This issue of Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences features authors from the United Kingdom, Belgium, Argentina, Ecuador and Norway. They write about the creation of a transnational university alliance and its signature approach to education, the evolution of a faculty writing group, introducing students to computer modelling and simulation research methods, the value of reading ethnographies in preparation for fieldwork, teaching and learning criminological theory and organising paired discussions in class.
In the first article, Jo Angouri, Linde Moriau and Rosette S'Jegers explain the thinking behind the formation of a transnational university alliance of six European universities that was later expanded to include four more. The aim was to build a framework in which learning communities of staff and students could build on their existing educational practice to create opportunities for innovation from the base upwards. The framework enabled more and more connections to be made between participants from different countries, backgrounds and academic disciplines and from inside and outside universities in ways that fostered transnational awareness and the ability to address current world problems.
In the second article, Laura Colombo, Elisabeth Rodas and Guadalupe Alvarez report on the development of a faculty writing group in which members of different research teams shared drafts of pieces they were writing for publication. They gave each other written feedback in advance of meetings and oral feedback at the weekly meetings. The group met over two semesters and three of the meetings and the associated written feedback are analysed in detail in this article. When the group started meeting, feedback mainly focussed on linguistic accuracy but later on comments and discussion about content and coherence came to predominate as participants grew to know and trust each other.
In the third article, Amrit Bahadur Poudel analyses what happened when students of Religious Studies met experts in computer modelling and social simulation research techniques as part of their course on ‘Religious radicalisation, extremism, and violence’. The students asked a range of questions about how the experts developed their models and established their validity and accuracy. Some students came up with ideas about how modelling and simulation techniques could be used to address other social issues and it was noticeable that students showed greater understanding when the experts simplified their language.
In the fourth article, Alice Stefanelli argues that ethnographic methods training is insufficient on its own to prepare students for extended fieldwork. She advocates adding the reading and collective discussion of selected ethnographies to deepen students’ understanding of the everyday practicalities and uncertainties of fieldwork. In the postgraduate module she teaches on ethnographic research, readings are assigned each week along with questions that prompt students to think about specific aspects of the texts, in particular, what fieldworkers actually do and questions of positionality, feasibility, risk assessment and possible failure to achieve the planned outcomes of fieldwork. Class discussion of the readings takes place in small groups where students also apply to their own research plans the insights they have gained.
In the fifth article, Carol Robinson explores the academic literature on teaching and learning criminological theory. She surveyed peer-reviewed articles written in English and published between 2010 and 2022. Thirty-five relevant articles were found but only seven of them were based on empirical evidence. Connecting theory to real-world examples, active learning and formative assessment were strong themes in this set of articles but none of them dealt with curriculum content or the possibilities of challenging the canon in criminological theory. She identified a need for many more studies that evaluate different pedagogical approaches to this topic.
The issue concludes with Simon Brownhill's report on the myriad ways tutors can pair up students for in-class discussion. Talking in pairs about course topics promotes active learning and is most effective when each student talks to a different classmate each time. His report offers detailed practical advice on how this can be achieved.
Our thanks go to the authors of the articles and report, the anonymous referees who commented on the manuscripts, the Editorial Board and everyone at Berghahn Journals.
Penny Welch and Susan Wright