Teaching for Quality Learning at University 5e

“Biggs and Tang, now with Kennedy, have ensured this new edition remains an international leader for university teaching for the next decade.”

Denise Chalmers AM, Emeritus Professor, University of Western Australia, Australia

“This book, a fifth edition, can truly be called a “classic” on the topic of teaching, learning and curriculum design in higher education.”

Michael Prosser, Honorary Professorial Fellow, Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne, Australia

“You should be inspired to increase the quality of your teaching, your learning, and your learning about teaching.”

John R. Kirby, Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology, Queen’s University, Canada

The concept of constructive alignment has supported generations of students and teachers within higher education. It is a ‘backward design’ method of teaching where the student outcomes are identified first and the teacher then designs teaching activities to enable students to achieve those outcomes, assessing how well they have been achieved. Each chapter outlines how to design the learning outcomes, teaching and assessments for success in learning. 

This updated edition of Teaching for Quality Learning at  

• Provides a comprehensive, research-based theory of teaching for teacher reflection 

• Outlines how educational technology can be used in constructively aligned teaching 

• Helps staff developers to provide support for staff and departments in line with institutional policies 

• Offers a framework for quality assurance and quality enhancement across a whole institution 

Teaching for Quality Learning at University continues to be used as a framework for designing higher education teaching systems globally and is essential reading for those in the field. 

John Biggs has held Chairs in Education in Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong. He has published extensively on student learning and the implications of his research for teaching. He developed his concept of constructive alignment at the University of Hong Kong, first outlined in Teaching for Quality Learning at University in 1999. 

Catherine Tang has over 15 years of teaching experience in tertiary education and is the former Head of the Centre for Learning, Teaching and Supervision at the Education University of Hong Kong (the then Hong Kong Institute of Education) and the Educational Development Centre at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. 

Gregor Kennedy is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at the University of Melbourne, Australia and a Professor of Higher Education in the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education.