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Editorial: Women And Leadership In Higher Education Learning And Teaching, Kerryn Butler-Henderson, Angela Carbone, Marcia Devlin, Rosalind Bull, Jo Coldwell-Neilson, Susan H. Fenton, Tanya Fitzgerald, Catherine Lang

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

In this Special Issue Harvey and Jones state “It is time for women academics to accept the challenge – to rightfully claim their leadership”. We recognise the many women who have challenged the system, and those whose efforts have been thwarted. We encourage women and men to work together to break down the barriers of gender, race, culture, and religion, so that our current and next generation of female academics can rightfully claim their leadership. This Special Issue is an important step to bringing to light these challenges for women and the changes required to grow and support women in …

Facilitating A Supportive Learning Experience: The Lecturer's Role In Addressing Mental Health Issues Of University Students During Covid-19, Caroline Heim, Christian Heim

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

During Covid-19, rates of mental health issues, particularly anxiety, rose significantly in university students. In the scramble to adapt to online learning, university professors were overwhelmed with material aimed at facilitating a supportive learning experience and preserving student academic performance in online contexts yet were ill-equipped to cope with the increased volume of mental health issues encountered. Many studies attest to the association between poor mental health and academic performance. It has been shown that students often report their mental health issues to university professors who are called upon to cope with these issues as best they can. This paper …

Why And How Educators Use Exemplars, Eleanor Hawe, Helen Dixon, Richard Hamilton

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

A valued goal of Higher Education is the furthering of students’ ability to monitor and regulate their performance. When exemplars are purposefully integrated into teaching they have the potential to cultivate knowledge and skills that develop this ability. As the voices of educators have been largely silent in exemplar-focused studies, the current study sought to canvas educators’ views about why and how they use exemplars. This paper draws on data from 44 educators who responded to prompts in a Likert-scale survey and 14 educators who completed individual interviews. Findings identified three explicit and one implicit reason for using exemplars, with …

Exploring Modes Of Lecturing As A Teaching Method In Higher Education: Student Attendance, Preference And Motivation, Panos Vlachopoulos, Shazia Jan

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

This paper presents the findings of a large-scale study conducted at an Australian metropolitan university, which seeks to compare attendance in different modes of lecture delivery and student preference and motivation for attendance. The research design collected data for three different teaching methods - on-campus lectures, live streaming utility and lecture recordings via lecture capture. The study addresses the broader question of the value students place on the modes of lecturing, as indicated by their attendance patterns, usage of lecture recordings, and preferences and motivations for the same. Overall, the study confirms the student preference for flexibility when accessing or …

Learner-Centered Teaching To Educate College Students About Rural Health Disparities, Anuli Njoku

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

Geographically, rural U.S. communities have higher rates of disease and health problems, compared to urban areas. This encourages development of effective, learner-centred curricula to enable students to address disparate health outcomes as future health professionals. This three-year study evaluated the effect of an undergraduate rural public health course on health disparities-related perceptions among students at a rural Midwestern U.S. university. Students reported statistically significant increases in mean scores for several survey items pre- to post-survey. Post-survey response rate was 90%. This paper details the processes, outcomes, and lessons learned from incorporating learner-centred strategies to teach health disparities material in a …

Redefining Academic Identity In An Evolving Higher Education Landscape, Sharon J. Flecknoe, Julia K. Choate, Elizabeth A. Davis, Yvonne M. Hodgson, Priscilla A. Johanesen, Janet O. Macaulay, Kim Murphy, Wayne J. Sturrock, Gerry M. Rayner

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

During a period of massive upheaval to the higher education sector, the traditional academic role has undergone considerable change. One element of these changes has been the broad introduction of Education-Focused (EF) or equivalent academic positions, which focus on educational excellence, with a requirement for high quality teaching and associated scholarly research. This paper reports on the reflections of a group of bioscience academics as they transitioned from a traditional teaching and research position to an EF academic position at a research-intensive Australian university. Through analysis of written narratives, the insights of these academics, including their concerns and potential opportunities, …

Transferring Educational Theories And Knowledge Using A Co- Teaching Mentor Model: A Discipline-Appropriate Approach, Kent Turkich, Shane Greive, Paul M. Cozens

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

This paper presents a co-teaching mentor model, which improved the teaching of academics and enhanced student satisfaction and retention. Two research-focused lecturers responsible for first-year units were partnered with a co-teaching mentor to offer guidance on how the content (urban and regional planning) could be delivered more effectively with an emphasis on student engagement and motivation. These two case studies are discussed and the findings demonstrate the effective transfer of teaching awareness and skills through this process.

Five key educational theories underpin the substantive changes made to the way that classes were delivered. The applied relevance and transfer of these …

Developing Animated Cartoons For Economic Teaching, Yu Aimee Zhang

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

Purpose – A picture is worth a thousand words. Multimedia teaching materials have been widely adopted by teachers in Physics, Biotechnology, Psychology, Religion, Analytical Science, and Economics nowadays. To assist with engaging students in their economic study, increase learning efficiency and understanding, solve misconception problems, encourage in class discussion, and increase final performance for students (especially for international students and RA students), some animations and cartoons are developed to explain basic economic concepts for both macroeconomic and microeconomic concepts, issues and events. Methodology – Two surveys were first conducted to collect first year and international students’ requirement and suggestions. Cartoons …

Seeing Is Believing: The Benefits Of Peer Observation, Graham D. Hendry, Gary R. Oliver

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

Peer observation of teaching is seen as a supportive and developmental process for improving the quality of teaching in universities. Evidence is emerging that the process of observing is just as if not more valuable than being observed and given feedback. In this study lecturers completing a Foundations program in university learning and teaching were interviewed about their experience of participating in a reciprocal peer observation exercise. The benefits for observers include learning about a new strategy and enhancing their confidence to try this strategy in their own teaching. Receiving feedback was also perceived to be useful but not more …

Linking Teaching And Research Through Scholarship Projects: A Case Study, Natalie Braber

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

Many lecturers find that teaching and research compete for their time. However, teaching and research can be linked closely together, and there are many ways of linking the two. This article will consider how research can be incorporated into teaching through a case study in Linguistics at Nottingham Trent University (in the United Kingdom), where undergraduate students are invited to participate on a research project. This project aims to foster and strengthen the links between teaching and research in the undergraduate curriculum to enhance the student learning experience (both for the students involved in the project and the wider student …

Can The Love Of Learning Be Taught?, R. Nillsen

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

This paper is an expanded version of a talk given at a Generic Skills Workshop at the University of Wollongong, and was intended for academic staff from any discipline and general staff with an interest in teaching. The issues considered in the paper include the capacity of all to learn, the distinction between learning as understanding and learning as information, the interaction between the communication and content of ideas, the tension between perception and content in communication between persons, and the human functions of a love of learning. In teaching, the creation of a fear-free environment is emphasised, as is …