Surfacing student voices is of utmost importance in higher education institutions. However, the use of large-scale student surveys may not represent the most effective method of eliciting meaningful student perspectives. Focus groups have the potential to elicit a more authentic student voice through greater engagement with students. Furthermore,…

The method of normalisation combined with peer ratings is utilised to provide the solution to the biased rating problem of mapping group work marks to individual marks. We critically evaluate the method of normalisation following the findings of an article which argued against the use of self and/or peer rating mechanism. We demonstrate that the…

The purpose of this multiple case study was to investigate engagement in the collegiate concert band setting. Research questions were: (1) How do collegiate band students describe their engagement in large ensemble rehearsals? (2) How do collegiate band directors describe engagement in large ensemble rehearsals? and (3) What does rehearsal…

This article looks at how membership of a community impacts learning for individuals. Community membership and learning have received much attention from scholars and practitioners alike (for example, in Wolfensberger, 2012; Inkelas, Jessup-Anger, Wawrzynski, & Benjamin, 2007; Wenger, 1998). Specifically, many studies have focused on learning…

Several studies have pointed to the benefits of learning in groups. However, surprisingly little research has been conducted regarding what role relationship-related personality traits play in the effectiveness of this kind of student learning. Such personality factor can potentially buffer the students' effectiveness in groups. The present study…

Learner-Generated Digital Media (LGDM) has become prevalent in higher education. Frameworks have been developed for video-making in the classroom that consider technical requirements, pedagogies, and the combination of both. However, missing is a practical model to guide academics and students on the implementation of LGDM assignments. This…

Environmental Management (EM) is taught in many Higher Education Institutions in the UK. Most this provision is studied full-time on campuses by younger adults preparing themselves for subsequent employment, but not necessarily as environmental managers, and this experience can be very different from the complexities of real-life situations. This…

(Purpose) With the end of the spring 2020 academic term, a national survey was conducted to identify best practices of college educators regarding how they moved their traditional face-to-face tutoring and small group tutoring programs online due to Covid-19 pandemic. This document contains the results of that survey. (Methods) In early May 2020,…

Small group work is common practice in higher education. However, empirical research on students' emotions related to group work is still relatively scarce. Particularly, little is known about students' appraisals of a group task as antecedents of emotions arising in the context of group work. This paper provides a first attempt to systematically…

(Purpose) This publication identifies lessons learned from moving traditional face-to-face peer study groups to online operation. Two sources were consulted. First, previous publications concerning online peer study groups were studied to identify approaches, equipment and software used, and reports of effectiveness. Second, during May 2020…

Vision and Change states that one of the major changes in the way we design biology courses should be a switch in approach from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning and identifies active learning as a recommended methods. Studies show performance benefits for students taking courses that use active learning. What is unknown is…

The aim of the present study was to develop and provide psychometric evidence in support of the groupwork skills questionnaire (GSQ) for measuring task and interpersonal groupwork skills. A 46-item version of the GSQ was initially completed by 672 university students. The number of items was reduced to 15 following exploratory factor analyses, and…

Published annually since 1985, the Handbook series provides a compendium of thorough and integrative literature reviews on a diverse array of topics of interest to the higher education scholarly and policy communities. Each chapter provides a comprehensive review of research findings on a selected topic, critiques the research literature in terms…

The goal of this study was to explore how students debate with their peers within a designed context using a digital dialogue game, and whether their epistemic beliefs are significant to the outcomes. Epistemic beliefs are known to colour student interactions within argumentative discourse, leading some students to hold back from interactions. By…

Higher education institutions should not only aim to educate academic experts who master their own fields, but also give their students generic skills important in the current society. New teaching methods are required to support the development of such skills. The study examined how a group of voluntary university lecturers re-designed their…