The Classroom Researcher\u27s Research Agenda

Involvement and critique from educators in dialogue with researchers is a critical element for achieving clarity about what research will benefit educational policy and practice. The AAHE Research Forum is convened annually to involve individuals committed to research and scholarship in higher education. The Forum stimulates educators\u27 involvement in creating a research agenda that speaks to current educational concerns. Since each year\u27s agenda is developed around the conference theme, educators and researchers can continually rely on the Forum agenda as an up-to-date source of research questions of common interest that flow from the year\u27s most central educational issues. The Forum enables educators to provide leadership and support for those researchers who share educators\u27 interests, who speak clearly to educators about their findings, and who actively respond to educators\u27 most pressing questions

Crossing Boundaries A Research Agenda Toward Productive Learning and Community Renewal

Colleges and universities expect that society\u27s pursuit of democratic goals is continuously informed by well-prepared graduates who shape and contribute to the common good. The creative, competent, and committed student is often a faculty\u27s finest form of service. Joining this fundamental mission to the daily tasks of continually building and renewing democracy was the focus of the 12th annual AAHE Research Forum. Crossing boundaries among teaching, research, and service includes making informed commitments and taking responsible actions. But what do we need to know to reconsider who we are and what we do in light of the changing complexities of civic and community life? What questions might shape our scholarship? This research agenda is devoted to asking these and other questions about how our responsibilities for the quality of teaching and learning merge with another priority: contributing to solving community problems

Qualitative undergraduate project supervision in Psychology: current practices and support needs of supervisors across North East England and Scotland

The dissertation is a core component of a psychology undergraduate degree, though very little research has been conducted into supervision processes at undergraduate level. This study examined the accounts of supervisors of qualitative dissertations in order to identify current practices of supervision and possible resources that might support supervision. Seventeen supervisors from psychology departments in North East England and Scotland were interviewed, and three main themes were identified using thematic analysis: the quantitative culture in psychology teaching, supervisors’ expertise, and the supervision process. Supervisors noted that students were typically constrained in their choice of methodology due to limited qualitative methods teaching, lack of training and guidance for supervisors, and concerns about the risks of demanding qualitative projects. Supervisors therefore often reported staying within their comfort zone, electing where possible to supervise only the methods that they themselves use. Recommendations for practical resources are provided to help support students and supervisors in the process of undertaking qualitative psychology dissertations

Getting it from the Web: why and how online resources are used by independent undergraduate learners

Undergraduate students access the Internet for a range of purposes, many unrelated to their studies. Increasingly, learners are using the Internet to find information and resources for coursework, whether or not this is promoted or endorsed by their teachers. This article reports an interview study that investigated why and how independent learners use Web-based resources, exploring not only the academic context of the courses studied, but also any relevant personal, domestic and employment-related circumstances. Factors were identified which enhanced or competed with study activities, acting as incentives or disincentives for learners. The findings suggest that it is not technologies per se, but a combination of various contextual factors that determine students’ use of Web resources for learning. Of the academic factors that emerged from the interviews, assessment requirements and pedagogic approach were particularly important

Superhuman? Perceptions of accelerated students and graduates working in health care

Background: Accelerated university courses were developed in response to consumer demand and educational advances, yet a lack of research exists related to the impact of accelerated health care courses in the United Kingdom. Objectives: This study explored clinicians' perceptions of accelerated pre-registration courses in physiotherapy. Method: Senior clinicians were recruited by purposive sampling from several National Health Service hospitals across northeast England. Data from face-to-face semi-structured interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Findings: Findings from fourteen participants indicated their admiration of accelerated students’ attributes to complete what they considered to be an intense and in-depth course. Such graduates were described as ‘superhuman.’ Participants noted that accelerated graduates were likely to ‘hit the ground running’ in clinical settings. However, concerns were raised that some accelerated graduates' over-confidence affected team dynamics and/or affected some aspects of clinical reasoning. Conclusions: Participants valued the varied routes to graduation while recognising their strengths and limitations. Findings from the study suggested the need for different types of clinical supervision to support each route

Realizing General Education: Reconsidering Conceptions and Renewing Practice

General Education is widely touted as an enduring distinctive of higher education in the United States (Association of American Colleges and Universities, [11]; Boyer, [37]; Gaston, [86]; Zakaria, [202]). The notion that undergraduate education demands wide‐ranging knowledge is a hallmark of U.S. college graduates that international educators emulate (Blumenstyk, [25]; Rhodes, [158]; Tsui, [181]). The veracity of this distinct educational vision is supported by the fact that approximately one third of the typically 120 credits required for the bachelor\u27s degree in the United States consist of general education courses (Lattuca & Stark, [120]). Realizing a general education has been understood to be central to achieving higher education\u27s larger purposes, making it a particularly salient concern