Margaret Hicks

Enhancing on-line teaching: Designing responsive learning environments

Higher education is undergoing major changes in the development and delivery of courses. These changes arise from a range of social, economic and technical factors operating across the higher education sector. The use of technology in both teaching and learning is both a response to, and a reason for, these changed practices. Technology provides new ways of catering for the traditional learning needs of students and also enables new forms of support appropriate to technology-based delivery. One of the outcomes of the increased use of technology is the development of on-line approaches to teaching and learning. This requires a reconceptualization of the role of support mechanisms for students, which has implications for the professional development of academic staff. This article considers the ways in which the wider trends in education impact upon on-line learning environments and the implications of this for professionals involved in the development and delivery of the courses. Particular consideration will be given to the range of approaches of support in online delivery, which include stand-alone resources and generic support, parallel or adjunct learning opportunities, and integrated strategies. It examines these in relation to the characteristics of pedagogically defensible teaching activity and proposes ways of conceptualising the work practices of professional staff involved in student support, professional development, discipline-based teaching and resource development.

Why history? Why now? Multiple accounts of the emergence of academic development

More than 40 years after its beginnings, academic development stands uncertainly on the threshold of becoming a profession or discipline in its own right. While it remains marginal to the dominant stories of the university, it has become central to the institutions contemporary business. This Research Note describes an enquiry that uses a multiple histories approach to explore the emergence of academic development in three national sites. Our intention is to provoke a more critical engagement with academic developments current forms and future possibilities.

An institutional approach to English language proficiency

As the university student body becomes ever more diverse, the place and nature of English language provision is coming under unprecedented scrutiny and is the object of greater regulation. Today, more than ever before, institutions of higher education are being called to account for the way in which they support this diverse population in respect of their English language provision. Increasingly, auditing bodies are expecting universities to demonstrate a commitment to supporting students adequately in this area and to be able to articulate a systematic process for doing so, along with a sound rationale and conceptual framework. This has put pressure on English-medium universities everywhere to review their English language provision and to develop creative and theoretically-informed solutions to what is perceived by many in the sector as a complex and very pressing issue, particularly given its financial ramifications and its importance in terms of the student experience. This article describes one such initiative at the University of South Australia, outlining both its conceptualisation and issues around its implementation.