This volume offers a compAndium of the best ideas, analyses, and practices relating to the undergraduate curriculum as described by leading figures in the field. It contains both conceptual and practical information on effective practices, research, management, and assessment. In thirty-four original chapters, top practitioners and scholars detail a range of philosophies, frameworks, program designs, instructional strategies, and assessment methods being used to strengthen and transform the curriculum. They examine both the current state of knowledge and teaching in the disciplines and the forces that will reshape the curriculum in the coming years. The Handbook of Undergraduate Curriculum will prove valuable both to practitioners—as an operating manual or desk reference—and to faculty as a primary text for graduate courses on the curriculum. In addition, the book will be a useful tool for those serving on a general education curriculum committee or conducting a departmental review of a major program, as well as having numerous other practical applications for anyone with responsibility for or interest in the curriculum.

Higher education has changed significantly over time. In particular, traditional face-to-face degrees are being revamped in a bid to ensure they stay relevant in the 21st century and are now offered online. The transition for many universities to online learning has been painful—only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing many in-person students to join their virtual peers and professors to learn new technologies and techniques to educate. Moreover, work has also changed with little doubt as to the impact of digital communication, remote work, and societal change on the nature of work itself. There are arguments to be made for organizations to become more agile, flexible, entrepreneurial, and creative. As such, work and education are both traversing a path of immense changes, adapting to global trends and consumer preferences. The Handbook of Research on Future of Work and Education: Implications for Curriculum Delivery and Work Design is a comprehensive reference book that analyzes the realities of higher education today, strategies that ensure the success of academic institutions, and factors that lead to student success. In particular, the book addresses essentials of online learning, strategies to ensure the success of online degrees and courses, effective course development practices, key support mechanisms for students, and ensuring student success in online degree programs. Furthermore, the book addresses the future of work, preferences of employees, and how work can be re-designed to create further employee satisfaction, engagement, and increase productivity. In particular, the book covers insights that ensure that remote employees feel valued, included, and are being provided relevant support to thrive in their roles. Covering topics such as course development, motivating online learners, and virtual environments, this text is essential for academicians, faculty, researchers, and students globally.

This book, the second in the Perspectives on Higher Education series, brings together a number of insights into a key area of higher education: curriculum planning, design, and implementation. This book is designed to provide educators with the knowledge and skills needed to design, develop, and evaluate university curricula, programmes, and courses. It is aimed at those involved in programme development and delivery at many levels, from the most experienced administrator or senior professor through to the new teacher.In this manner, beginning from the initial steps of curriculum design all the way through to quality assurance and how to evaluate whether your curriculum has met its intended aims, this book is intended to be a short and easy-to-reference guide for educators at all levels.

Undergraduate Research (UR) can be defined as an investigation into a specific topic within a discipline by an undergraduate student that makes an original contribution to the field. It has become a major consideration among research universities around the world, in order to advance both academic teaching and research productivity. Edited by an international team of world authorities in UR, this Handbook is the first truly comprehensive and systematic account of undergraduate research, which brings together different international approaches, with attention to both theory and practice. It is split into sections covering different countries, disciplines, and methodologies. It also provides an overview of current research and theoretical perspectives on undergraduate research as well as future developmental prospects of UR. Written in an engaging style, yet wide-ranging in its scope, it is essential reading for anyone wishing to broaden their understanding of how undergraduate research is implemented worldwide.

Shaping the College Curriculum focuses on curriculum development as an important decision-making process in colleges and universities. The authors define curriculum as an academic plan developed in a historical, social, and political context. They identify eight curricular elements that are addressed, intentionally or unintentionally, in developing all college courses and programs. By exploring the interaction of these elements in context they use the academic plan model to clarify the processes of course and program planning, enabling instructors and administrators to ask crucial questions about improving teaching and optimizing student learning. This revised edition continues to stress research-based educational practices. The new edition consolidates and focuses discussion of institutional and sociocultural factors that influence curricular decisions. All chapters have been updated with recent research findings relevant to curriculum leadership, accreditation, assessment, and the influence of academic fields, while two new chapters focus directly on learning research and its implications for instructional practice. A new chapter drawn from research on organizational change provides practical guidance to assist faculty members and administrators who are engaged in extensive program improvements. Streamlined yet still comprehensive and detailed, this revised volume will continue to serve as an invaluable resource for individuals and groups whose work includes planning, designing, delivering, evaluating, and studying curricula in higher education. "This is an extraordinary book that offers not a particular curriculum or structure, but a comprehensive approach for thinking about the curriculum, ensuring that important considerations are not overlooked in its revision or development, and increasing the likelihood that students will learn and develop in ways institutions hope they will. The book brings coherence and intention to what is typically an unstructured, haphazard, and only partially rational process guided more by beliefs than by empirically grounded, substantive information. Lattuca and Stark present their material in ways that are accessible and applicable across planning levels (course, program, department, and institution), local settings, and academic disciplines. It's an admirable and informative marriage of scholarship and practice, and an insightful guide to both. Anyone who cares seriously about how we can make our colleges and universities more educationally effective should read this book." —Patrick T. Terenzini, distinguished professor and senior scientist, Center for the Study of Higher Education, The Pennsylvania State University