Traditionally, mentoring in higher education institutions has either occurred informally or as a planned program where junior staff members are matched with experienced staff members in a formal one‐to‐one program. While such programs have reported benefits to participants, many miss out on the opportunity. Further, mentoring dyads do little to enhance a more collaborative atmosphere in higher education settings. Alternative mentoring methods do exist and can provide advantages to the traditional approach. Mentoring circles are an innovative example of these alternative methods. The mentoring activity and subsequent evaluation described in this paper sought to explore the perceived benefits of a group mentoring model for academic staff.

Reliable and valid written tests of higher cognitive function are difficult to produce, particularly for the assessment of clinical problem solving. Modified Essay Questions (MEQs) are often used to assess these higher order abilities in preference to other forms of assessment, including multiple-choice questions (MCQs). MEQs often form a vital component of end-of-course assessments in higher education. It is not clear how effectively these questions assess higher order cognitive skills. This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of the MEQ to measure higher-order cognitive skills in an undergraduate institution.

Self and peer-assessment are becoming central aspects of student-centred assessment processes in higher education. Despite increasing evidence that both forms of assessment are helpful for developing key capabilities in students, such as taking more responsibility for their own learning, developing a better understanding of the subject matter, assessment criteria and their own values and judgements, and developing critical reflection skills, both forms of assessment are still not the norm at universities. This paper provides the findings of a two-year study of formative self and peer-assessment at an Australian university. The study supports other research showing that students tend to regard formative self and peer-assessment as beneficial for gaining more insights about the assessment process and for improving their own work. We argue that self and peer-assessment requires careful design and implementation for it to be an effective tool for formative assessment processes; and that the development of students’ capacities for giving feedback, and the continuous and timely involvement of the teacher, are central aspects for successful self and peer-assessment. The move to self and peer-assessment is not simple for teachers and students but is worthwhile and necessary for twenty-first century higher education.