University course design and delivery

How to design in-person, hybrid and online courses that maximise student engagement, inclusion and learning. Here, you can find advice on instructional design including lesson planning, creation and organisation of educational materials and effective use of digital technologies; as well as teaching methods and styles to help you achieve specific learning outcomes.

Students gather around a table to work together

Creating empathetic graduates requires us to go beyond exams

Drawing on self-determination theory and using immersion technology can help educators shape civic-minded, people-focused students. Find out how

Angel Lai

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

University students working individually at their desks

Five pillars of collaborative online learning

How to promote interaction, a sense of collective responsibility and reflective practices to prevent students from ‘dividing and conquering’ in group projects

Mariana Elizondo, Elizabeth Marcial Morales

Tecnológico de Monterrey

A student opens an AI chatbot in a lecture hall

Your students use GenAI. Let’s redesign learning so thinking still happens

We can’t put AI back in the box. Instead, higher education needs to find a way to make students think despite it

Soukaina Aijou

Al Akhawayn University

When teacher training mirrors the classroom we want to build

How to deliver large-cohort teaching development programmes that help postgraduate students see educating as a professional practice, rather than an imposed obligation

Ka Yan So

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Use XR to make invisible networks visible to students

Computer science students often need to understand technical concepts hidden within layers of software. Here’s how extended reality could offer a solution

Pablo Salva Garcia, Ahren Hart

University of the West of Scotland

The answer to personalising education isn’t technological, it’s organisational

Is higher education too focused on tools and algorithms when it comes to personalised education? Perhaps there’s a simpler answer

Fabián Olmos

Universidad Austral

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

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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

When students stop asking: ‘Is this on the exam?’

What happens when you trade exams for real clients, real problems and real deadlines? Dina Kamel outlines the benefits of unscripted problem-solving

Dina Kamel

The University of Portsmouth

‘AI literacy is everyone’s responsibility’

With higher education navigating rapid technological change, the key to embedding AI literacy in the workforce of tomorrow could be a focus on collaboration over competition

Hans van Oostrom

University of Florida

Asian students articipating in small-group discussion

Practicalities of co-creation: how to truly engage the student voice

When educators share the design and implementation of course material and assessment rubrics, they give students a stake in their own and their peers’ learning

Shuhui Yin

Macau University of Science and Technology

Young indian student using computer remote studying

‘We need to design lifelong learning for the students we will have, not the ones we imagine’

Flexible pathways and modular curricula will only fit into students’ real lives if courses are intentionally designed, co-created and evidence-informed, writes Harriet Dunbar-Morris. Here she shares a leadership toolkit for lifelong learning reform

Harriet Dunbar-Morris

University of Buckingham, University of Oxford

A teacher addresses a classroom informally

Teacher-directed instruction is dead – long live the future of education

Rather than react with fear to GenAI and attempt to ban it, let’s rethink traditional pedagogy instead, for more meaningful learning

Enrique Darwin Caraballo

Universidad del Caribe (UNICARIBE)

From polarisation to connection: counterspaces and reverse mentoring in higher education

It takes an intersectional approach, empathy and willingness to listen to cultivate affirming environments for marginalised groups, says Mazal Oaknín

Mazal Oaknín

UCL

Female designer working with AI chat bot and an editing software - stock photo

AI use tailored to creative-industry programmes requires institution-wide support

Students working towards creative careers have mixed feelings about AI and its potential effects on their job prospects. So education must consider the best practice in the application of tools but also teach students design fundamentals

Shushma Patel

De Montfort University

Three levels of AI proficiency for university educators

To become proficient in GenAI, educators must move beyond one-off interactions to create workflows that increase efficiency and deepen learning. Learn how

Patrice Seuwou

University of Northampton

Black man working at computer using AI chatbot

A framework for ensuring student AI proficiency

The question is no longer whether students will use AI after graduation but to what extent. So, how can universities best ensure that students are workforce-ready?

Margaret Ellis

Virginia Tech

A robot and a man in a business suit arm wrestle

‘If we make AI the enemy then surely it must become one’

How do we use GenAI without letting it use us? By mastering the tool, and helping students do so too, its much-feared effects on the humanities cannot come to pass, writes Stuart Christie

Stuart Christie

Hong Kong Baptist University

Biomaterials workshop at Arts University Plymouth

Enter the circle: teaching circularity in practice from the ground up

Creative universities need to move students’ practice from a linear ‘take, make, waste’ ethos to one co-authored with nature. Stephanie Owens explains how to foster a culture of circular innovation

Stephanie Owens

Arts University Plymouth

Let’s frame preparation as an academic skill

When students struggle to get started, the problem is rarely motivation. Teach them how to build the conditions for thinking by making preparation visible in the classroom

Meeyoung Kim

University of Sharjah

A group of students writing and talking together

Writing workshops v algorithms: what we should be teaching in the age of AI

How a simple classroom writing exercise provided an avenue for sharing and connection that moved students beyond AI-style ‘content generation’ towards human understanding

Julia Bell

Birkbeck, University of London

Couscous, among other ingredients, in a marketplace

Less beer, more couscous: gamifying supply chain education

Using the Beer Game to teach business students about supply chains may have had its last orders. Switching to couscous changed how one educator’s class thought

Jawad Abrache

Al Akhawayn University

GrimmGPT? Use AI to rewrite fairy tales – and get your students thinking

A simple strategy to help your students question AI tools from a familiar starting point

India Lawton

Southampton Solent University

A student looks up from a book to check his smartphone

Equip students to champion human creativity over machine outputs

Publishing educators are ideally placed to encourage students to see through the GenAI hype and recognise the value of human creativity. Explore and reflect on the tools with these tips

Simon Rowberry

UCL

Man with child on his lap working at computer

It’s time to take the well-being of online postgraduate students seriously

As online taught postgraduate provision expands, programme teams need practical ways to support student well-being at a distance. Julien le Jeune d’Allegeershecque shares five ways educators can make a measurable difference

Julien le Jeune d’Allegeershecque

Imperial College London

Combat sustainability burnout by giving students the tools to act

Students care deeply about climate change – here’s how to design teaching to prevent them feeling powerless as a result

Soheil Davari

University of Bath

A student uses a laptop in a lecture hall

How do we teach AI literacy when students already think they’re experts?

Students don’t need help from their educators to keep up with AI. But what we can do is encourage them to question it more. Here’s how

Abderrahim Agnaou

Al Akhawayn University

A doctor uses a chatbot on a desktop screen

In AI-enabled healthcare education, critical thinking comes first

As technology shapes the future of healthcare, how can we embed the skills tomorrow’s medical staff will need? Find out how here

Dara Cassidy

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

Loading illustration leading to lightbulb on yellow background

‘The first step is to understand what supervisors and students need’

Many academics have limited access to structured training in doctoral supervision. Here, Paul Clarkson and Tahrima Hossain offer takeaways from designing a supervisor development programme

Paul Clarkson, Tahrima Hossain

University of Southampton

A woman opening a package with a surprised expression on her face

How to choose the right AI tools for teaching

Educators are not always aware of the implications of using the latest shiny AI tool. Laura Milne offers guidance on balancing educational value with institutional priorities

Laura Milne

University of Chester

Empower students in their practical learning

Help your students bridge the gap between classroom theory and real-world practice by giving them ownership of the experience

Connie Li

Hong Kong Baptist University

Concept of levelling up university assessment in response to GenAI

Assessing critical thinking in critical times

The advent of generative AI plus questions about the relevance of higher education call for a closer look at how critical thinking skills are taught and measured. Kate Williams offers ways to level up traditional assessment formats

Kate Williams

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

Students sitting at their desks in a classroom

Why universities must become flexible lifelong partners, not one-time providers

As careers become increasingly non-linear and shaped by rapid change, universities must evolve beyond traditional degree provision, says Sankar Sivarajah. Here, he outlines strategies

Sankar Sivarajah

Kingston University

AI literacy is the bridge between fear and the graduates we need

We need to meet the digital revolution with curiosity, rather than fear, and AI literacy is the way forward. Here’s how

Phil Laufenberg

La Trobe University

David Boud shares insights on feedback, assessment and learning

Campus Talks: How to create university assessments that serve learning

Learn what constitutes good feedback and how to get students actively engaged in learning from their assessments

David Boud, Miranda Prynne

Deakin University

Global classrooms, without the jet lag: a guide to transnational education

How transnational and translocal strategies can foster a global mindset and a sense of belonging in students

Jayakumar Chinnasamy

University of the West of Scotland

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