Higher education pedagogy

Learn more about pedagogy and how different theories of teaching and learning work across higher education. Here, academics offer insights into a variety of pedagogies, drawing on their own teaching experience alongside research, to provide practical advice on what instructional methods work best for different university contexts, disciplines and classes.

By dene.mullen, 22 March, 2022

Things to consider when designing a self-directed course model

More university students require or prefer self-directed learning, and academics must be ready to provide it

With increasing numbers of students learning remotely and showing high levels of independence, the ability to offer self-directed courses is more important than ever

Reading time

3minutes

By Eliza.Compton, 18 March, 2022

Emotions and learning: what role do emotions play in how and why students learn?

illustration of outline of heads showing different emotional states, detail, emotions and learning

If educators understand the factors that interplay with emotional states to affect learning, they can work with this to enhance the learning experience. Here are six strategies to manage the role of emotions in learning

Reading time

5minutes

By dene.mullen, 16 March, 2022

Fostering student collaboration rather than competition using peer review

University teachers must work hard to ensure students become comfortable with the process of peer review

When students are involved in peer review, they can more easily see the ‘problems’ with classmates’ writing – and this creates opportunities in their own work, too

Reading time

3minutes

By Miranda Prynne, 15 March, 2022

Using photography as a teaching tool in human rights and international affairs

Advice on using photography to complement written materials when teaching human rights

Photography is a powerful way to bring topics to life and enhance students’ understanding of different perspectives and representations of world events and people, as Noam Schimmel explains

Reading time

3minutes

By Eliza.Compton, 14 March, 2022

Using storytelling to make introductory statistics less scary: a contextualised approach

Red squirrel and hazelnut illustrating video about teaching statistics with storytelling

Carl Sherwood explains how imaginative, contextualised writing tasks can make mathematical concepts less abstract and more engaging for diverse student groups

By Miranda Prynne, 9 March, 2022

Non-linear approaches to course structure that improve learning

Advice on adapting courses to teaching online using small chunks of material

Breaking up teaching content into chunks that can be repeatedly revisited offers educators a non-linear approach to learning. Chris Jones shares advice for designing online courses

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton, 9 March, 2022