This text addresses both the issues and practicalities of key skills in higher education. It discusses the issues relating to the introduction of key skills, drawing on both the arguments and theory of why key skills should (or should not) be introduced. Case study material is included.

Publisher Description

Governments around the world are committed to enhancing students’ “graduateness”. Work-integrated learning (WIL) is one of the many programmes which Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can develop to promote this facet of student life. The incorporation of work-integrated learning in curriculum design and development can produce reciprocal benefits for students, workplaces, professions and communities. Any curriculum design and development endeavour relating to WIL requires appropriate resources to support curriculum development. This book serves to explore WIL programmes and experiences for the student, WIL coordinator and supervisor. It further integrates practical, relevant and reflective industry experience within the higher education curriculum to enhance student development. WIL has no uniformly or specific framework or approaches since it is an emerging field and is generally influenced by contextual factors. In view of the diversity in theory and practice and different purposes, whether pragmatic or practical, driving the adoption of one approach over another, this book highlight sthe diverse approaches that encapsulate WIL in South Africa.

In the United States, broad study in an array of different disciplines â€"arts, humanities, science, mathematics, engineeringâ€" as well as an in-depth study within a special area of interest, have been defining characteristics of a higher education. But over time, in-depth study in a major discipline has come to dominate the curricula at many institutions. This evolution of the curriculum has been driven, in part, by increasing specialization in the academic disciplines. There is little doubt that disciplinary specialization has helped produce many of the achievement of the past century. Researchers in all academic disciplines have been able to delve more deeply into their areas of expertise, grappling with ever more specialized and fundamental problems. Yet today, many leaders, scholars, parents, and students are asking whether higher education has moved too far from its integrative tradition towards an approach heavily rooted in disciplinary "silos". These "silos" represent what many see as an artificial separation of academic disciplines. This study reflects a growing concern that the approach to higher education that favors disciplinary specialization is poorly calibrated to the challenges and opportunities of our time. The Integration of the Humanities and Arts with Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Higher Education examines the evidence behind the assertion that educational programs that mutually integrate learning experiences in the humanities and arts with science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) lead to improved educational and career outcomes for undergraduate and graduate students. It explores evidence regarding the value of integrating more STEMM curricula and labs into the academic programs of students majoring in the humanities and arts and evidence regarding the value of integrating curricula and experiences in the arts and humanities into college and university STEMM education programs.

First Published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Two recent initiatives from the EU, namely the Bologna Process and the Lisbon Agenda are likely to have a major influence on European Higher Education. It seems unlikely that traditional teaching approaches, which supported the elitist system of the past, will promote the mobility, widened participation and culture of 'life-long learning' that will provide the foundations for a future knowledge-based economy. There is therefore a clear need to seek new approaches to support the changes which will inevitably occur. The European Chemistry Thematic Network (ECTN) is a network of some 160 university chemistry departments from throughout the EU as well as a number of National Chemical Societies (including the RSC) which provides a discussion forum for all aspects of higher education in chemistry. This handbook is a result of one of their working groups, who identified and collated good practice with respect to innovative methods in Higher Level Chemistry Education. It provides a comprehensive overview of innovations in university chemistry teaching from a broad European perspective. The generation of this book through a European Network, with major national chemical societies and a large number of chemistry departments as members make the book unique. The wide variety of scholars who have contributed to the book, make it interesting and invaluable reading for both new and experienced chemistry lecturers throughout the EU and beyond. The book is aimed at chemistry education at universities and other higher level institutions and at all academic staff and anyone interested in the teaching of chemistry at the tertiary level. Although newly appointed teaching staff are a clear target for the book, the innovative aspects of the topics covered are likely to prove interesting to all committed chemistry lecturers.

In these complex and challenging times, students, teachers and employers are all interested in the development of generic abilities as these typically make the difference between good and indifferent employees, successful and unsuccessful learners. This book explains why generic capacities have become so important and argues that the process of acquiring them is both lifelong and developmental.

This book considers the views of participants in the process of becoming a mathematician, that is, the students and the graduates. This book investigates the people who carry out mathematics rather than the topics of mathematics. Learning is about change in a person, the development of an identity and ways of interacting with the world. It investigates more generally the development of mathematical scientists for a variety of workplaces, and includes the experiences of those who were not successful in the transition to the workplace as mathematicians. The research presented is based on interviews, observations and surveys of students and graduates as they are finding their identity as a mathematician. The book contains material from the research carried out in South Africa, Northern Ireland, Canada and Brunei as well as Australia.

Assessment really does matter in higher education. Internationally, academics - and those who support them - are seeking better ways to assess students, recognizing that diverse methods are available which may solve many of the problems associated with the evaluation of learning. Assessment Matters in Higher Education provides both theoretical perspectives and pragmatic advice on how to conduct effective assessment. It draws clearly on both relevant research and on its contributors' practical first hand experience (warts and all!). It asks, for example: * how can assessment methods best become an integral part of learning? * what strategies can be used to make assessment fairer, more consistent and more efficient? * how effective are innovative approaches to assessment, and in what contexts do they prosper? * to what extent can students become involved in their own assessment? * how can we best assess learning in professional practice contexts? This is an important resource for all academics and academic managers involved in assessing their students.