Long gone are the days of long lectures to a group of passive students being enough. Innovative ideas for engaging students are continually being developed to meet the challenges of 21st century university education. The Subject Centres’ 2005 student essay prize on ‘What makes a good lecturer in the GEES disciplines’ confirmed that enthusiasm, passion and accessibility are key characteristics rated by students. Paul Wright has analysed the esssays - and found them to fit into the three main conceptions of effective teaching: who the lecturer is, what the lecturer does, how the student participates.
Facilitating learning in groups holds challenges, but many techniques such as resource-based learning, described by James Jenkins, provide useful ways of making it work. He also demonstrates how teaching techniques can also be assessed with reference to the Higher Education Academy professional values.
This issue of Planet contains articles on some key issues in assessment and evaluation (see also (Footnote1)). Innovative and time-saving peer assessment is the focus of the article by PhilipWheater et al. Ways of assessing both process and product are addressed by David Simm, whilst the evaluation of changes in a geomorphology course is shown to favour an increasing role for fieldwork, by Tim Stott and David Huddart.
Preparing for life beyond the academic world is the aim of the e-MapScholar Virtual Placement, described by Cornelius et al, as is Hotpot programme developed and described by Maskell and colleagues.
The purpose of Personal Development Planning is also to bridge the transition from academia to the real world and Lumsden describes the progress on different programmes in GEES subjects. And all of these activities require the ability to communicate effectively, the subject of Yates’ article on key communication competencies for geosciences. This describes the findings from a GEES Subject Centre - funded project, and gives useful ideas for activities with students to develop their communication skills.
Wherever graduates and academics in GEES subjects are or aim to be working, Chartered status is likely to help gain recognition for key skills and competencies. A brief outline of the process, requirements and benefits is given in this issue.
Since the Bologna Declaration in 1999 (p.46) changes in higher education across Europe have aimed to align courses so as to allow for greater mobility amongst European citizens. Przemyslaw and Rodzos describe how this has led to a major educational reform in Poland. As with change at other levels, employability is one of the major driving forces in higher education. The update on the GEES Subject Centre shows the range of projects which are aiming to provide resources for this purpose.
Notes
1. GEES Subject Centre, 2005, Learning and Teaching Guide on Assessment in Earth and Environmental Science and Studies, GEES: Plymouth. Printed copies are available free to GEES academics and support staff. Please email: [email protected] if you would like a copy. Alternatively, the Guide is available on the GEES Subject Centre website at: www.gees.ac.uk/pubs/guides/assess/assess.htm