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.

student on a pile of books with calculations on the wall concept

How to spice up a lecture

Simple exercises can make reading-based university classes more engaging and interactive, says Amjed Majeed. In this video, he offers four ways to break up the vocabulary, text, comprehension routine

Amjed Hameed Majeed

Al-Mustaqbal University

An introduction to microlearning

Dulce Julissa Salas Benavides and Jesús Alejandro Salas Benavides explain the basics of microlearning, from how it works to benefits and key features

Dulce Julissa Salas Benavides , Jesús Alejandro Salas Benavides

Monterrey Institute of Technology

Top three teaching and learning tips for higher education

Good teachers need to be good learners

Patrick Bailey draws on four decades of university experience to identify the three things he thinks have the biggest impact on successful teaching and learning

Patrick Bailey

London South Bank University

Female student writing in the university library

Mini virtual writing retreats to support and connect tutees

A guide to organising mini virtual writing retreats each week to build a supportive scholarly community within a personal tutoring group

Aspasia Eleni Paltoglou

Manchester Metropolitan University

Lesson plans – a blueprint for success

Think of your lesson as a story and your lesson plan as its script. And remember that a good plan considers the people involved in the lesson, not just the activities

John Weldon

Victoria University

Promoting academic integrity in a massive online master’s programme

Understanding why students cheat is key to preventing it. Not only that, but three key tips turn supporting integrity into an opportunity to foster culture rather than dish out punishment

David Joyner

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

Group of students taking part in a classroom debate

Successful classroom discussions begin long before anyone speaks

Classroom discussions help engagement and learning so find out how instructors can get started in facilitating respectful debate among students using a simple framework

Mylien Duong, Jacob Fay

Constructive Dialogue Institute

Strategies for developing live student-client projects

Projects in which students work in a professional consulting capacity with “client” organisations can bring many benefits for all involved, but need careful set-up and support, as Lyvia Royd-Taylor explains

Lyvia Royd-Taylor

University of Brighton

Sprint to the finish: redesigning university programme validation

Sprint methodology can compress university-wide validation of academic programmes into an intense, hierarchy-free three-day process

Leanne de Main, Sarah Jones

De Montfort University, University of Gloucestershire

Students working together to solve a problem

A framework for teaching work integrated learning projects

A framework for structuring work integrated learning (WIL) projects to train students in problem solving and creative thinking, from Nguyen Hoang Thuan and Pedro Antunes, based on their research and lecturing experience

Nguyen Hoang Thuan, Pedro Antunes

RMIT University Vietnam, University of Lisbon

TikTok can be a great instructional tool for engaged educators

What I learned from spending three years researching TikTok

Far from being an attention span wasteland, the popular social media platform has great instructional potential for engaged and experimental academics, says Elizabeth Losh

Elizabeth Losh

William & Mary

Female student reading a book in the university library

If you want students to read more, consider asking them to read less

Students can feel overwhelmed when faced with lengthy academic reading lists so how can educators help them develop their reading skills? Will Mason and Meesha Warmington share five actions to support students in tackling, even enjoying, their course literature

Will Mason , Meesha A Warmington

University of Sheffield

How to design low-stakes authentic assessment that promotes academic integrity

Robust assessment design is more important than ever in the battle to maintain academic integrity, say Nguyen Bui and Simon Feros

Nguyen Bui , Simon Feros

Australian National University

Enable learners to become confident digital explorers

Universities must help students develop digital skills and competencies that will set them up for successful lives after they graduate

Mike Cooray, Rikke Duus

Hult International Business School (Ashridge), UCL

Enrich your online evaluation practices with this quick guide

A group of academics from Monterrey Institute of Technology present a series of recommendations for designing and implementing online assessment

Graciela González-Valdepeña, Adriana Plata-Marroquin , Gabriela Sánchez Castillo

Monterrey Institute of Technology

Lessons from students in how to adapt teaching to online learning

Embrace the student voice in order to develop and improve your online teaching with varied media and plenty of interactive elements to boost engagement and learning, says Nick Young

Nick Young

Cardiff Metropolitan University

Ungrading in universities is not being carried out effectively

The problem with ungrading? Everyone’s doing it wrong

The vast majority of applications of what is referred to as ungrading rely on rubrics, stated learning outcomes and grades by other names, says Sean Michael Morris

Sean Michael Morris

Course Hero

Intended learning outcomes (ILOs): from sideshow to teaching tool

Used effectively, intended learning outcomes (ILOs) can provide a useful tool to drive student engagement and encourage learners to take responsibility for their education, as Amit Jinabhai explains

Amit Navin Jinabhai

The University of Manchester

International perspectives on teaching and learning forged during Covid

Academics from around the globe share practical advice and lessons learned for those teaching online now or in future turbulent times

Katherine Mansfield

The University of Westminster

Illustration of professionals crossing a book bridge

Tips for teaching MBA students

MBA students come to class with high expectations and present distinct teaching challenges. In this video, Carl Sherwood explains why a holistic approach and using students’ own professional experience in content and assessment design lead to success

Carl Sherwood

The University of Queensland

Exams must be used correctly in modern university teaching

Traditional exams aren’t dead – they just need to be used correctly

Knowing when to utilise traditional v authentic assessment methods – and the modern tools to build them – is a crucial part of the teacher’s role in 2022 and beyond

Beatriz Murillo Pancardo , Pedro de Jesús García Reza , Mariano Garay Peña

Monterrey Institute of Technology

To block or not to block? How time affects learning in higher education

From intensive block plans to open-ended study programmes, the ideal length for a unit of study is under interrogation. Jason M. Lodge considers the evidence

Jason M. Lodge

The University of Queensland

Assessment and feedback as a participatory dialogue

Assessment and feedback as an active dialogue between tutors and students

Seven steps towards enhancing assessment and feedback as a participatory, social process that supports deeper learning, by Neil Lent, Tina Harrison and Sabine Rolle

Neil Lent, Tina Harrison, Sabine Rolle

The University of Edinburgh

Artificial intelligence: a dystopian future for higher education?

AI in higher education: dystopia, utopia or something in between?

To understand how HE can incorporate AI successfully, we need to think about how humans will interact with the technology and change their behaviour, says Ben Swift

Ben Swift

Australian National University

Course module design and structure for beginners

Building an online course from scratch can seem overwhelming. Here, Jamie Gilbert Mikell shares basic guidelines for beginners to create streamlined and user-friendly online modules

Jamie Gilbert Mikell

Athens State University

How data from digital learning tools can refine teaching

Digital learning tools enable educators to quickly collect and analyse student performance data in order to refine their teaching, as Paul Moss explains

Paul Moss

The University of Adelaide

Bringing in alumni as guest tutors to teach and inspire students

Inviting alumni to contribute to a course can enrich the learning experience for current students. Ellie Devenish-Nelson and Sharron Ogle explain how

Ellie Devenish-Nelson , Sharron Ogle

The University of Edinburgh

Dos and don’ts for dual teaching: support for lecturers in higher education

Dual teaching, when lecturers host a class with students attending in person and via a screen, requires careful planning to work well. Miriam Firth shares dos and don’ts based on first-hand experience

Miriam Firth

The University of Manchester

Planning and delivering a lesson in university

From planning to delivering lessons: getting the basics right

Nelly Ramirez Vásquez discusses the nuts and bolts of creating, teaching and overseeing high-quality lessons and courses for delivery online and in person

Nelly Ramirez Vásquez

Monterrey Institute of Technology

Blocks for building a stronger student community

Block teaching can help rapidly establish bonds among students, and with their lecturers, which in turn maximises learning potential. Here, Sarah Jones offers insights from the 50-year history of block scheduling

Sarah Jones

De Montfort University

How professional practitioners help connect crime theory with real-world investigations

Bringing professional practitioners into classes to share real-world case studies helps students contextualise learning and see how theories play out in reality. Paul McFarlane explains how this works on his crime science courses

Paul McFarlane

UCL

Image of people learning from one another

Tactics to ensure students engage with and learn from feedback

Students often perceive feedback as criticism and fail to take on board the constructive guidance. Rebecca Lewis explains how she encourages student engagement with her feedback

Becky Lewis

The University of East Anglia

Image of a new teacher celebrating the end of term

How to help students with widely varied prior education to thrive in first year

How can university educators ensure their first-year teaching caters to widely varying prior knowledge and skills among students? Bethan Gulliver explains a three-pronged approach

Bethan Gulliver

The University of East Anglia

Image of a male teacher hosting a university seminar

Switching career directions: lessons from the first year as a teaching academic

The first year in a teaching role is challenging, particularly following the disruption caused by the pandemic, yet rewarding. Janine Wilkinson shares what she has learned

Janine Wilkinson

The University of East Anglia

Theatre ice-breaker games for team-building in higher education

An introduction to using theatre ice-breaker games games to break down barriers between students and promote teamwork and trust at the start of a course

Jóna Guðrún Jónsdóttir , Rannveig Björk Thorkelsdóttir

University of Iceland

Targeted teaching: meeting students where they are

Teaching students according to their strengths and shortcomings, stimulating their interest in learning and building confidence in learning, is not only part of Chinese education philosophy, it promotes students’ all-round development

Xin Li

Macau University of Science and Technology

Student voice initiatives in universities need to be rethought

You said, we did – now what? Why student voice initiatives need a rethink

‘Student voice’ initiatives tend towards changes that can be easily packaged and publicised rather than those that demand time, resources and deeper consideration

Claire Kinsella, Linda Kaye

Leeds Beckett University, Edge Hill University

Image of a lecturer teaching a class of adult students

Tutor training for architect-educators: twinning, observation, reflection and testing

Staff development and training for architecture tutors is very limited. This resource looks back at a tutor training programme that ran from 1996 to 2002, and draws lessons for future architect-educators

Martin W. Andrews, Mary Caddick

The University of Portsmouth

Tortoise walking down a road - representing how slow and steady can be more effective than fast

Make classroom connections by drawing from the slow movement

An introduction to the slow movement and its ideology to show how it can inspire approaches to building connection in the classroom, purposefully scaffolding moments of connection into teaching and relating these to learning

Elizabeth Hauke

Imperial College London

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

The University of East Anglia

Bridges to study: how to create a successful online foundation course

Online access courses can enable more students who don’t come to higher education directly from high school to smoothly enter university. Here are tips for designing an effective online university foundation programme

Jane Habner , Pablo Munguia

Flinders University

A STEAM adventure: running a hybrid English immersion camp

Lessons in designing a hybrid English immersion camp that boosts language proficiency while developing key life skills

Rossana Mántaras , Eugenia Balseiro, Lorena Calzoni

Technological University of Uruguay (UTEC)

Female student frustrated with online learning

Online learning is still challenging for students – they need our support

Isolation and distraction are among the downsides of remote learning, even after two years of “panic-gogy”, which makes intentional online design and student support as important as ever

Jason M. Lodge, Paula de Barba, Jaclyn Broadbent

The University of Queensland , University of Melbourne, Deakin University

Threshold concepts: what they are and how they help students learn

Threshold concepts are themes that underpin an academic discipline and can provide a framework for students to build knowledge. But teachers must be mindful of students’ capacity to understand them, as Becky Lewis explains

Becky Lewis

The University of East Anglia

Image showing unequal support being offered on the pathway to success

How to address bias in the classroom and in assessment in five steps

Biases can affect personal interactions, course design, learning activities, assessment and institutional practices, thus it is vital that educators work to remove bias from their teaching. Donna Hurford and Andrew Read share helpful approaches

Donna Hurford, Andrew Read

University of Southern Denmark

Rhythm of a class: lesson-planning and assessment in block teaching

Block scheduling rethinks curriculum design, lesson-planning, assessment and feedback. Tom Clark outlines how this shift, as well as blended learning resources, helped Victoria University meet students’ need for clear and reliable rhythms of study

Tom Clark

Victoria University

Young female scientist examining a sample through a microscrope

Curriculum design in biosciences: setting up first-year students for success

Transferable skills and employability are more important than ever, and students arrive at university with a widening diversity of backgrounds. So, how should we prioritise what to teach in the first year of a biosciences degree?

Audrey Heppleston

The University of East Anglia

Picture of a student watching a tutorial online

Why online learning must remain part of the education toolkit

Critics of online learning often blame the medium itself rather than ineffective instruction, when the focus should be on how to deliver the best teaching possible using all available tools and formats, writes Andreina Parisi-Amon

Andreina Parisi-Amon

Engageli

Inclusion of thought v inclusion of feelings: a showdown

In the pursuit of inclusivity, should we adjust what we teach to include students’ sensitivities or expose them to the full range of serious ideas? asks Arif Ahmed

Arif Ahmed

University of Cambridge

Creative projects as a way of bringing students together

An institution-wide creative project is an opportunity for students to make friends and learn from one another, writes Karen Amanda Harris. Here, she shares tips for developing an extracurricular language-art project

Karen Amanda Harris

University of the Arts London

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