Research into student learning and university teaching: Changing perspectives

This chapter considers research into student learning and university teaching, carried out generally with the aim of encouraging high quality, and more satisfying, learning. A brief review of the research literature will draw attention to changes in perspective over time, with consequent changes in methodology, while four studies will be used to illustrate research that focuses on contrasting perspectives. The chapter broadens the focus by looking at the course context with perspectives from both students and teachers based on large-scale project within an Economic and Social Research Council Research Programme. The line of research described in this chapter has reached a stage where new directions need to be encouraged. One of the strengths of the line of research described here is that it deals directly with the everyday activities of both teachers and students, with a range of important findings that lead to implications that are both easy to communicate and realistic in practice.