A conversation about pedagogical responses to increased diversity in university classrooms

This paper presents a dialogue between an academic economist and an educational developer. It asks whether it is possible to teach in a way that works well for all students. The economist contends that teaching entails making a choice as to which students should benefit most—the more academically capable or the lower‐achieving students. He sees this as a question of social choice. The educational developer suggests that teaching can be organized such that all students can benefit optimally. The dialogue seeks to resolve this difference. It draws on the work of John Biggs, using his diagrammatic representation of the relation between student orientation, teaching method and level of engagement. Biggs debriefs the dialogue. He rejects the focus on particular students andargues rather that teaching should incorporate optimal degrees of freedom in learning activities and assessment, thus enabling levels of engagement for all students to be maximized.