Editorial: JUTLP Issue 16.5

Abstract

Welcome to the final issue of the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice for 2019. In this issue we have papers from Finland, the US, Ecuador, Thailand and Australia covering a range of topics and approaches exploring university teaching and learning practice. Evaluating an intervention into students’ wellbeing and organising strategies in Finland, Asikanen, Kaipainen and Katajavouri provides evidence that pharmacy students undertaking a 7 week online course designed to promote psychological flexibility had a positive impact on their study behaviors during the intervention. Addressing issues of engagement in first year, Kearney makes the case for his Authentic Self and Peer Assessment for Learning (ASPAL) Model as a particular kind of transition pedagogy that engages students in the development of a deep understanding of assessment expectations and standards of performance. Also focused on student transition, Pattanaphanchai reports on students’ learning achievement and their positive perceptions of the flipped classroom in an introductory computing class in Thailand. Dealing with contentious content in first year, Ford, Bennett and Kilmister report on a study they conducted into pedagogical models in a large first year history subject that services teacher education students and had its own history of heated debate and conflict when exploring the ANZAC mythologies. Considering how content transforms perceptions and values, Njoku reports on a longitudinal evaluation of the use of learner-centred teaching and its impact on learning outcomes in an undergraduate rural public health course in the US. And finally, Freyn introduces the pedagogical strategies used in a LGBTQ literature course in Ecuador, and reports on the results of a phenomenological study of its impact on the participants’ agency in terms of advocacy and support for the LGBTQ community.