Whereas a great deal of literature based upon the context of Western societies has concluded criminology is an ideal discipline for active learning approach, it remains uncertain if this learning approach is applicable to Chinese learners in the discipline of criminology. This article describes and provides evidence of the benefits of using active…

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…

This study investigates the effects of collaboration and competition on students' learning performance in a course of business statistics. The collaboration involved a simultaneously organised group competition project with analysis of real-life business problems among students. Students from the following schools participated: JAMK…

Absenteeism has been a common and very extended problem in university spheres for several years. This problem has become a permanent feature in academic studies in general, yet it has received scarce empirical research attention. This work is focused on the analysis of the factors that determine university absenteeism. It evaluates a series of…

The transition from traditional instruction to a problem-based approach to learning requires many changes for educators and for students. The aim of this project was to develop an online problem-based learning (PBL) resource centre to provide academic staff from across the University with support in incorporating PBL in their curriculum design.…

Peer observation of teaching (POT) has become common practice in many universities. However, it could be argued that existing models often have limited scope for understanding the student experience. This study presents a modified approach to POT in which the researchers adopted the roles of (1) lecturer, (2) peer-participant and (3)…

The student cohort on the University Science Extended Degree (SED) course is diverse in terms of educational experience. One of the key facets of teaching at this level is to engage and prepare students for higher levels of education in the sciences. The purpose of this evaluation is to relate a specific virtual framework, designed for students…

Although research and teaching have often been regarded as complementary in enhancing the quality of student learning, little previous research has explored the conflicts associated with linking the two activities. This paper aims to examine specific issues arising within the environmental building disciplines at a UK university, and to explore…

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…

Academic teaching can change with the use of Web 2.0 technologies, such as blogs and wikis, as these enable a different pedagogical approach through collaborative learning and the social construction of knowledge. Student expectations of their university learning experience have changed as they expect e-learning to be part of the learning…

Many studies have explored the use of learning-by-doing in higher education, but few have applied this to social entrepreneurship contexts and applications: this paper addresses this gap in the literature. Our programme involved students working with different stakeholders in an interactive learning environment to generate real revenue for social…

With an ever increasing array of technologies offering potential for the delivery of educational e-content and support of online communication and interaction, distance learning has an opportunity to make the transition to authentic online learning and teaching as never before. However, it seems that institutions are only slowly exploiting this…

As with higher education institutions in other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, Australian universities are facing significant challenges. One particular challenge is that of the declining quality of the teaching and learning experience within the academy. This paper describes an attempt to sustain the quality of a…

This paper describes a lecturer's approach to teaching Bayesian statistics to students who were only exposed to the classical paradigm. The study shows how the lecturer extended himself by making use of ventriloquist dolls to grab hold of students' attention and embed important ideas in revealing the differences between the Bayesian and…

This paper presents a learning and teaching strategy based on complexity science and explores its impacts on a higher education game design course. The strategy aimed at generating conditions fostering individual and collective learning in educational complex adaptive systems, and led the design of the course through an iterative and adaptive…