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Research on professional assessment practice in higher education does not always take account of lecturers’ perceptions and experiences, or their disciplinary context. This questionnaire study was ...

This article provides an account of the 2016 RSAA tour to Bhutan. It includes: a brief history of the country; an account of travel including visits to Paro, Punakha, Bumthang, Trongsa, Gangtey, Punakha, and Thimphu, and reflections on the current state of the country based on the tour.

This paper reports on a survey study exploring new lecturers’ views on assessment design (using a questionnaire called the Assessment Design Inventory) with 586 newly qualified or still qualifying lecturers from UK universities. A factor analysis established two factors labelled ‘desirable practice’ and ‘constraints’. Participants felt that their university teaching programmes had changed their views on assessment design and that assessment practices could be improved. Over 50 % agreed that there were practical restrictions on assessment design. Findings revealed a perception that there is little incentive to innovate in assessment and that students may not welcome such innovation in any case. Further statistical analysis specified the ‘external’ variables of institution and discipline to be important in shaping desirable practice and perception of constraints. ‘Individual’ variables of gender, length of teaching experience and qualification status showed a statistically significant effect. These analyses demonstrate some key influences on new lecturers’ views of assessment design and suggest reasons why they do not always feel able to put what they learn about assessment into practice.

A chronicle of the recent tour, which started from Delhi and proceeded via various sites in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to the final destination of Mumbai. There are detailed descriptions of the famous sites visited, accompanied by a number of colour plates.

An account of the Society's 2009 Tour to Sarawak and Sabahk, focussing on biodiversity and the role of tropical forests in combating climate change. Mulu's famous Deer Cave was tone highlight of the visit to Sarawak. In Sabah, the party visited the Mount Kinabalu National Park and the Sepilok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre, as well as the Dunum valley. The deforestation of Borneo is of serious concern and the party were much encouraged by the prospects for the “Heart of Borneo” project.

This project examined the relationships between students’ approaches to study, conceptions of learning and \ud judgements about the value of networked technologies. For the project 144 first-year students completed the \ud 52-item Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST), and a series of focus group interviews \ud was used to assess attitudes towards the use of networked technologies within a blended curriculum. \ud Significant positive associations were found between both deep and strategic approaches to study and \ud students’ perceptions of networked learning, and negative associations with a surface approach. Students were \ud positive about the incorporation of technology but had some concerns about the time needed to become \ud sufficiently competent. They demonstrated a reflective approach and exhibited a broad view of the ways in \ud which knowledge might be interpreted. The online forum was viewed as a site where they could benefit from \ud sharing of personal experiences. Recommendations are offered for designing a blended curriculum.

Sixteen years after the so-called collapse of Communism, our 2007 tour took us to three countries still ruled by Communist regimes. The three-week tour, from 28 October to 8 November, was arranged ...

This paper discusses some issues involved in a model of delivery adopted for widening participation at outreach centres for Liverpool Hope University and explores the rationale for using blended Problem-based learning (PBL) as a means of addressing the issues and improving learning.A number of principles are proposed for the effective use of blended PBL and the paper analyses a case study, explaining the design and organisation of the module, together with the research methodology adopted. It provides some initial guidelines for other practitioners who wish to pursue similar activities.

The paper reports on an intervention to help psychology students write better essays by using an Essay Feedback Checklist (EFC). A sample of first year and third year psychology students were asked to rate their own essays in terms of how confident they felt they had been in meeting the departmental assessment criteria. Tutors used the same rating scale when marking the essays and used any mismatches between their rating and that of the student to target their feedback. The aims of the study were to look at the effects of using the EFC in i) writing an essay and ii) clarifying written tutor feedback. Findings showed some mismatches between students and their tutors particularly in the third year. Students were mainly positive about the EFC, although some comments indicated that more help was needed. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of an action research framework and student self-assessment.

This paper examines program motivations and the consequences of fast-paced flight testing. It is more difficult to ensure safe execution and quality testing during fast-paced flight test than tests conducted at a moderate pace. This point is illustrated by relating the experience of the C-17 A Globemaster III during the FullScale Development (FSD) flight test program and subsequent follow-on and fleet support testing at the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC). A summary of comparable military aircraft programs shows that the C17 had an exceptionally fast-paced FSD flight test. Follow-on testing saw the fast pace sustained, and it continued as revisions were made to the aircraft. Emphasis in the paper is placed on reviewing flight test mishaps to illustrate the contribution of the pace of testing and to draw lessons-learned. This account is taken from the author's experience as a member of the C-17 FSD test team, from discussions with others who also served on that team, and from a review of relevant documents.* The account is not meant as an indictment of the aircraft, any organization, or any particular individual. All effort has been made to relate the account dispassionately.

This paper explains the relevance of recent research projects to the work of the 'European Enhancement of Early Years Management Skills' project. The research explores and compares students' perspectives and experiences of face-to-face and online collaborative learning using a Problem Based Learning approach in undergraduate Management Education for Early Years Education and Care Managers. The first research collected data on perceptions of learning outcomes achieved and reflective individual evaluations at key assessment points via questionnaire, on students' views of the nature and delivery of the course through focus group discussions, on grades attained and on tutor reflections. While no differences were found in grades achieved or in self-reported attainment of course outcomes, collaborative learning was perceived more favourably by online learners than face-to-face learners and these online learners demonstrated a more rapid development of academic literacy. The follow-up research study confirmed the findings that the online students valued collaborative group work significantly higher than the face-to-face students.