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Three innovative authentic assessments to encourage soft skill mastery

Students on hard skills-intensive courses such as computer science need to develop effective communication and other soft skills. Bernardo Pereira Nunes offers three assessments to help

Bernardo Pereira Nunes

Australian National University

Young female Asian student holding laptop

Helping students transition to university life

Starting university is a major milestone for new undergraduates. Teachers can offer encouragement, guidance and empathy to help students with practical and emotional challenges, writes Cheong Fan

Cheong Fan

Macau University of Science and Technology

A multiple choice quiz can be useful for formative assessment

The myriad advantages of using formative assessment

G. K. Suraishkumar looks at ways to assess students’ learning more effectively through formative assessments and argues for basing grades entirely on this method

G K Suraishkumar

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras

An Asian school girl working at a laptop

How can universities reduce stress for students during the application process

Simple steps universities can take to make the applications process less stressful for aspiring students

Rosemary Bai

Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

Teacher helping black student in computer class

Co-creation as a liberating activity

How to use student co-creation to bring active participation and collaboration into the learning experience, based on insights from the Liberated Learners open educational resource

Terry Greene

Trent University

Four directions for assessment redesign in the age of generative AI

The rise of generative AI has led universities to rethink how learning is quantified. Julia Chen offers four options for assessment redesign that can be applied across disciplines

Julia Chen

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

A row of students each concentrating on an individual assignment

Are ‘quick wins’ possible in assessment and feedback? Yes, and here’s how

It takes coordination, communication and credibility to implement quick improvements in assessment and feedback, as a team from the University of Exeter explains

Beverley Hawkins, Eleanor Hodgson , Oli Young

The University of Exeter

Depressed young black man on a park bench

Why students and faculty alike need mental health first-aid training

Basic knowledge and skills could empower university communities to promote and destigmatise mental health issues and empower individuals to recognise risks and seek assistance, writes Noam Schimmel

Noam Schimmel

University of California, Berkeley

Conceptual image of someone using AI generated knowledge

How ChatGPT killed my discussion boards and prompted new prompts

Advice on learning and discussion prompts that require students to think beyond the remit of AI responses

Sara Cline

Athens State University

It’s time to radicalise the writing proficiency exam

Written exams should generate writing that vibrates with personality, exploration of ideas and an urge to communicate, says Tyler Thier

Tyler Thier

Hofstra University

Asian male student happy with hands raised

Preparing students to succeed in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world

University campuses can act as an incubator, giving students a secure environment where they feel nurtured and cared for and where they can come to terms with who they are, writes Cheong Fan

Cheong Fan

Macau University of Science and Technology

Useful techniques for remembering students’ names

It’s important – and possible – to remember students’ names at university level, says Ng Lee Keng

Ng Lee Keng

Singapore Institute of Technology

Medical teaching resources need to represent all skin colours to enable doctors to serve a diverse population

Medical education must diversify its learning resources away from a focus solely on white patients to prepare students to diagnose and treat patients of all ethnicities, write Musarrat Maisha Reza and Naabil Khan

Musarrat Maisha Reza, Naabil Khan

The University of Exeter

Steps to address the operational challenges of widening participation

Well-being assistance, leadership development and mentoring opportunities are key to supporting students from under-represented groups. Here, Angus Howat details a programme for widening participation from a Kiwi perspective

Angus Howat

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

Timeline and calendar for project management

How to use a project management approach to help run research projects

Jon Gunnell explains how to adopt the PRINCE2 project management method to help overcome the many challenges of running a multi-year research project

Jon Gunnell

University of Sheffield

The flipped classroom: an evidence-based approach

The flipped classroom is most effective when it places active learning at its core, research suggests. A new model for flipped learning, developed by Manu Kapur and colleagues, aims to do just that

Manu Kapur

ETH Zurich

From cohort to community: how to support student-led initiatives

Building a strong cohort starts with supporting students directly. Here, we, as student and staff co-authors in the humanities, share insights on how to encourage solutions designed for students by students

Ranita Thompson, Joanne Walmsley, Ben Graham

The University of Queensland

Storyboarding is a crucial step in using animations for university teaching

Using animation to stimulate learner engagement

Videos are a popular means of engaging students in learning concepts, and using animated videos allows a wide range of contexts and situations to be explored

Mahmud Masum, Janice Loftus , Paul Moss

Adelaide University

A young researcher collects a water sample from a pond

Questions to test students’ understanding of research methods

How to craft questions for closed book examinations on undergraduate research methods

Adrian Man-Ho Lam

The University of Hong Kong

Saying people’s names right: what policymakers can do

How can leaders and policymakers in higher education help staff and students to respect people’s name-based identities? Jane Pilcher and Hannah Deakin-Smith identify steps to take

Jane Pilcher, Hannah Deakin-Smith

Nottingham Trent University

How a school exchange with my daughter led me to question the role of universities

Giving a class at my daughter’s school and having her visit my university gave rise to serious questions about childcare, education and how our universities fit into society, says Andy Farnell

Andy Farnell

Visiting professor

How business schools could lead the charge to revive faith in higher education

As US higher education faces a drop in student numbers, business schools could help transform universities into the cross-disciplinary experiential learning hubs needed today, write Ahmad Al Asady and Siri Terjesen

Ahmad Al Asady, Siri Terjesen

North Dakota State University, Florida Atlantic University

Man climbing up-and-down graph-like staircase

How to sustain a journal and beat the academic publishing racket

Starting a journal is hard enough – keeping it going is an ongoing challenge. Here’s how to maintain success in academic publishing

James Williams, Asma Mohseni

University of Derby

Recommendations for using design thinking in the classroom

How to prepare a design thinking workshop, from introducing the concept to students through to ideation and eventually pitching their idea

Karla Margarita Banda Martínez, Graciela González-Valdepeña

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Indigenous Australian people perform a ritual of lighting a fire

Indigenous knowledge provides skills for lifelong learning that AI cannot

Indigenous ways of knowing can provide skills and strategies for learning that could assist educators in addressing the climate emergency, decolonisation and balance the outsourcing of knowledge to AI, Alexandra Sherlock writes

Alexandra Sherlock

RMIT University

Grow your own accessibility allies

The steps to making learning content accessible include identifying areas that need attention, overcoming barriers and recruiting allies to get the job done, writes Luke Searle

Luke Searle

University of Southampton

A tale of two models: rethinking shared governance

Ryan Litsey and Jon McNaughtan discuss how the growth of faculty-turned-administrators has complicated the traditional view and execution of shared governance

Ryan Litsey, Jon McNaughtan

Texas Tech University

Setting scenarios for a university adapted to climate change

In the second part of their series, Rob Wilby and Shona Smith explain how running institutional plans through different scenarios can help improve a university’s resilience to future challenges relating to climate change

Robert Wilby, Shona Smith

Loughborough University, University of Leeds

Assessment tasks that minimise students’ motivation to cheat

Academic dishonesty occurs for reasons that include students’ fear of missing deadlines, being overwhelmed and lack of language skills. Here are ways to reframe assessment

Temesgen Kifle

The University of Queensland

An introduction to the global classroom: benefits, challenges and value added

Eric Tsui explains how to intensify internationalisation-at-home efforts, bringing many benefits to students and institutions alike, such as the sharing of transcultural knowledge

Eric Tsui

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Written feedback for students – keep it clear, constructive and to the point

James Derounian offers tips for giving compassionate feedback that will enable students to understand where their work went right and wrong

James Derounian

De Montfort University

Two hands, one offering up a tree growing out of the earth, the other offering up a high-rise city

Decolonisation as a driver for the Sustainable Development Goals

How decolonial approaches can underpin and drive work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals across higher education

Eleanor Cook

The University of Exeter

Decolonising interview methods: a call to look to the moon

The interview process often rests on colonial perceptions of what counts as knowledge, how knowledge is generated and who ‘owns’ it. But researchers can use orienting questions to reflect upon and decentre this approach

Rosalind Edwards, Teah Carlson , Rachel Liebert

University of Southampton, Massey University, University of East London

The top three ways to support international graduate employability

Building effective partnerships with employers and using feedback to shape curricula and careers services will boost outcomes for students, universities and industry alike

Eric Huang

University of East London

A student raising a hand with a question in class

Want to know how your class is going? Ask your students

A guide to what, when and how to ask your students for feedback on your course in order to inform improvements to your teaching

Stephanie Foster, Kalpana Gupta

The University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado State University

Making an inclusive ‘unconference’

Many people in minority communities within our universities do not have enough opportunities to be platformed or validated, or to share their lived expertise within our institutions. An ‘unconference’ could cultivate these voices for positive impact

Brooke Szücs, Joanne Walmsley

The University of Queensland

A racing driver and his co-pilot in a simulation

Co-pilots: a new way of improving hybrid teaching for everyone

Bringing in a ‘co-pilot’ instructor to support the running of hybrid classes can improve the teaching and learning experience for students and their lecturers, write Omar Merlo and James Eteen

Omar Merlo , James Eteen

Imperial College London

Darwin and teaching originality in university

Teaching originality: an essential skill in the age of ChatGPT

Academic originality is not about chance, genius or magic. It is about engagement and a clear sense of scholarly contribution. And it can be taught, writes Alastair Bonnett

Alastair Bonnett

Newcastle University

A woman logging onto her laptop while eating lunch

A quick guide to designing and delivering effective bite-sized learning

A beginner’s guide to creating content, using the relevant tech tools and fostering active engagement through bite-sized learning

Patrina Law

The Open University

Female Asian students studying for an exam

Exam skills instruction: fostering a sense of self-efficacy

Practice, regular feedback and opportunities to experience mastery can help students develop sound exam technique and improve their performance, writes Cheong Fan

Cheong Fan

Macau University of Science and Technology

Apply the social model of disability to HE: viewing inclusion as a social good

William E. Donald and Marius Frank present 10 benefits to applying a disability framework that empowers individuals to create a more inclusive society

William E. Donald, Marius Frank

University of Southampton, Ronin Institute, Microlink

Four people expressing different emotions through large smileys

Negative thinking has a role to play in helping students plan their careers

Three recommendations that balance the power of negative and positive thinking to guide career planning for students

Anna Branford , Harriette Richards , Carolina Quintero Rodriguez

RMIT University

“Feedback” appears in white text with a yellow background, with a contrast ratio of 1.7:1. The image has a reflection of an open window on it, making the text much harder to read. In some places the contrast of the text is as low as 1.0001:1

A colour matrix to make visual content more accessible

Accessible content is better content. One way to boost accessibility in visual materials is paying attention to colour contrast during the design process. Here’s a tool to make that simpler

Matthew Deeprose

University of Southampton

An old map of Africa showing countries as former British and French colonies

Bring staff and students together to decolonise in seven steps

Seven stages to decolonising a curriculum, drawing lessons from a staff-student collaboration to decolonise the teaching of geography

Caitlin Kight, Eleanor Cook

The University of Exeter

How to enhance recruitment and retention at your university

Gareth Morris and Junhua Mo outline ways to address the twin critical factors of motivation for new employment and boosting job satisfaction

Gareth Morris, Junhua Mo

The University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Soochow University

Introducing microcredentials: a guide for educators and students

May Lim provides insight on how to design effective microcredentials that provide tangible benefits for students’ job function and career aspirations

May Lim

Singapore Institute of Technology

Dos and don’ts for welcoming military in the college classroom

We need to be prepared for the specific needs of active military, veterans and their affiliates and know how to work with them in appropriate, thoughtful ways, says Stone Meredith

Stone Meredith

Colorado State University Global

Struggle, strength and growth: preparing students for the changing future

Struggle, strength and growth: preparing students for the changing future

How to emotionally prepare students for uncertainty and complexity in their future lives by helping them recognise their strengths and embrace change

Kathleen Chim, Lai Tsz Chui, Benjamin Tak Yuen Chan

Hong Kong Metropolitan University

Three architecture students and an instructor work on a project

What is authentic enquiry learning?

When students work in teams to examine a real-world problem, the result offers a means to bring teaching and research together. Here, Kate Black and Jonny Hall explain how this pedagogy benefits students, academics and society

Kate Black, Jonny Hall

Northumbria University

Pride in HE: how to create an inclusive community online

With more university education now being delivered digitally, Richard Senese offers advice on how leaders can make sure they are building an LGBTQ+ inclusive community online

Richard Senese

Capella University

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