Reflective Teaching in Higher Education

by Paul Ashwin, Andrew Pollard (Editor), Margaret Blackie, Amy Pollard (Editor), Susanna Calkins

Overview

Reflective Teaching in Higher Education is the definitive textbook for reflective teachers in higher education. Informed by the latest research in this area, the book offers extensive support for those at the start of an academic career and career-long professionalism. Written by an international collaborative author team of higher education experts led by Paul Ashwin, Reflective Teaching in Higher Education offers two levels of support:
- practical guidance for day-to-day teaching, covering key issues such as strategies for improving learning, teaching and assessment, curriculum design, relationships, communication, and inclusion.
- evidence-informed 'principles to aid understanding of how theories can effectively inform teaching practices, offering ways to develop a deeper understanding of teaching and learning.

This new edition gives greater coverage of contemporary topics, including: the climate and nature emergency; Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) including ChatGPT; the use of digital education and digital capabilities following the global pandemic; consideration of the intended outcomes of higher education for students. This edition features a greater diversity of students, teachers, institutional and disciplinary contexts, and national/international settings. It includes updated case studies, reflective activities, and research briefings, drawing on literature from a broader range of countries.

reflectiveteaching.co.uk provides a treasure trove of additional support. It includes supplementary sector specific material to support for considering questions around society's educational aims, and much more besides.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350496873
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/13/2025
Series:	Reflective Teaching
Edition description:	3rd ed.
Pages:	472
Product dimensions:	7.44(w) x 9.69(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Paul Ashwin is Professor of Higher Education at Lancaster University, UK.

Andrew Pollard is Professor of Education Policy and Practice and supports educational research at the IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society, University College London, UK. He was Director of the UK-wide Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP).

David Boud is Foundation Director of the Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE) at Deakin University, Australia. He is also Emeritus Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Technology, Australia, and Research Professor in the Institute for Work-Based Learning, Middlesex University, UK.

Amy Pollard specialises in the application of social science to policy and practice and has worked on education projects at Demos, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Anthropology Matters. Amy is currently Lead Policy Analyst at CAFOD, Official Catholic Aid Agency for England and Wales, UK.

Susanna Calkins directs faculty initiatives at the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching at Northwestern University, USA.

Kelly Coate is Professor of Higher Education and Pro Vice Chancellor for Education and Students at the University of Sussex, UK.

Fiona Hallett is Professor in Education and Associate Dean of the Graduate School at Edge Hill University, UK.

Iain MacLaren is Director of the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at the National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.

Jan McArthur is Senior Lecturer in Education and Social Justice at Lancaster University, UK. She has previously taught at the University of Edinburgh, UK, and Monash University, Australia.

Velda McCune is Deputy Director of the Institute for Academic Development and Head of Learning and Teaching at the University of Edinburgh, UK.

Monica McLean is Professor of Education in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham, UK. Her publications includes Pedagogy and the University and Professional Education, Capabilities and the Public Good.

Michelle Tooher is Educational Developer at the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at the National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.

Table of Contents

Preface
How to Use this Book
Introduction
Part I: Becoming Reflective
1. Identity. Who are we, and who are our students?
2. Learning. How do students develop their understanding?
3. Reflection. How can we develop the quality of our teaching?
4. Principles. What are the foundations of effective teaching and learning?
Part II: Creating Conditions for Learning
5. Contexts. How do they shape us and how do we shape them?
6. Relationships. How are we getting on together?
7. Engagement. How does our engagement with teaching influence student learning?
8. Spaces. How are we creating environments for learning?
Part III: Teaching for Learning
9. Curriculum. What is to be taught and learned?
10. Planning. How are we implementing curricula?
11. Teaching. How can we develop strategies focused on student understanding?
12. Communication. How can we support learning through dialogue?
13. Assessment. How does it make a contribution to learning?
Part IV: Reflecting on Consequences
14. Quality. How are we monitoring and enhancing the quality of teaching and learning?
15. Inclusion. How are we enabling opportunities?
Part V: Deepening Understanding
16. Expertise. How do we develop a career-long fascination with teaching?
17. Professionalism. How does reflective teaching contribute to society?
Reflective activities
List of case studies, figures and research briefings
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

If I were to describe this book in a sentence, I would say that it gives people outstanding advice on how to teach well, within highly complex organisations known as universities ... This collection is a real tour de force.” —Times Higher Education (of the first edition)

“A popular and influential text. An impressive and newly constituted international team. A really up to date resource. Again, this book stands out from many others in this field. Although the book is rooted in very practical concerns, it takes its readership as a serious intellectual audience, and allows access to a field that recognises the complexity of what lecturers face.” —Jenni Case, Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA

“An excellent resource for academic developers whose role it is to shape the kinds of academics who are able to respond to the legitimate learning needs of their diverse student body, to meet the challenges and demands of their disciplines and prepare students for a complex and unknowable future.” —Lynn Quinn, Associate Professor, Rhodes University, South Africa

“A significant collaborative achievement with Paul Ashwin again marshalling an all-star international cast in a well-executed update to their seminal text on Reflective Teaching: a cutting-edge resource for teachers and researchers” —Professor David Carless, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

“The definitive go-to handbook for supporting academic professional development, leading me to adopt it as the core recommended course reading in my professional development leadership role. The book's strengths include bringing together perspectives of a range of relevant experts, and a good blend of theory and practice, including recognisable empirical examples and activities to carry out alone or with others. The reflective focus of the book as well as its emphasis on the collaborative nature of the teaching endeavour are key strengths. This new edition further benefits from incorporation of key contemporary imperatives such as the decolonising agenda.” —Tamsin Hinton-Smith, Senior Lecturer in Higher Education and Deputy Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning Research, University of Sussex, UK

“Pleased to find a textbook that addresses issues of the - often neglected - topics of communication and relationships in lecturing work, in addition to planning and designing the curriculum, and evaluating practice. Valuable for both new and experienced lecturers in higher education.” —Jeannie Daniels, Senior Lecturer, University of West Scotland, UK

“I have found the previous edition of this book very helpful, with a good balance between the practical and theoretical components and some excellent critical evaluation of key concepts. The 2nd edition contains new content that adds both depth and breadth to the existing material. In particular, the discussions on diversity, decolonizing, digital learning and teaching excellence are all highly relevant in the current context.” —Rachel Stone, Sheffield Hallam University, UK

From the Publisher

If I were to describe this book in a sentence, I would say that it gives people outstanding advice on how to teach well, within highly complex organisations known as universities ... This collection is a real tour de force.

Times Higher Education

Reflective Teaching in Higher Education is playing in a space where a lot of books are clamouring for the attention of the lecturer who wants to improve their teaching (and who might or might not be doing a formal qualification to that end). This one stands out - with a distinctive style, largely, it seems, due to the rather unique writing process which has had a team of experts working collaboratively through the chapters, some initiating and others building on this. It comes together as a carefully crafted whole that has a fresh take on a field that is now quite well established. It is comprehensive and up-to-date and has a very contemporary feel in terms of the contexts and concerns in which it places itself. The use of quotes and case studies will draw the reader in, offering connections to people who face the real challenges of the contemporary university lecturer who has to work to meet the needs of a diverse group of students, often with limited training and resources. Although the book is rooted in very practical concerns, it takes its readership as a serious intellectual audience, and allows access to a field that recognises the complexity of what lecturers face.

Jenni Case

Reflective Teaching in Higher Education engages academics in a scholarly approach to reflective practice that will enable us to develop - and demonstrate - our teaching expertise. The authors skilfully guide readers in an inquiry process that integrates reflection on personal beliefs, research evidence and multiple dimensions of teaching practice to transform both learning and teaching experiences in higher education.

Lynn Taylor

Reflective Teaching in Higher Education is a rare book that manages to present the research and scholarship on teaching in higher education in an accessible manner, provide compelling case studies that bring the scholarship alive, and entice the reader into meaningful reflective learning moments. The authors bring together the writings and reflections of some of the world's most outstanding scholars and the result is a resource book which explores every aspect of learning and teaching through a wide range of lenses. It is a book which could truly expedite our endeavours to provide a higher education learning experience that is fit for purpose in the 21st century. Most of all it is a book which takes us on a journey of reflection of our own attitudes, approaches and values as teachers in higher education.

Lorraine Stefani

This substantial and timely, multi-authored book is self-conscious about making sense of a profession. Despite propaganda to the contrary, most people working in higher education see their chief responsibility as to teach, or to support those who do. They will also tell you that doing this well is their primary source of satisfaction, and, occasionally, of joy. Reflective Teaching in Higher Education will help all of those people: to confirm their commitment; to achieve that satisfaction more regularly; and even to light upon those moments of joy. It will prove very effective for all who choose to use it.

David Watson

In Reflective Teaching in Higher Education, Paul Ashwin and his colleagues have developed a convincing and holistic account of reflective practice in teaching - an account that is grounded in the latest research about effective learning, teaching and assessment. Ultimately directed towards us - the teachers - the book impresses with the multiplicity of thinking tools it offers: reflective activities, case studies with real experiences of teachers, research briefings and a most helpful selection of key readings. This is a must-read for all who care about their teaching and wish to continue to learn as teachers, as well as for all who care how we think about and understand teaching.

Manja Klemencic