Situated within the critical pedagogic scholarship that deals with the issue of "teacher immediacy", this study proposes an understanding of the practice of pedagogy through the metaphor of "companionship". A friendly individual but not a friend, the instructor is seen here as someone who can connect to college-age students without any visible…

The aim of this paper is to report on an experiment in the School of Management at the University of Surrey whereby the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is being promoted through an approach which is organic in nature. The paper argues that the nature of such scholarship means that its promotion is more likely to be successful when the…

This article looks at the use of extended metaphor in teaching. Our case studies as two teachers using metaphor in different settings show how metaphor is experienced by learners to different pedagogical effect. The article demonstrates that metaphor can be used not only for the similarity between vehicle and target systems, but also for the…

This paper explores teaching in higher education through poetic transcription in order to illustrate the range of influences that shape the ways in which we teach. Through using poetry, this paper examines dimensions such as the past, emotion, humour and uncertainty, which are important aspects of teaching that are sometimes sidelined by more…

Richard Florida's "The rise of the creative class" (2002) delivered a strong wake-up call to higher education institutions worldwide. By linking creativity to technological innovation and economic prosperity, Florida argued that universities and colleges should nurture creativity in their students. But for many years, the higher education…

The current study explores the feelings and thoughts that faculty have about their student evaluations of teaching (SET). To assess the perceptions of SETs, all teaching faculty in one college at a western Land Grant University were asked to complete an anonymous online survey. The survey included demographic questions (i.e. gender; rank such as…

At a time when learning and teaching in higher education have become the focus of increasing attention and high priority is being accorded to the attainment of excellence in teaching there is a growing concern that teaching is being reduced to the acquisition of a set of competencies. This paper will draw on the work of Alasdair MacIntyre to…

Perceptions of the role and efficacy of written feedback in teaching and learning among teaching staff in British higher education institutions have not been extensively researched. In the present study 48 lecturers in one university and from a cross-section of disciplinary backgrounds were interviewed with respect to their lived experiences with…

Drawing on the insights of critical disability studies, this article addresses anxieties frequently articulated by academic staff around the implementation of the United Kingdom's Disability Discrimination Act: how to accommodate the needs of students with "hidden" impairments. Following the social model of disability, it argues that universities…

International students entering postgraduate courses in Australian universities encounter numerous challenges in their new environments. Many relate to the academic literacy and pedagogical practices in the English-speaking academic environment, which international students time and again have reported assume local linguistic and cultural…

The purpose of this study was to understand the conceptual change teacher candidates went through in a constructivist learning environment in a classroom management course. Within a qualitative case study design, teacher candidates' metaphorical images about classroom management were obtained through document analysis before and after they were…

Global, neo-liberalistic social and education policy has changed the working conditions and the working culture in universities. Enrolments have grown and the demands for efficiency have increased. This article analyses the manifestation of these changes in the everyday life of university teachers, particularly in their teaching. The data used for…

This paper focuses on the ways in which lecturers in two universities negotiated their identities as teachers of students from diverse backgrounds within the context of the changing nature of higher education. This research forms part of a two-year project which explored, among other things, the influence of student and teacher identities on…

Challenges facing universities are leading many to implement institutional strategies to incorporate e-learning rather than leaving its adoption up to enthusiastic individuals. Although there is growing understanding about the impact of e-learning on the student experience, there is less understanding of academics' perceptions of e-learning and…

The purpose of the paper is to explore students' perception of university teaching behaviours in Pakistan. Three hundred and fifty students from the six public sector Pakistani universities returned questionnaires. Assessment framework, learning activities and instructional strategies emerged from factor analysis as common factors. Students' views…