Feature article

Students in a lecture, pictured from above

Are we teaching information or developing understanding?

Why we need students to understand concepts rather than simply learn facts – and what pedagogical approaches can help

Maximillian Afnan

The London School of Economics and Political Science

Group of four smiling college students walking

A warm welcome is a strategic imperative for higher education

If we want incoming students to flourish, we must stop treating belonging as a bonus and start seeing it as an essential condition for learning. Scott Dunning offers strategies on welcoming students to succeed

Scott Dunning

Virginia Tech

Teachers designing a course together at a table

Team teaching 101

When faculty collaborate in the classroom, students gain multiple perspectives on complex material while new academics learn the craft of teaching from more experienced colleagues

Katherine Van Heuvelen

Harvey Mudd College

Partner with news outlets to combat fake news

Five ways universities and media outlets can work together to build resilience against misinformation

Andreas Munzel

Vlerick Business School

Students talking in class? Teach from the back

Stepping away from the front of the lecture hall renders educators more approachable, and more able to catch the eye of a student looking confused or manage unwarranted chatter

Adrian J. Wallbank

Oxford Brookes University

Participants of a COIL project smiling to camera

Tips for a successful COIL experience

Guidance through four collaboration phases to ensure collaborative online international learning projects offer meaningful, technology-supported exchanges between institutions

Anisa Vahed

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Students and support staff work together round a laptop

Work with students for an inclusive university culture

Inviting students into the process of making your university campus a more inclusive place can be transformative. Here’s how

Dana Abiltayeva , Ayana Batyrbayeva

Nazarbayev University

Motivating students isn’t magic – it’s music

When students see purpose, believe they can succeed and know educators care, you won’t have to pull them through the course. They’ll walk, maybe even run, on their own. Brett Jones explains how to change their tune

Brett D. Jones

Virginia Tech

How can we embed Global South perspectives in GenAI teaching?

GenAI can accelerate learning, but if we aren’t careful, it can also reinforce colonial assumptions. Jasmine Mohsen explains how to avoid this

Jasmine Mohsen

SP Jain London School of Management

Assessment needs to grow up: what process and imperfection mean for higher education

Rather than railing against AI, educators could see this moment as an overdue correction and redesign assessment around what matters: the process by which humans think, revise and learn

Pontus Wärnestål

Halmstad University

How business education can preserve cultural heritage

Strengthen communities and protect cultural traditions by using business education to support artisanal practices. Here are four ways to do so

Ahlam Fakhar

Al Akhawayn University

How to foster debate in multicultural classrooms

If educators want their students to hone the skills of respectful debate across cultural boundaries, these eight tips – including planning and agreeing definitions – offer a place to start

Daphne Vallas

University of Westminster

Happy multiracial group of college students

Reimagining the student experience using tips from start-up culture

Start-up principles such as rapid iteration, co-creation and agile teamwork can be used to transform the student experience, enabling faster, more effective responses to evolving student needs

Melissa Padfield, Sarah Wolgemuth

University of Alberta

AI tools that strengthen students’ communication skills

AI can help students reflect, practise and improve the skills employers really value, from writing clearly to speaking confidently and working effectively in teams

Nelly Ramirez Vásquez , Gabriela Espínola Carballo, Carla Camacho

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Teacher guiding a student through an exercies on their laptop

Exercises to strengthen students’ socio-emotional skills

Simple, structured activities can strengthen students’ socio-emotional skills, from active listening to emotional regulation, helping them navigate academic and interpersonal challenges

Tatiana del Pilar Amado Castellanos

The University of Applied and Environmental Sciences (UDCA)

Medical students in discussion around a table

Far from home, but not alone: peer mentoring to ease culture shock for international students

Upper-year student mentors can provide freshmen mentees with practical tools to settle into a new environment, manage their mental health, navigate the workload and stay grounded throughout their medical studies

Eden Friedman, Adrienne Stauder

Semmelweis University

Three ways to use co-creation to embed critical thinking

Students need critical thinking skills to deal with the challenges the future holds. Here’s how co-creation in the classroom can help prepare them

Moonisah Usman

University of Westminster

Research culture begins with curiosity in the classroom

Research culture starts in the classroom, where enquiry becomes a habit and curiosity drives learning. Kashan Pirzada offers guidance on small, everyday teaching practices to cultivate it

Kashan Pirzada

Birmingham City University

An illustration of a woman, her face obscured by a giant scribble

Diversify university mental health services beyond CBT

With the number of students experiencing mental health issues rising, CBT is being applied as a one-size-fits-all solution. Here’s how to branch out into other approaches

Ava Doherty

University of Oxford

Embracing co-creation through experiential learning

Co-creation cultivates skills and mindsets that traditional classrooms may not be able to provide. For instructors, sharing control with students can result in a richer, more dynamic educational experience for all, writes Ed Berger

Ed Berger

Virginia Tech

Male Asian student working on a robot arm

GenAI as a research assistant: transforming start-up due diligence

Universities are not just centres of innovation, they are also platforms for promoting the commercialisation of research. As ‘research assistants’, GenAI can open the door for ‘under the radar’ start-ups that human evaluators may miss

Tiam Lin Sze

Singapore Management University

A meeting takes place around a long table

How to engage with stakeholders for research that matters

For meaningful research impact, stakeholder engagement has to be genuine and built over time. Follow these tips for better collaboration

Andy Phippen, Louise Rutt

Bournemouth University, University of Plymouth

Students recycling at a local community centre

Tackle one concrete problem to advance the SDGs: campus recycling

A focus on recycling offers universities a realistic, high-impact way to strengthen sustainability and make measurable progress toward the SDGs

Germán Anzola

The University of Applied and Environmental Sciences (UDCA)

A student speaking to a teacher in class

Make feedback a conversation to empower the student voice

Nurture feedback literacy through collaborative evaluation. Frederik Dahl Madsen and Kay Douglas show how a new approach works in two contrasting courses

Frederik Dahl Madsen, Kay Douglas

The University of Edinburgh

Barbed wire and a security camera on a brick wall

What learning behind bars can teach us about the university classroom

A partnership with a prison helped one educator see her university teaching in a different light. Find out how

Sobia Razzaq

University of Westminster

The case for degrees that teach us how to think

As debate about the cost and purpose of higher education intensifies, the humanities are often the first target. Yet evidence shows that far from being outdated or indulgent, humanities degrees cultivate critical skills, resilience and, yes, viable career paths

Michelle Moseley-Christian

Virginia Tech

The secrets of successful ‘mega’ modules

Teaching at scale is a growing reality across UK higher education, but how can modules with more than 500 students maintain quality and engagement?

Fujia Li, Hugh Waters

The University of Exeter, University of the West of England Bristol

Use GenAI as your personal learner engagement analytics expert

Harness the student data in your virtual learning environment with a few choice prompts for GenAI

Stephen Buckingham

Queen Mary University of London

Turn your research into a Hollywood-worthy story

Take a leaf out of a master storyteller’s book. If you want your research to be noticed, transform it into a story. After all, it worked for Charles Darwin…

Simon Hall

University of Cambridge

Prevent overstimulation and support autistic students in the laboratory

Laboratory sessions can prompt overstimulation in autistic students. Here, one student outlines the challenges they’ve faced and what support has helped

Matthew Jones, Beth Crofts

University of Salford

Students chatting together at a table in class

Everyday strategies to build belonging and well-being

With a focus on emotional safety, connection and clear communication, these actions build belonging and support well-being across any discipline

Lauren Flannery

The University of East Anglia

Can peer mentoring support under-represented students into postgraduate research?

Mentoring is often seen as a silver bullet for tackling complex challenges such as unequal access to postgraduate research opportunities. So, can a peer-to-peer scheme support under-represented students into PhD study?

Maisha Islam

University of Southampton

Co-created research to boost a student mentoring scheme

A foundation mentoring scheme helped students widen their networks. But how to increase participation? Involving students in a co-creation research project provided the answer

Amy MacLatchy

University of Westminster

A student taking a moment to reflect on a concept

Reflective skills are key in an unpredictable labour market

Students need to be agile to succeed in the workplaces of the future. Rather than rely on static career planning tools, teach students to pause and evaluate

Michelle Civile

The University of Exeter

Teaching core skills for today’s and tomorrow’s jobs

Students need skills that go beyond subject knowledge to be ready for as-yet-unknown jobs. For institutions, that means preparing them with cognitive abilities – and awareness of how to apply them – for careers now and in future

Aulay Mackenzie

Walbrook Institute London

Young woman with a drill assembling a wooden bookcase

‘The arts and humanities celebrate what makes us human’

As deepfakes blur truth and political divides widen, the arts and humanities offer essential skills such as reflection and resilience. And, of course, they provide respite and balance. Patty Raun explains

Patricia Raun

Virginia Tech

Two engineering students work together on a project

Ask students to create assessments for industry insight

Engineering education requires up-to-date industry knowledge. Why not deploy your senior students to craft authentic assessments?

Jamil Jasin, Alfred Cheng Hock Tan , Idris Li Hong Lim, Christian Della

Singapore Institute of Technology

Subtle steps that protect your authorship

Many early career researchers working with code, data and analysis assume goodwill is enough to secure authorship – it isn’t. Here’s how to protect your contributions and build fair, transparent collaborations

Hari Ram C. R. Nair

Chalmers University of Technology

Co-creation that treats students as collaborators, not consultants

When students believe their opinions matter, their creativity, confidence and sense of belonging grow – and so does the impact of your work. Here are five practical ways to bring students ‘behind the camera’ in co-curricular programme design

Melissa Gerrior, Jennifer Graham

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities, Georgia College and State University

University students sitting at their desks

Why clear GenAI guidance matters to neurodivergent students. And how to get it right

Neurodivergent students often experience heightened anxiety when GenAI expectations vary across courses. Here’s how to design more consistent guidance

Jayne Quoiani

The University of Edinburgh

Place Indigenous knowledge at the heart of academic enquiry

Decolonise the curriculum by engaging students with historically marginalised knowledge from a range of sources. Here’s how

Kam Kaur

Adelaide University

Illustration of man pushing cogs linked to books representing work-integrated learning

Real-world projects offer ideal conditions for teaching soft skills

With tomorrow’s graduates requiring agility, empathy and leadership capabilities on top of subject knowledge, the path forward is through connection with industry and community partners, as Kevin Koh explains

Kevin Koh

Singapore Management University

Equipment travellers will take on safari

Why academics need to find adventure beyond the classroom

The best research inspiration happens organically. Here’s how to free yourself from the constraints of campus and go out into the field

Kenneth Pratt

University of the West of Scotland

Give students the tools to negotiate in the classroom

Teach students to listen, interpret non-verbal cues and understand their peers’ needs through simple classroom strategies

Elisa González

CETYS Universidad

Why university leaders must listen differently in one-to-ones

Talk less and listen more should be a mantra for leaders and managers. When they acknowledge diverse perspectives, avoid dominating discussions and reflect what they have heard, it sets the tone for more inclusive, respectful dialogue

Annie Owen

University of Southampton

A illustration of a laptop offering online learning

Design online learning materials to suit everyone

Create interactive webpages and get to know how your students learn in order to improve e-learning materials. Follow this advice to get started

Nguyen Thi Tu Linh, Nguyen Quoc Minh (Harry) Quan, Nah Yong En

Singapore Institute of Technology

Give students autonomy over their learning

Here are simple ways to nurture self-direction in students – from consulting them on assessments to offering choice on learning objectives – shared by Natalie K Seedan

Natalie K. D. Seedan

The University of the West Indies

Two female Asian fashion design students in workshop

Beyond the creative supplement: reframing the value of arts-based research

When traditional methodologies struggle to capture sensory, emotional and lived dimensions of culture, researchers can turn to arts-based enquiry. This practical advice explains how to integrate audio, visual and reflective data collection into research design

Peng Liu

Macau University of Science and Technology

Doctors of colour clasp hands in a circle

What underpins the success of a racial justice network?

A small online meeting of ethnic minority medical students in 2020 has now grown into a well established staff and student community. Here are six features that underpin its success

Kate Williams, Shameq Sayeed

University of Leicester

Turning a student-led initiative into a language-learning community

Simple steps to foster informal, institution-wide language learning can develop into a sustainable programme that builds confidence, encourages cultural exchange and strengthens student community

Viktória Sirokmány

Semmelweis University

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