Developing the Higher Education Curriculum: Research-Based Education in Practice

Brent Carnell · Dilly Fung

Nov 2017 · UCL Press

About this ebook

A complementary volume to Dilly Fung’s A Connected Curriculum for Higher Education (2017), this book explores ‘research-based education’ as applied in practice within the higher education sector. A collection of 15 chapters followed by illustrative vignettes, it showcases approaches to engaging students actively with research and enquiry across disciplines. It begins with one institution’s creative approach to research-based education – UCL’s Connected Curriculum, a conceptual framework for integrating research-based education into all taught programmes of study – and branches out to show how aspects of the framework can apply to practice across a variety of institutions in a range of national settings.

The 15 chapters are provided by a diverse range of authors who all explore research-based education in their own way. Some chapters are firmly based in a subject-discipline – including art history, biochemistry, education, engineering, fashion and design, healthcare, and veterinary sciences – while others reach across geopolitical regions, such as Australia, Canada, China, England, Scotland and South Africa. The final chapter offers 12 short vignettes of practice to highlight how engaging students with research and enquiry can enrich their learning experiences, preparing them not only for more advanced academic learning, but also for professional roles in complex, rapidly changing social contexts.

About the author

Brent Carnell is Senior Teaching Fellow at both the Arena Centre for Research-based Education and the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. His research interests are varied, and he has published in journals such as Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, Geographical Research and Gender, Place and Culture, and edited volumes such as Sexuality and Gender at Home. Dilly Fung is Professor of Higher Education Development and Academic Director of the Arena Centre for Research-Based Education at UCL. Drawing on her long career as an educator in both further and higher education, she leads a team that focuses on advancing research-based education at UCL and beyond. Fung also speaks regularly across the UK and internationally about research-based education.