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International students have become an important part of many universities, both through the income they provide and the diversity they bring to student populations. Studying in a foreign country can be challenging, requiring students to adapt to unfamiliar educational cultures. With the integration of online technologies into higher education, this can raise an additional set of challenges. This paper presents research that explored Chinese international students' experiences of studying online at an Australian university, drawing on qualitative data collected from focus groups and interviews with Chinese students, interviews with their Australian teachers and course documentation. The findings indicate a strong culture clash between these students' educational dispositions, shaped by their previous learning experiences in China, and the online pedagogic practices, which were underpinned by a constructivist approach. This resulted in detrimental educational and psychological consequences, with participants reporting limited development of their knowledge, and feelings of isolation and anomie. The findings suggest that investigating the interplay between learners' prior and current educational experiences is important in understanding how students experience teaching practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the debate on what constitutes good teaching in early 21st Century higher education, through an examination of the experience of five outstanding lecturers from a business school in an Australian university. It is based on a qualitative study that explored their perceptions on what constitutes 'good teaching'. Resonating with existing research on good teaching practice, the findings suggest that good teachers tend to embrace constructivist principles, and are committed to facilitating learning that is deep, engaged, experientially-based, empowering, reflective, and life-long. The real-life examples of good teaching practice provided by the participants are a valuable resource to higher education teachers, in particular those beginning their careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]