Creative teaching, effective learning in higher education

Abstract

Teachers in higher education institutions have traditionally focused on imparting content knowledge rather than on considering how different students learn and which strategies might promote that learning. Poor student results have usually been blamed on the student rather than on the quality of the teaching. In recent times, effective learning and quality teaching have been emphasised at all levels of education and have led to renewed interest in, research on, and conversations about 'authentic pedagogy'. This paper discusses ways of implementing constructivist learning in university teaching. Evidence-based strategies for promoting student learning are highlighted together with creative ways of incorporating them into teaching in higher education. Results for two university courses are used to illustrate the success of constructivist approaches.