Feature article

Course design for non-traditional students: lessons from adult learning theory

Strategies for ensuring relevance, building on existing knowledge and creating flexible learning experiences to better serve increasing numbers of non-traditional students

Catherine Wehlburg

Athens State University

A young woman holds a megaphone at a protest

Why we should teach students about academic freedom

Empower students with both a theoretical understanding of academic freedom and hands-on experience in advocating for those stripped of it. Here’s how

Kate Murphy, Tony Williams, Suzy Killmister

Monash University

Storytelling and theatre techniques to take research to general audiences

Researchers often believe that science communication requires them to abandon depth. Storytelling, however, can provide a structure through which complex ideas become more accessible without losing academic rigour

Michelle Smith

Theatre for Life, University of Southampton

University students sitting at a table discussing a project

AI shaming is not AI literacy

Criticism of GenAI is necessary but ridiculing those who use it can damage trust, prevent disclosure and impact learning. Educators need better questions, better boundaries and better language. Sara Saravi offers suggestions

Sara Saravi

Loughborough University

An illustration of students speaking different languages

How language surveys can shape a multilingual university

A biennial language survey changed how one university thought about linguistic diversity – and helped give students a voice. Here’s how

Katherine Mansfield

University of Westminster

Should I raise my hand? Navigating cultural norms in the classroom

To tap into cultural diversity and enrich teaching environments, Sarah Kegley suggests three strategies: consult class members, be clear about engagement guidelines and make good use of resources

Sarah Kegley

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

I was an expert in my field. Then I became a beginner again

Bringing professional experience to postgraduate research can be an advantage, but it means approaching supervision in a different way. Find out how both sides of the partnership need to adjust

Artem Polulyakhov , Natalia Tsybuliak

Berdyansk State Pedagogical University

Broken citation or academic misconduct? How to spot the difference

Citation errors can come from people, tools or platforms. Here is a practical routine for checking suspicious references before assuming AI misuse, fake papers or misconduct

Faith Jeremiah

Lincoln University

The imperative for productive struggle

When AI can offer students the illusion of mastery, assessment design that includes ambiguity, choice, context and real-world values can encourage the effort that underpins deep learning

Karsten Mundel, Olivia Murray

University of Alberta

He professionals working together on an educational project

Five keys to success in multidisciplinary educational projects

Each team that contributes to educational initiatives has expertise-specific perspectives that influence its approach. Learn how building a shared vision, communicating effectively and setting boundaries can help leaders harness this diversity

Laura Angélica Castillo Lara

Tecnológico de Monterrey

What are students really paying attention to?

If we want to engage students, we must reuse and regenerate their attention rather than take, make and waste it, writes Christine Rivers, who shares advice on how to do this

Christine Rivers

University of Surrey

A hand holds a phone, on which an influencer is live streaming

Click like: how to use influencers in authentic assessment

Bridge the gap between students’ education and their online lives by deploying social media content creators in assessment. Here’s how

Melissa Y. L. Yeung , Ryan S. W. Lo, Hansel H. Y. Chan , Derek C. T. Au

Hong Kong Metropolitan University

Male and female engineers consulting on a work site

The global STEM workforce is multilingual. Is your institution keeping up?

English may dominate research and industry, but engineers increasingly work across languages, cultures and markets. Universities that recognise multilingualism as a professional asset will better prepare graduates for the realities of global practice

Sarah L. Rodriguez

Virginia Tech

Student raising their hand to speak in a lecture

The Democracy Lab: how 20 minutes of debate can revive the lecture

By introducing short debate about a current issue or trend tied to that day’s lecture, Theo Koutmeridis discovered a simple way to boost student interest and engagement for the whole two-hour class

Theodore Koutmeridis

University of Glasgow

Medical students in scrubs walking down a university building corridor

Is quarantining in medical training fit for purpose?

Quarantining can make medical exams fairer, but evolving needs and limited resources raise questions about viability. Rebekah Hill and Sarah Amadasun draw from student feedback to offer solutions

Rebekah Hill, Sarah Amadasun

The University of East Anglia

An illustration of screwed up bits of paper leading to a lightbulb moment

Design learning that works with the brain, not against it

Educating used to be about explaining concepts – now it’s about designing experiences to help the brain develop understanding. Find advice to tweak your teaching here

Mussab Aswad

Nasser Centre for Science and Technology

Black female professional working at computer

How to integrate AI-enabled lifelong learning across disciplines

The traditional boundary between a traditional degree and active professional development has permanently dissolved, writes Tim Brown. AI skills need to be taught in a similarly joined-up way

Tim Brown

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

Young male student raising hand in class

‘Trust in their own judgement is something we cannot teach our students’

Students new to formal finance education need space to make mistakes and a learning environment that includes uncertainty, risk and emotions, writes Manjari Sharma

Manjari Sharma

Christ (Deemed to be University)

A teacher presenting to a class full of students

How to craft an authentic and impactful teaching philosophy statement

Whether using it for career development or writing a statement as a reflective exercise, learn how to identify and showcase the values, beliefs and goals that govern your teaching approach through real examples

Daniella Sieukaran

Dalhousie University

A student uses a laptop in a lecture hall

I start my lectures by introducing my teaching assistant: GenAI

Artificial intelligence is offering us an opportunity to give every student in the lecture hall the chance to think ideas through and truly understand. Let’s take it

Dan Sarofian-Butin

Merrimack College

A lecturer talking to a student about their work.

What ‘learning verification’ means in practice

When a student’s work sparks concerns over AI use, the best approach is to sit down with them and have a conversation to ascertain if they understand what they submitted, explains B. Jean Mandernach, who shares tips for doing this

B. Jean Mandernach

Grand Canyon University

Two people looking at code on a computer screen

Collaboration is a skill – here’s how to master it

With practical tools, early career researchers can build productive partnerships that advance their work and withstand the pressures of shrinking budgets and shifting priorities

Rodrigo Pena

Florida Atlantic University

A group of university students sitting around a table having a discussion

How GenAI can amplify co-creation in higher education

How to make AI-supported co-creation work while ensuring empathy remains at the heart of the process

Bo Kelestyn, Jess Humphreys, Dmytro Chumachenko

The University of Warwick, Kharkiv Aviation Institute

Four changes to help improve multilingual students’ writing

Without academic writing instruction, multilingual students are more likely to rely on AI. Making these small shifts can better support them

Bridget Goodman

Nazarbayev University

How a five-year plan can help realise your research career goals

Early- and mid-career academics can find their long-term goals undermined with day-to-day demands. These steps can help define a pathway, set milestones and prioritise where time is best spent

Multiple authors

Macquarie University, University of Technology Sydney

Students using card and paper to create models in class

Software engineers with people skills grow from cardboard cities

Sometimes the best way to teach software engineering is to step away from the computer. Learn how to deliver a cardboard building activity that replicates a software development lifecycle

Nanlin Jin

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

A young Asian man in a wheelchair uses a phone and a laptop

Help South Asian disabled students navigate higher education

Disabled international students need cultural awareness alongside support. Here’s how to provide it

Nirma Jayawardena, Isuru Koswatte, Christian Harrison

University of the West of Scotland, University of Bradford, University of Bolton

A student and their lecturer in conversation.

Stop investigating, start teaching

Trying to detect whether a student has misused AI in their work is a wasted effort, from which no one benefits, writes B. Jean Mandernach. She proposes a different approach focused on finding out what students truly understand

B. Jean Mandernach

Grand Canyon University

Students are not just future graduates – they can serve society now

If universities want student service to mean more than an extracurricular activity, they have to care about design, preparation, partnerships, continuity and the institutional scaffolding that supports long-term impact

Chew Han Ei, Mark Chong

Singapore Management University

A young woman waves goodbye to family at an airport

Can we work with students to ‘co-create’ international study experiences?

Students tend towards safer, more familiar overseas study destinations so how can educators encourage them to make bolder, more adventurous choices? Lucas Lixinski explores this question

Lucas Lixinski

UNSW Sydney

A phone interface with a chatbot conversation open

How to let students fail – so they can bounce back

If we’re preparing students for the outside world, they need to be resilient and agile. Here’s how AI avatars could help

Yvonne Kong-Ho

Singapore Institute of Technology

Students in class watching a teacher, among them one raises her hand to answer a question

Impactful lessons begin and end with clarity

Common in primary and secondary teaching, starter and plenary activities can get students interested and build knowledge. Paul Demetriou explains how to use them in university teaching

Paul Demetriou

New City College

A programmer reviewing code on her desktop

In programming education, AI does not remove the need for expertise

As GenAI reshapes the way students and professionals work with code, it changes the competencies educators should assess. Here’s what they could look like

Fatema Zaghloul

The University of Bristol

How to divorce your academic discipline

When you fall out of love with your scholarly subject, leaving the silo can mean a painful separation. But with a break-up can also come a chance to rekindle academic passion. Here’s how to get out and move on

Darshan Vigneswaran

University of Amsterdam

Move beyond one-size-fits-all education for international students

Build a more inclusive and linguistically sensitive learning environment for global students with these tips

Anthony Manning

Arden University

A student and teacher sitting at a desk discussing an assignment

Simple ways to support students with ADHD

What you should know about how students with ADHD learn and how to take a strengths-based approach

Karen Costa

Lesley University

Female lecturer addresses a group of students

Why universities need shared conversations about ‘good’ teaching

Good teaching cannot be owned or defined by any one person or group, writes David Mather. He calls for more open discussion and exploration of what constitutes quality teaching

David Mather

The University of Portsmouth

Female high school student in lab wearing a white coat

From outreach to infrastructure: how academics can support a lasting STEM pipeline

Inspiring future generations of STEM scholars demands more than just a one-time introduction to science or engineering. Lasting impact comes from ongoing learning experiences, mentorship and institutional support, writes Keisha Simmons

Keisha Simmons

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

The case for the omnichannel AI assistant

A virtual assistant can make learning seamless, ubiquitous and scalable while addressing common faculty concerns regarding AI integration. Here’s how

Wai Chi Rodney Chu, Charles Woo

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

How experiential learning can build sustainability skills and spark change

Experiential learning projects that push students outside their disciplinary comfort zones can prompt real-world change. Learn why co-creation, interdisciplinarity and real-world relevance are key

Lory Barile, Bo Kelestyn, Bret Willers

The University of Warwick

How agentic AI brings interactivity to STEM learning

When applied thoughtfully, agentic AI has the potential to turn classrooms into environments where students actively explore complex systems rather than passively absorb information

Gerard Joseph Lim

Nanyang Technological University

A vial of green liquid sits on a sheet of reaction formulas

Tips to integrate sustainability into day-to-day university lab practice

Sustainability doesn’t have to be a big project. Instead, make it a part of what science departments do daily, writes Deirdre Black

Deirdre Black

Royal Society of Chemistry

Group of multiracial university students in a tutorial

A million more teachers: building human-centric skills in small-group teaching

Small-group discussions and one-to-ones can expand students’ capacity to act, think and communicate, writes Alastair Bonnett. Here, he offers a model for shifting university teaching from macro to micro

Alastair Bonnett

Newcastle University

A robot uses a microscope in a laboratory

A surprising ally in the fight to make chemistry greener – AI

While making chemistry more sustainable is paramount, tiny changes to lab materials and conditions can have significant effects. Can AI’s data-crunching abilities help?

Jonathan Hirst, Joe Heeley

University of Nottingham

Female student looking through a microscope

Europe invests in research but underinvests in forming researchers

Europe has built an admirable research support system but there is one crucial stage that is overlooked – the early formation of researchers, writes Adam Kola. He offers examples from his own institution on how to address this

Adam Kola

Nicolaus Copernicus University

Secondary students solving a maths problem on a whiteboard

Widen access to higher education by improving school attainment

With school attainment a key driver of progression to university, outreach must go beyond traditional interventions to widen access. Matthew Lucas offers five evidence-led ways to design educationally robust programmes

Matthew Lucas

UCL

The best way to teach students to think critically about AI? Make them argue with it

Educators might treat AI as an integrity problem, but employers don’t. They need graduates who can decide when to trust the machine – and when not to. And that’s why you should design assessment that forces students to argue against AI

Reihaneh Bidar

The University of Queensland

A scientist stands in a greenhouse with a tablet

Environmental researchers know the impact of AI – so why do they still use it?

Academics are increasingly using AI for research, despite being aware of its environmental footprint. But is it their fault – and what can be done?

Sarah Hartley, Emily Robinson, Mayra Rodriguez

The University of Exeter

Young woman wearing virtual reality headset

What virtual reality and AI can do for language learners

Virtual reality and artificial intelligence can support nervous students to progress from silence to speaking confidently in foreign language classes

Alícia Moreno Giménez

Lancaster University

A green liquid is dispensed into a petri dish

Take action to make sustainable labs a reality

Eliminate waste, reap the benefits of a circular economy and aim for ambitious targets for greener laboratories, with these tips

Jenna Lowe

University of Liverpool

1 2 ...32