This article concerns itself with how academic identities may come to be formed. Taking a longitudinal approach, stories of the experiences of probationary lecturers have been gathered and analysed, to outline an emergent typology of academic socialisation. Whilst the stories are unique to individuals, and the broader context of their experience…

This paper describes a case study of two pure mathematicians who flipped their lecture to teach matrix determinants in two large mathematics service courses (one at Stage I and the other at Stage II). The purpose of the study was to transform the passive lecture into an active learning opportunity and to introduce valuable mathematical skills,…

This article has four aims. The first is to characterize the key features of speech-act theory, and, in particular, to show that there is a genuine distinction between the sound uttered when someone is speaking (locution), the effect the speech has (perlocution) and the very "act" of speaking (the illocution). Secondly, it aims to…

The use of podcasting in higher education has escalated in recent years. The aim of this case study was to analyse undergraduate student use and perceptions of lecture audio recordings in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Leeds. Students completed an online survey over a two-week period based on their use of lecture audio…

Conventional lecture approaches view the process as a teacher-led method of imparting knowledge ("presentation" lecture), whereas modern theories suggest that the teaching methods employed should aim to inspire the student to learn rather than simply provide them with knowledge ("performance" lecture). The aim of the current…

"Independent" lecture agencies are a neglected element in the history of education. Between 1918 and 1939, the Selborne Lecture Bureau was a significant national provider of adult education in Britain, both in its own right and as a supplier of lecture(r)s to Women's Institutes and other bodies, and it pioneered the use of films in…

This paper explores the relevance to industry's needs of operations management (OM) teaching in higher education, by researching the content of OM modules delivered by UK academics and comparing the results of this research with the views of business practitioners having had first-hand experience of OM teaching on MBA programmes. To determine…

Internationally there is concern about levels of student absenteeism. Research underpinning this article consisted of a survey of academic staff and 25 interviews with first year students in a well regarded "new" university in Britain. The article explores the issue of poor attendance and why a significant number of students seem to have…

Video-linked lectures allow healthcare students across multiple sites, and between university and hospital bases, to come together for the purposes of shared teaching. Recording and streaming video-linked lectures allows students to view them at a later date and provides an additional resource to support student learning. As part of a UK Higher…

A centralised system monitoring attendance and performance among first year students in Biomedical Sciences has been established at Newcastle University. Early signs of absence and poor performance trigger immediate intervention by academic staff, with the aim of providing support for students at risk of failure or withdrawal. Difficulties…

This paper presents a comprehensive overview of lexicogrammatical devices which highlight important or relevant points in lectures. Despite the established usefulness of discourse organizational cues for lecture comprehension and note-taking, very little is known about the marking of relevance in this genre. The current overview of…

This paper analyses laughter in spoken academic discourse, with the aim of discovering why lecturers provoke laughter in their lectures. A further purpose of the paper is to identify episodes in British data which may differ from those in other cultural contexts where other lecturing practices prevail, and thus to inform the design of study skills…

This paper reports on an investigation into the workplace writing of university lecturers as a significant element of their professional practice. The research has focused on lecturers' routine, everyday writing, as opposed to their more prestigious or scholarly writing. In order to gain an understanding of writing as professional practice, about…

This article reports a study on metaphor comprehension by the international students whose first language is not English, while attending undergraduate lectures at a British university. Study participants identified words or multiword items that they found difficult in extracts from four academic lectures, and they interpreted metaphors from those…

The study we report here examines parts of what Chevallard calls the "institutional" dimension of the students' learning experience of a relatively under-researched, yet crucial, concept in Analysis, the concept of infinite series. In particular, we examine how the concept is introduced to students in texts and in teaching practice. To…