Among educators there is no clear definition for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). This complicates its conception and application in schools. Thus, it is critical when working with students that we develop a common understanding of STEM, or at least understand and value the different perspectives that others may have. This…

Graduate employability is a key issue for higher education as new graduates face a highly competitive and rapidly changing employment sector. To maximise their likelihood of employment, graduates need to be able to demonstrate the skills and attributes most valued by employers. Employers, however, have long criticised the ability of graduates to…

Traditional teaching approaches are generally teacher-directed, where students are taught in a manner that is conducive to sitting and listening. It is often argued that these approaches may not provide students with valuable learning skills, and rather that non-traditional approaches to teaching and learning might better endow students with such…

Engineering tertiary courses that reflect professional activity mandate the successful application of theorems and concepts in order to solve technical problems. This graduate skill is typically assessed during student problem-solving activities. Furthermore, both collaborative learning and the interactive study method known as self-explanation…

The current study compared the rate at which problem-based practice increased the use of retrieval-based strategies for students identified as displaying accurate min-counting with students identified as displaying almost proficient performance. The findings supported the prediction that the rate at which problem-based practice promoted retrieval…

Context based learning (CBL) is a powerful tool that utilises areas of student interest framed in meaningful contexts to foster development of new skills and understanding. For middle school students, engineering activities that relate to real-world problems provide suitable CBL contexts for acquiring conceptual scientific and mathematical…

Professional accrediting bodies and accounting education reviews have long expressed concerns about student capabilities and learning outcomes, including the ability to apply knowledge and make reasoned judgements. In response, we report on a new design that uses a web of threshold concepts to guide curriculum development. With an associated focus…

This paper suggests that complex practice dilemmas call for thick stories of masterful practice that don't ignore the tensions and ambiguities involved. The paper draws on an Australian study of policing as a fruitful example. Academic commentary suggests policing is beset with practice dilemmas unique in their complexity. However, empirical…

Legal reasoning is a type of problem solving, and is situated within thinking skills, one of the six threshold learning outcomes established under the auspices of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council's Bachelor of Laws Learning and Teaching Academic Standards Statement. The threshold learning outcomes define what law graduates are…

The problem-based learning (PBL) literature presents the shift from teacher-directed transmission models of instruction to facilitation as a challenge for PBL tutors. This article reports an in-depth thematic analysis of reflective written responses on PBL of 63 teacher education students enrolled at an Australian university. Attitudes, skills and…

This paper reports the findings of research into an educational intervention featuring open-ended mathematical problems situated in "real life" contexts and associated pedagogies. "Money and financial mathematics" is the topic in focus, with tasks termed "financial dilemmas" being trialled by 35 teachers in 16…

This viewpoint paper presents the writer's opinion that while the use of problem solving as the core method for learning mathematics is valid and reasonable in secondary schools (where students generally possess the necessary prior skills and strategies) there are many obstacles to applying the same method in primary schools, particularly in the…

In this article, the authors present an approach to developing open-ended problems through capturing contextualised mathematics in photographs. They draw upon their research with the Problem Posing Research Project, a collaborative venture between an Australian and a Canadian university to broaden pre-service teachers pedagogical practices in the…

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are accepted throughout the world, particularly in the European Union, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Emerging economies are also are aligning their practices with IFRS. Historically, the USA has been cautious about accepting IFRS. However, following acceptance of IFRS worldwide, the US…

Recently, many educational institutions across the globe have implemented engineering leadership programmes either as a part of a formal engineering curriculum or where leadership development is embedded into separate in-house programmes. This shows the clear intent of these educational institutions to prepare their engineering students for…