Maintaining student concentration in lectures has long been a challenge for lecturers. Pedagogical research consistently finds a drop in attention between 10 and 30 minutes into the lecture, which has been associated with the passive nature of the standard format, and has consequences for learning approaches and outcomes. A similar phenomenon has been observed in ergonomics for some time, known as the vigilance decrement. In this article, we present an exploratory effort to detect the vigilance decrement in four different lecture formats, by adopting an ergonomics measurement tool which has been related to vigilance, and relating the findings to students’ assessment results. It was found that standard lecture formats do induce a vigilance decrement, and this can adversely affect learning of the material. Conversely, vigilance degradation is avoided when presentation is varied, though this is not necessarily associated with interactive participation techniques. Implications for lecturing styles, learning approaches and pedagogical research methods are discussed.

This article explores transition to postgraduate (PG) study in terms of the widening participation (WP) agenda. The research is located within a Communities of Practice framework, allowing for explanations of transition in terms of learning, identity and participation in practices. A qualitative ethnographic methodology is employed, and analysis reveals two themes: the heterogeneity of PG students, and the nature of PG teaching and learning. It is argued that the imperatives that the WP agenda generates are as compatible with PG as with undergraduate study, and that this may have been overlooked previously owing to assumptions of the homogeneity of postgraduates. However, students’ experiences of academic practices do not always reflect the dogma of how teaching and learning should occur at PG level, and this may prevent full participation in PG study by those who might otherwise be included.

While the most common type of student entering higher education falls within the 17—19-year-old age group, universities in the UK are keen to accept other categories of students onto programmes as a means of increasing diversity and maintaining student numbers in the latter portion of a programme. One such category is those students who enter a programme directly into the second or third year through informal articulation agreements between institutions and the recognition and granting of credit for previous studies or experience. This article examines the expectations of a cohort of students entering directly into the second and third year of an undergraduate degree in the business school of a Scottish university. This study identified a range of learning, personal and working issues amongst this group of students. Academic concerns included the ability to cope with a higher academic level, time management, assessments and study skills. Personal issues focused on coping with existing responsibilities and achieving an appropriate work/life balance. This article identifies the need to develop such students’ academic self-confidence in the early stages of their time at university and indicates that this group of students has specific needs and requires additional institutional support.

Improvements in technology appear to provide an unprecedented opportunity to improve learning and teaching within the higher education system. At present, however, opinions are divided over the efficacy of such an approach and the extent to which technology should be embraced in teaching. Over a period of two years, we have developed a new `blended’ module where all learning resources are provided online and formal teaching sessions are used to provide the directed learning needed by students. This article explores the effectiveness of using technology to direct learning and identifies generic problems. Using measures of student performance, we demonstrate that technology in higher education can significantly improve student learning when fully aligned to the teaching aims and fully embedded within a module. The ability of students to use technology to repeatedly return to resources was a clear benefit, allowing students to take responsibility for their own study at a pace appropriate for the learner.

Research has demonstrated that collaborative testing, working on tests in groups, leads to improved test scores but the mechanism by which this occurs has not been specified. Three factors were proposed as mediators: cognitive processes, interpersonal interactions and reduced test-anxiety. Thirty-three students completed a multiple-choice exam individually and in two-person collaborative groups. Test anxiety was reduced but was not directly related to increased exam scores. Improved exam scores were directly related to three cognitive processes: remembering information better, an increased ability to think about the information being tested and having good discussions. Both direct and indirect paths between cognitive variables and enhanced test outcomes were found. Good interpersonal interactions were independently related to satisfaction with the collaborative process.

With the growing influence of social media on contemporary society, educators have to adapt to new ways of engaging students in the learning process. The use of iPod technologies, as part of this new breed of social media and associated gadgetry, offers fresh opportunities to enhance the student learning experience. As part of a research project entitled Podagogy at the University of Wolverhampton, three projects within the performing arts subjects were undertaken to explore the use of the iPod as a learning technology. This article reports on a number of common themes that have emerged as a process of the research that has been undertaken. These themes offer educators an understanding of how the iPod can be used as a learning technology within their learning and teaching practices.