finds there are large gaps between perceptions of importance of internationalisation and levels of experience and confidence

The movement to ‘decolonise’ university curricula has leaped into the political and educational mainstream in the wake of George Floyd’s death, dividing opinion on campus and beyond. Anna McKie examines how scholars are handling difficult discussions and where the agenda goes next

Most lecturers dread educationalists’ holier-than-thou, discipline-blind invocations of the latest teaching fads, says an anonymous academic

‘Technocratic’ solutions alone cannot solve a societal problem, expert says

A high level of public information literacy will minimise the spread and influence of falsehood, says Tim Blackman

Father of multiple intelligences theory says pursuit of deep inquiry is ‘a foolish investment’ in today’s AI-driven world

From acknowledging Covid stress to having every participant logged into Zoom, Paul Moss breaks down the art of mixed-cohort tutorials

Report from OfS shows slowing in rise of ‘unexplained’ firsts and sudden drops in share gaining top honours at some institutions

It is crucial to adapt teaching methodology to students’ specific cultures and traditions of learning, says Bashir Makhoul

Experts are optimistic at signs of success from new Australian bill, but warn pandemic has added new problems to fight against contract cheating

Academics justifiably express disbelief and outrage when librarians inform them that they can’t afford a particular title, says Caroline Ball

Both top-ranked Tsinghua and lesser-known institutions lauded for excellence in difficult times

Move will include guidance around when to close, merge or reform courses, but Universities UK points out difficulty of assessing courses’ value

How can universities ensure that students learn vital lessons in sustainability in all their courses? Anna McKie talks to three leaders who have already done so

Annual survey of UK students also reveals significant increase in students’ caring responsibilities and paid work

If these unique institutions can become more inclusive, issue-oriented and multidisciplinary, their graduates will be equipped to tackle the 21st century’s multiple crises, say Steven Volk and Beth Benedix

Scientists say pandemic-related restrictions call into question Westminster government’s claim that face-to-face tuition is vital for mental health

Some locked-down students have no electricity at home, never mind broadband service, say Abdur Rehman Cheema and Mehvish Riaz

When teachers ignore offensive language, we are complicit in making the classroom unsafe, say Mariangela Palladino and Shalini Sharma

We need to teach all students to listen better, to ask the right questions and to be willing to be wrong, says Anne Houtman

Pandemic to have lasting impact, but vice-chancellors warn of challenges ahead

Institutions get creative and find ingenious ways to adapt equipment and technological tools to replicate the experience of in-person courses

The pandemic has underlined the need for student assessment strategies to adapt to extraordinary circumstances, say Alexander Amigud and David J. Pell 

Scholars in the US and Canada reveal how they are changing things up in order to teach the topic of Covid-19 as it is happening

Less academically inclined students should not spread their net too widely, Australian research suggests

But unlike in the spring, not all countries are taking a blanket approach, and there are louder concerns about the mental impact on students

Australian universities are matching staffing levels to workload, Department of Education, Skills and Employment tells senators

The establishment of online learning and the routine use of email were long overdue, argues Ali Adnan Mohammed

The pandemic underlines the need for executives to be instilled with a more radical approach to sustainability, say Lars Moratis and Frans Melissen

THE forum told that global collaboration between academics on online pedagogy is key

New lecturer Saloni Krishnan gives practical tips, from recruiting research assistants on a budget to keeping research on track while juggling teaching responsibilities

With many students still obliged to learn from their bedrooms, focusing on their well-being and social development is vital, says Benjamin Tak Yuen Chan

Digitising classes was the first part – the next challenge is to make materials engaging and personalised, experts say

Online courses should be easily adaptable to post-Covid circumstances – whatever they may be, says An Jacobs

Done properly, teaching in front of a webcam is more effective than teaching from behind a visor, says an anonymous academic

New guidance suggests UK universities could introduce Chatham House rule for seminars to protect recruits from countries with repressive governments

Students who up their engagement later on struggle to catch the early starters, says study

Why assessment should not be an afterthought in the teaching process − and how to make sure it serves students as well as possible

Liverpool becomes latest UK university to halt in-person tuition due to Covid-19

Visors, masks and social distancing: staff who have returned to teaching on campus tell us what it’s like

Traditional forms of assessment, such as exams and essays, are largely irrelevant once students arrive in the workplace – we need new methods that relate to jobs, now more than ever

University teaching should be refocused on promoting the common good, say Al Martinich and Tom Palaima

Chemical engineers at Imperial College London have developed an innovative way of teaching real-world experiments at a distance, and say it also improves learning outcomes

Paper finds there is no correlation between perceived good looks and teaching effectiveness among male scholars