STEM

Resources and advice for academics and students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths

Scientist in yellow lab coat using pipette

How medical education can benefit from global challenges

Worldwide crises, such as a pandemic or healthcare costs in ageing Western societies, often centre on medical education and require it to adapt quickly. So, what can a university learn from such situations?

Béla Merkely

Semmelweis University

THE podcast graphic

THE podcast: when pop culture meets academia

Can superheroes teach us about physics? What can studying Kylie Minogue tell us about gender politics? Two academics talk about the intersection of popular culture and higher education

Michael Dennin, Liz Giuffre

University of California, Irvine, University of Technology Sydney

Depressed student hiding face on arms in front of laptop

Generation Z presents new challenges for medical education

Digitally savvy and adapted to rapid change, this cohort of future doctors needs emotional support and help managing expectations and setbacks

György Purebl

Semmelweis University

Man speaking jargon to confused man and woman

Being elitist about sci-comms damages science

Scientists, if you communicate only with people at your own level of expertise, how will you recruit the best and brightest, engage the public and change the world? Kylie Ahern takes ‘dumbing down’ to task

Kylie Ahern

STEM Matters

A woman writing out equations on a glass screen

The House Cup: promoting qualitative grading in mathematics

Using qualitative instead of numerical grading in mathematics supports meaningful feedback that helps students improve the quality of their work, Jean-Baptiste Gramain explains

Jean-Baptiste Gramain

University of Aberdeen

Researchers discussing their work

What does a 21st-century research and science system look like?

Jim Metson explores what is needed from universities and government to create a transformative research, science and innovation sector in New Zealand

Jim Metson

University of Auckland

A female doctor talking to a woman

A robust complaints process for students working in NHS placements

Students training as health and social care workers must be supported to speak up about complaints or concerns from practice settings. Helen Carr outlines a clear process

Helen Carr

Canterbury Christ Church University

A man doing calculations at his computer

A unique approach to designing robust, calculation-based online assessments

Designing open-book, online assessments for subjects relying on calculation poses a challenge to educators. Amit Navin Jinabhai presents a model he has successfully applied to minimise student collusion

Amit Navin Jinabhai

University of Manchester

history of mathematics concept

Decolonising learning through access to primary sources

Mathematicians have always looked at old problems in new ways. A database of original sources will give university-level mathematics students a global, historical view of their subject

June Barrow-Green , Brigitte Stenhouse

The Open University

Electron microscope image

When to use online laboratories for STEM teaching and why

A guide to help STEM educators understand which aspects of practical laboratory learning can most effectively be delivered online and the benefits of this approach

Helen Lockett

The Open University

How to encourage women entrepreneurs at universities

How can we help academia produce more women entrepreneurs?

The key change required to help female academics found spin-out companies is rebalancing the gender diversity of the investment community, but universities have a part to play, too

Simonetta Manfredi

Oxford Brookes University

A virtual reality classroom

Teaching within virtual reality worlds: what, why and when

Gary Burnett offers five pointers on when and how teaching in virtual reality worlds can successfully enhance learning

Gary Burnett

University of Nottingham

Student in a role play simulation

Whole-task learning using real world simulations: a guide

A guide to creating and delivering a whole-task learning model using goal-based scenarios and hybrid simulation, by Michael Daly

Michael Daly

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

A man building a machine on his desk

Home labs and simulations to spark curiosity and exploration

Francesco Fornetti explains how home lab kits and simulation tools can help spark curiosity and exploration among engineering students

Francesco Fornetti

University of Bristol

Image of a DNA strand

Helping students see biology within a broader context

Should educators help students understand their chosen subjects within a broader context of learning? Mark Coleman has been experimenting with this in his biology course and shares his findings so far

Mark Coleman

University of East Anglia

Image of a young black woman scientist

Address STEM inequality by reconceiving merit

The cultural yardsticks used to measure merit in STEM are warped with bias and often devalue women, people of colour and LGBTQ+ scientists with records equal to white heterosexual male peers. To fix STEM inequality, academia must reconceive merit

Mary Blair-Loy , Erin A. Cech

University of California San Diego , University of Michigan

Image showing data processing and analytics

Foundations to lay when teaching computational and data skills

Traditional teaching in data analysis focuses on statistics and visualisation but an emphasis on foundational data and computational skills is needed to prepare students to work with real data, explains Philip Leftwich

Philip Leftwich

University of East Anglia

Running a diverse team is harder work but the rewards are immense

Running a diverse team is harder work – but the rewards are immense

John Womersley managed more than 50 nationalities on a €3 billion science project. Here, he reflects on the experience and gives tips on getting the most out of a diverse team

John Womersley

University of Oxford

Image showing researcher studying plants

Helping students tackle terminology barriers

Lots of new terminology can leave students feeling overwhelmed. Sonja Dunbar shares one way to build student confidence when encountering discipline-specific terms

Sonja Dunbar

University of Cambridge

Image depicting the study of bioscience

Creating a bioscience toolkit for first year students

Chinedu Agwu shares advice on supporting first-year students to develop the core skills and knowledge they need to succeed in a bioscience course

Chinedu Agwu

University of Hertfordshire

Gender equality

10 ways universities can tackle gender inequality

Ellie Bothwell outlines recommendations from THE’s recent report on how universities around the world are performing on gender equality

Ellie Bothwell

Times Higher Education

A healthcare professional assisting a male patient

Why and how to build awareness of cultural sensitivity in healthcare curricula

Why and how to adjust curricula to take account of cultural sensitivities relating to the discipline being taught, taking healthcare as an example

Craig Jackson

Loma Linda University

Make mathematics fun to learn

Make mathematics fun and easy to learn for university students

Make mathematics fun and engaging by creating a warm and welcoming class environment and applying lessons to real-life contexts, Pattama Sornkao explains

Pattama Sornkhao

Siam University

Advice on using online and blended learning tools to teach data science skills

Using online and blended learning tools to teach data science skills

Advice on teaching data science skills using online and blended learning tools and resources, by Philip Leftwich

Philip Leftwich

University of East Anglia

University admissions policies could be hold back diversity efforts for students wanting to study STEM subjects

Are STEM admissions processes hindering our diversity efforts?

The requirement for potential STEM students to have studied traditionally related subjects such as maths and physics seems outdated and unnecessary, says Judy Raper

Judy Raper

TEDI-London

Steps institutions should take to encourage more mature female students to complete STEM courses

How to support women of all ages in post-secondary science education

Mature female students face barriers to success in STEM subjects, but steps can be taken to address this. Liette Vasseur explains what needs to be done

Liette Vasseur

Brock University

Advice on presenting live coding 'labs' as a series of short videos which take students through the problem step by step

Video makes the coding star: teaching problem-solving in bite-sized chunks online

Aidan McGowan explains how converting practical coding ‘labs’ into a series of short videos taking students through the problems step-by-step has improved learning outcomes

Aidan McGowan

Queen’s University Belfast

Universities can help encourage women into coding by reclaiming this mind-expanding skill from big tech

How do we get more women into coding? Fix how it’s taught and used

It’s time women said to the tech industry: ‘It’s not me, it’s you.’ And universities can help by not confusing the art of computer programming with rather dull ‘careers in coding’

Andy Farnell

Visiting professor

Universities and society at large must promote female involvement and achievements in STEM

Boosting female representation in STEM is crucial to global innovation

Addressing the gender disparity in STEM isn’t just a question of striving for a fairer society, it’s also fundamental to solving the complex challenges that affect us all

Jennifer Tour Chayes

University of California, Berkeley

Advice on ways to improve the teaching of higher education mathematics

Top tips to improve the teaching of mathematics in universities

Layal Hakim shares advice for improving higher education mathematics teaching, from preparation to delivery styles

Layal Hakim

University of Exeter

Advice on looking to the wider research community for resources and training to upskill your research team

Core data science skills: filling the gaps with community developed workshops

The scientific research apprenticeship model lacks training in core data science skills. Community-developed workshops delivered by academic peers can help to fill this gap, Alison Meynert and Edward Wallace explain

Alison Meynert , Edward Wallace

The University of Edinburgh

Creative courses are an easy target and have long been undervalued despite their importance to economies

The government needs to square its rhetoric on creative courses

Undervaluing the creative sector is nothing new, but the government also says it’s part of a ‘rich mix’ needed to deliver its ambitions. So which one is it, asks Paul Thompson

Paul Thompson

Royal College of Art

Insight on a new approach to training students in applied learning from the medical school team at NUS

Collaborative learning cases: a fresh approach to applied learning

A group of medical educators introduce a new teaching model being used to improve students’ ability to apply learning in clinical or real-world settings through collaborative work on specific cases

Dujeepa Samarasekera

National University of Singapore

Advice for taking a course like maths requiring detailed step by step instruction online

Taking challenging courses requiring step-by-step instruction online

Pam Benz offers tips for translating challenging courses, which necessitate students seeing problems worked out step by step, to online instruction modes

Pam Benz

University of West Florida

Why and how to introduce random error into virtual experiments

Striving for imperfection: introducing randomness into virtual experiments

Rachel Martins explains how she introduced random error into her lab simulations when teaching online physics, to better replicate real-world experiments for her students

Rachel Martins

Leeds International Study Centre

A virtual student competition. These events' move online has resulted in a much greater international spread of participants and collaboration.

Moving student competitions online has made them better than ever

Virtual competitions have flourished and resulted in greater international collaboration, says Gayle DeBruyn

Gayle DeBruyn

Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University

Huge uptake of science subjects is expected in the wake of the pandemic, and we must utilise online learning to serve the demand.

Only a digital drive will allow us to capture the boom in STEM interest

We certainly don’t want to turn away thousands of enthusiastic STEM students due to a lack of capacity, says Steve Davies

Steve Davies

University of South Wales

Five steps to moving practical learning online

Five simple ways to recreate the practical sides of teaching online

It can be a challenge to shift physical elements of teaching online. Eoin Coakley shares five approaches to recreating the experience of in-person learning for remote students

Eoin Coakley

Coventry University

Lessons from research into the flipped classroom model online

How a flipped classroom model improves learning in online STEM courses

STEM courses can be challenging to master online, but research by Atef Abuhmaid and Tao Tang shows a flipped classroom model improves outcomes. Here they outline the key lessons from their study

Atef Abuhmaid, Tao Tang

The Hashemite University, Chengdu University of Information Technology

Approaches to moving practical courses to more remote learning

Innovative approaches to moving practical learning online

A major challenge of the move to remote learning has been how to teach practical subjects. Here, Lesley Saunders and Lucy Kirkham discuss how they adopted a combination of online, blended and socially distanced teaching for a large nursing course

Lesley Saunders , Lucy Kirkham

Sheffield Hallam University

Illustration of scientific research

Remote vs virtual labs

The move to online teaching has led to a huge rise in the use of both remote and virtual laboratories. Here Dr Yeung explains how each works and outlines their strengths and weaknesses

Yau-Yuen Yeung

The Education University of Hong Kong