Students and lecturers rarely have the opportunity or autonomy to reflect upon and critique the roles that each party plays in the learning and teaching environment. This paper draws on the perceptions of undergraduate students and lecturers in a medium-sized tertiary institution in an urban area of New Zealand in relation to the learning community and levels of student engagement. Third-year students in their final year of study shared their perceptions of their learning and teaching environment. Simultaneously, lecturers shared their perceptions of student engagement and academic skills development during the course of their degree. This paper evaluates the learning environment and investigates the gaps between learner and teacher expectations. The outcome of this study is informing ongoing development of an academic support strategy to enhance critical and analytical thinking and student engagement in learning. The research team also used study findings to inform the continued development of a revised undergraduate degree curriculum. This research emphasises the importance of student voice. The shared insights of lecturers and students will inform further action research stages of this project.

There are several technological tools which aim to support first year students’ challenges, especially when it comes to academic writing. This paper analyses one of these tools, Wiley’s AssignMentor. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework was used to systematise this analysis. The paper showed an alignment between the tools’ features, and the content, pedagogical and technological requirements. In particular, the paper highlighted that the tool provided an online scaffolding tool, which guides students during their writing process. Additionally, some limitations of the software were identified, which could be addressed by using a blended learning approach.