As we were aware of the confusing and wide-ranging disciplinary and individual positions on the importance of theory in research, this study sought to determine how thesis examiners emphasised theory in their reports in order to inform candidate learning. While references to theory were not prominent in reports, examiner comment coalesced into six…

The ability to solve problems with people of diverse backgrounds is essential for engineering graduates. A course on engineering grand challenges was designed to promote collaborative problem-solving (CPS) skills. One unique component is that students need to work both within their own team and collaborate with the other team to tackle engineering…

Devising authentic assessments for subjects with large enrolments is a challenge. This study describes an electronic role-play assessment for approximately 600 first-year nursing students to learn and apply pathophysiology (bioscience) concepts to nursing practice. Students used Microsoft Office PowerPoint[R] to prepare electronic role-plays both…

This study uses action research intervention to improve students' attendance at seminars. Specifically, the study asks the question: will students' attendance improve if they drive their own learning by running their own seminars? Records of lecture and seminar attendance at a module and comparative ones were used. Focus group interviews…

Curriculum design is crucial to maximising the students learning experience and is often overlooked and underutilised. The way that learning is delivered, supported and assessed can enhance employability attributes as the individual becomes more aware of their skills and abilities. Within this study, all elements (delivery; content; assessment and…

We have introduced a real-time polling system to support student engagement and feedback in four large Level 1 and 2 modules in Biological Sciences. The audience response system makes use of a technology that is ubiquitous and familiar to the students. To participate, students send text messages using their mobile phones or send a message via…

This paper reflects on the challenges of facilitating creativity in teaching and learning. The authors contend that if enabled, creativity has the potential to deliver substantive change to higher education but that its potential often remains unexploited. Our study suggests that creative practice is alive and well amongst teachers in higher…

The massification of higher education (HE) has led to an unprecedented increase in the number of students in the classrooms, resulting in increased workload for teaching staff, sometimes leading to a great reliance on Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) examinations with limited feedback provided to students. The central role of feedback in student…

Feedback to students has been highlighted in the literature as an area where improvements are needed. Students need high quality, prompt feedback, but they also need guidance and tools to help them engage with and learn from that feedback. This case study explores staff and student perceptions of a tool at Sheffield Hallam University which…

Providing high quality formative feedback to large and very diverse cohorts of students taking short intensive blocks of teaching (block release) has become crucial in management education provision. The paper proposes the exploitation of classroom response technology (CRT) to evaluate learning activities of students taking block release modules.…

In this paper I seek to reflect upon the process of becoming feedback literate. Feedback literacy is conceptualised as an integral component of a broader academic literacy that has three interrelated dimensions: the epistemological, the ontological and the practical. Learners experience and respond differentially to each of these dimensions which…

This paper investigates the use of a personal learning system (PLS) for continuing professional development (CPD) of academic staff. It examines which, if any, activities, habits or strategies triggered the use of the PLS when there was no immediate or external pressure to engage. It also investigates whether participants felt that using the PLS…

Following an internal evaluation exercise, using Action Research, this paper identifies the positive impact of small-scale research projects on teaching and learning at a single case study UK University. Clear evidence is given of how the projects benefited students and staff, and enhanced institutional culture. Barriers to better practice are…

This paper reports on an ongoing programme to develop new academic journal reviewers through mentoring. It analyses data from correspondence between experienced reviewer/mentors and new reviewer/mentees at an online journal. With the overlying objective of improving internal review quality, the mentoring programme has been initiated to raise…

The research presented in this paper is part of a project investigating assessment practices, funded by the Scottish Funding Council. Using established principles of good assessment and feedback, the use of online formative and summative multiple choice tests (MCT's) was piloted to support independent and self-directed learning and improve…