Special Issues on Learning Strategies: Parallels and Contrasts between Australian and Chinese Tertiary Education

Abstract

Learning strategies are crucial to student learning in higher education. In this paper, there are comparisons of student engagement, feedback mechanism and workload arrangements at some typical universities in Australia and China, which are followed by practical suggestions for active learning. First, an inclusive class would allow learners from different backgrounds to become more engaged in classroom activities. Second, universities should improve feedback mechanisms, making them more timely and helpful to enable students to adapt their learning strategies and allowing teachers to adjust teaching methods to target students effectively. Third, this paper proposes a framework of principles under which the flexible workload of academics should be ensured so that students can learn social skills from administrative staff and have more free time to develop unique thinking and planning capacities.