17 articles in this issue
Tracey Madden
New Directions focuses on new developments by practitioners in the field of learning and teaching.There is a strong outreach theme in this issue with articles covering activities in chemistry and physics, and the effects on all parties involved. Assessmen... see more
Lynn Moran
A new event to help smooth the induction of year 1 students to university was run in the Physics Department on a trial basis in the academic year 2009/10 and extended in 2010/11.The event took place in the first week of term with the aim of introducing th... see more
David J McGarvey,Katherine J Haxton
Recently we have been providing individual audio feedback to 1st and 2nd year undergraduate Chemistry students on a variety of assessments (posters, laboratory reports, laboratory diaries) with the aim of providing richer, more detailed and more comprehen... see more
Charlotte Thorley
The SEPnet Outreach work strand is a collaboration between university physics departments around the South East of England as a direct response to the national STEM agenda and the recruitment needs of the partner departments. A portfolio of activities has... see more
GT Harrison,KL Hanford,BT Cheesman,G Kaur,SD Franklin,AMC Laurain,MI Medley,AC Rivett,KL Shallcross,KE Shaw,SJ Williams,DE Shallcross,L Sellou
Postgraduate students are excellent role models for school students, where their passion and energy play a vital role in engaging younger students and spreading enthusiasm and excitement about science. However, participating in outreach is not a one way a... see more
Katherine J Haxton,David J McGarvey
Feedback has been highlighted as a key area for improvement in teaching in higher education following recent National Student Survey results. While feedback may be provided in a variety of forms, both general and specific to individual students, there is ... see more
A J Shaw,T G Harrison,K L Shallcross,S J Williams,D E Shallcross
Analysis of the average number of applicants received from schools that engaged in the Bristol ChemLabS Outreach program prior to a student?s application with those that did not engage, shows a significant increase in applicants from engaged schools. The ... see more
Patrick J O’Malley
In many large research intensive universities in the UK the ability to provide a personalised university learning experience for their students is providing a serious challenge. Based on the National Student Survey (NSS) data, the absence of focused perso... see more
David Read,Joanne Boniface,Andrea E Russell
The sharing of explicit learning objectives and/or learning outcomes is considered to be good practice in schools, with OFSTED observation criteria indicating that this is a pre-requisite to a good or outstanding lesson1. Such practice does not appear to ... see more
Ruth Mewis
Practical work is seen as an essential part of science courses. However, practical work is very resource intensive and in the current HE environment, in which academics will inevitably find themselves teaching more students with fewer resources, it is imp... see more
Elizabeth Stevenson
The primary focus of the Higher Education Institution (HEI) is the generation and dissemination of knowledge. This knowledge is generated and shared throughout the research community and to students specifically enrolled in university programmes. Public e... see more
David Sands
The Force Concept Inventory, a 30-question multiple choice test, has been used to test the baseline knowledge in mechanics prior to a course of instruction at Hull over the three years corresponding to entry in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Students whose pre-univ... see more
D E Shallcross,N L Allan,K L Shallcross,S J Croker,D M Smith,P W May,T G Harrison,G J Price
Mathematical skills beyond that taught at GCSE level (under 16 in UK) are required to pursue a physical sciences degree in the UK. However, many departments are unable to recruit sufficient students who have both the physical science and Mathematics quali... see more
In less than two years in existence, the Liverpool Physics Outreach Group has developed and delivered physics workshops to over 3000 school pupils. The Group is voluntary and non-credit bearing, meeting once per week to share good practice, develop new id... see more
Elizabeth M Page,David Read,Natalie M Rowley
This article outlines the benefits to institutions of engaging students (undergraduate and postgraduate) in carrying out education research projects. The activity outlined herein is probably best described as „action research?, which potentially lays the ... see more
Claire Gwinnett,John Cassella,Mike Allen
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) are a very well known, traditional and accepted method of assessment. The use of MCQs for testing students has produced numerous debates amongst academics concerning their effectiveness as they are viewed as practical and ... see more
T G Harrison,D E Shallcross,W B Davey
The Chemistry Departments at Bristol and Sheffield Universities have adopted two complementary approaches to maximising the use of teaching laboratory space, in the main to support secondary school level study. The two approaches involve the adaptation of... see more