We present findings from a study exploring student and staff perceptions of the use of webnotes, and whether their availability affects attendance at lectures. A questionnaire survey gathered data from 162 undergraduate and masters students and 20 staff. Students and staff agree that webnotes have become an expected supplement to lecture delivery,…

The research reported in this article is part of ongoing research exploring the development of teaching and learning in one further education college. This first stage aimed to investigate 16- to 19-year-old students' views of a teaching and learning model. A total of 374 sixth-form students individually sorted 21 statements derived from the model…

Concept mapping activities were trialed over a 2 year period as part of an undergraduate microbiology course. This paper describes this developmental process and offers insight into the most beneficial ways of employing this tool in a higher education setting. The aim was to investigate the use of mapping activities to improve students'…

This study reports on a 4 year project conducted to detect any alteration to students' experience and self-confidence in key skills resulting from the introduction of Curriculum 2000. The project involved 460 first year medical students who left school before the introduction of Curriculum 2000 and 478 who had experienced the new curriculum.…

Framed by the accounting education change debate and growing national concern regarding student attrition, this paper examines the perceptions of first-year students as they commence their study of accounting at an Irish university. It explores a range of factors which impact on students' learning: their motives for entering higher education,…

A survey of student satisfaction and dissatisfaction was undertaken within an undergraduate education studies cohort at a new university in the English Midlands. The cohort included both 'traditional' and 'non-traditional' students and represented an increasingly typical 'widened' community of students within higher education. This student-…

Peer observation has become a feature of university practice over the last decade, the primary impetus for its introduction being the political drive to raise teaching quality via the development and sharing of 'good practice'. Peer observation within higher education (HE) involves observing colleagues in the classroom and has the further aim of…

This paper considers experience of further education (FE) from a student perspective. Students were involved in a longitudinal research project designed to develop a comprehensive analysis and interpretation of their progress on a vocational study programme. Using case studies as part of a multi-method research strategy, students' motivation and…

There is significant evidence that student-centred approaches to learning using experiential exercises considerably enhance students' understanding of substantive theory and also aid acquisition of transferable skills, such as those pertaining to research management and investigation. We consider an experiential pedagogic approach to be…

This illuminative evaluation study gives insights into attitudes to learning, interaction and the perceived roles of theory, evidence, reading and previous experience. These insights lead us to question some aspects of the course as currently presented. Students indicated that they found the course material stimulating but prior guidance on the…