This edition has articles from the UK, USA, Malaysia, Taiwan, Turkey, Australia and South Africa, and considers various innovations and developments in learning and teaching including using multimedia resources, interprofessional learning, digitally enabled assessment, blogging and social reading.
Focusing on postgraduates, Esyin Chew, Monash University, Malaysia, Helen Snee and Trevor Price, University of Glamorgan, UK report on the Higher Education Academy Economics Network funded research for international students’ experience with peer assessment and feedback innovation in ‘Enhancing international postgraduates’ learning experience with online peer assessment and feedback innovation’. They demonstrate that peer assessment practice enhances assessment and feedback experience for international students, recommending PeerMark’s Zone of Proximal Development as part of the peer assessment for learning ecosystem to empower learning experience, rather than provoke diffidence.
Also focusing on postgraduates in ‘An exploration into the impact of blogs on students’ learning: case studies in postgraduate business education’, by S. Afshin Mansouri, Brunel University and Andriani Piki, iCOM ICT Research Centre, London draws from four case studies to investigate the impact of using blogs within postgraduate business education, finding blogs can contribute to students’ collective and reflective learning, emphasising the importance of active feedback from the lecturer.
In ‘Participatory learning in residential weekends: benefit or barrier to learning for the international student.’ Fiona Robson, Gillian Forster and Lynne Powell, Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, and New College Durham, UK explore the learning of full time, mainly international postgraduates working in culturally diverse groups, noting the development of intercultural learning beyond their business specialism, increasing self-awareness and developing team building and leadership skills.
Research skills are the subject for Robin Bell, University of Worcester, UK who considers ‘The continuing search to find a more effective and less intimidating way to teach research methods in higher education’. He reports on restructuring the research methods module for graduate students at a UK business school utilising a student-centred approach, finding evidence of increased student achievement and understanding through the new format.
Reading is a concern for Matthew D. Dean, University of Southern Maine, USA in ‘A call to embrace social reading in higher education’ who argues that social reading, the experience surrounding the reading of eBooks, particularly eTextbooks offers powerful potential to engage students and help them succeed in their studies.
Looking at employability, Ruth Bridgstock, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia argues in ‘Educating for digital futures: what the learning strategies of digital media professionals can teach higher education’ how universities might engage more effectively with developing students’ twenty-first century skills for the information society, by examining learning challenges and professional learning strategies of successful digital media professionals i.e. professionals from games, online publishing, apps and software development companies who were ambivalent about the value of higher education to digital careers, in general preferring a range of situated online and face-to-face social learning strategies for professional currency.
Class size is an issue for Yin Bai, Tianjin University, China and Te-Sheng Chang, National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan who consider the ‘Effects of class size and attendance policy on university classroom interaction in Taiwan’ with a large survey in six dimensions: Classmate Supportiveness, Classmate Pressure, Teacher Encouragement, Teacher Supportiveness, Study Preparedness and Class Participation, finding that attendance policy and class size have an interaction effect only on the teacher trait.
Tugba Altintas, Ali Gunes and Hamiyet Sayan, Istanbul Aydin University and Biruni University, Istanbul, Turkey consider ‘A peer assisted learning experience in computer programming language learning and developing computer programme skills’ to support students in becoming more autonomous in their learning, helping enhance confidence levels tackling computer programming problems and encouraging team work, resulting in higher exam scores. Teamwork is also a focus in ‘Healthcare students’ perceptions of a simulated interprofessional consultation in an outpatient clinic’ by H. Pitout et al. University of Limpopo, South Africa who argue that health care workers should appreciate teamwork and each profession’s unique role in a multidisciplinary team, exploring the perceptions of health care students and their facilitators of a simulated interprofessional consultation.
In ‘Ceramics studio to podiatry clinic: the impact of multimedia resources in the teaching of practical skills across diverse disciplines.’ Ruth Matheson and Ian Mathieson, Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK explore the theoretical background supporting the use of multimedia resources to teach practical skills and provide a qualitative evaluation of student perceptions and experiences of using bespoke resources within ceramics and podiatry discovering confidence, enhanced student voice and increased creativity.