Editorial

The University's Assessment, Learning and Teaching strategy commits us to publishing a journal showcasing staff activities in relation to Assessment, Learning and Teaching. The Assessment, Learning and Teaching Journal is practice-based, reflective and pragmatic, and comprises papers of up to 1,500 words and book reviews of up to 200 words. The journal is refereed, all submissions being reviewed by two reviewers. It is normally published three times a year both in hard copy and electronically

Student orientation: empowering our students to be active participants and to become partners in learning

Active participation and partnership are different; active participation neither always leads to partnership nor evidences it. However, a student’s active participation in classes, in her/his course and in university life is a highly desirable undergraduate attribute and is a prerequisite for any staff-student partnership. As students may rationally choose not to participate in particular ways deemed compulsory by an institution if these do not align with their personal goals, any requirements designed to influence directly a student’s active participation thus need to be thoughtfully considered and carefully implemented. Rather than enforcing a series of requirements, the institutional responsibility is both to facilitate opportunities for students to engage and to support all new students to participate actively in their course. This paper explores the different approaches taken across one large UK university in supporting new students to become active participants in their own learning. The range of approaches adopted highlighted the importance of contextual and disciplinary factors in shaping effective orientation processes. Subsequent analysis was used to produce a model of the relationship between the underpinning conditions and activities that support students to develop as active participants in their institutions. It is suggested that this model and the method used to collect data and to implement outcomes is transferable to other universities

Student Engagement: Body, Mind and Heart – A Proposal for an Embedded Multi-Dimensional Student Engagement Framework

This paper considers student engagement in the context of a diverse higher education population and explores what institutions can do to impact positively on student engagement. The paper takes as its starting point the goals of higher education and the purposes of student engagement and reflects on the politicisation of student engagement, and the relative positioning of the student and the higher education institution in relation to student engagement. The paper suggests conditions for and dimensions of student engagement, and identifies how opportunities for student engagement may be embedded through the curriculum and through learning and teaching. An innovative and original pragmatic framework exploring academic, emotional and transactional dimensions of student engagement that can be used by higher education institutions to implement holistic, targeted engagement strategies is presented

A holistic framework for developing excellent academic practice

This article outlines an original and practical framework that synoptically integrates the factors underpinning a strategic approach to developing excellent academic practice (DEAP) within an institution. It considers recent developments driving development of ‘excellence’ in academic practice and describes a practical model – based on the requirements of the sector, the needs of institutions and the perspectives and goals of staff – that can be used to meet the desires of the various stakeholders. The framework’s philosophy is that outcomes depend upon three factors: individual colleagues’ attributes at different stages of their career; the opportunities provided at each career stage to develop academic practice; and the agency of the colleague and the institution to engage with one another behaviourally, emotionally and/or cognitively to align these attributes and opportunities. The framework is likely to be of practical use to all staff engaged in developing their own or others’ academic practice, while at the same time offering a theoretical framework for scholarship

Psychological Problems in the History of Painting

Abstract Not Provided

Ask the audience: a simple teaching method to improve the learning experience in large lectures

The popularity of computer science H.E. courses has resulted in the challenge of delivering lectures to large cohorts of computing undergraduates. In some cases there has been limited success in student engagement. There is little scope for interaction and feedback may be inhibited. It is generally accepted that where students actively engage with feedback, this may promote learning. This paper explains a technique, Colourcard, that is being used successfully in two U.K. universities to support the strategic goal to use feedback as part of teaching to promote learning. The basis of the technique is that lecturers use student feedback to control the pace and direction of the lecture, and to support the development of a relationship between lecturer and students. Findings from two case studies are briefly presented. The cases involve delivery of first year undergraduate systems analysis and data modelling lectures to large student groups in 2002/03