Practical learning

Reflection and advice for hands-on university teaching practice – from online lab work to work placements and real-world experience.

Using partnerships to establish and build on project success

From listening to the student voice to creating joined-up partnerships, success on major capital works depends on teamwork. Here, Dominic Wood outlines key elements to ensure project delivery and reap long-term benefits

Dominic Wood

Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM)

Saddle pressure mat used to teach horse riding

Get off your high horse: using technology to make equine courses more inclusive

A group of educators at Scotland’s Rural College have reached more diverse students by using wearable technology to update traditional methods of teaching horse riding

Jennifer Fitzpatrick

Scotland's Rural College

Embrace the chaos of real-world learning experiences

Unaccompanied student assignments abroad are a terrifying but essential part of the high-fidelity learning mix. Here, Jim Entwistle shares his four key points of assignments beyond the safety net

Jim Entwistle

Teesside University

Three strategies for building healthy student relationships online

Icebreakers and peer-to-peer support are just some of the ways to cultivate a friendly online learning environment where connections between students can flourish

Becca Edwards

The University of Colorado Boulder

Virtual reality communication concept, cartoon style. Two girls in VR glasses meet, flying in outer space with planets and stars. Vector illustration, hand drawn, flat stock illustration

Using VR to break the ice in the classroom

Virtual reality can make introductions more fun and expose students to new technologies. Here, Elvira Luna offers her tips for introducing it into COIL classes

Elvira Luna

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Bring the SDGs into the classroom through role play and gamification

A case study showing how simulations, role playing and gamification can develop students’ global citizenship and help grand challenges feel more surmountable

Shelini Surendran, Kat Mack, Anand Mistry

University of Surrey

Nurturing advanced problem-solving skills with integrated projects

Integrated projects can be a powerful tool for bolstering problem-solving capabilities and encouraging students to integrate knowledge from various courses

Man Kee Lam , Yee Ho Chai

Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP)

Messy decisions and creative science in the classroom

How can we teach students other than those studying for healthcare or other vocational qualifications to work across disciplinary boundaries and make scientific decisions in a creative – and enjoyable – manner? Here’s what we learned from running a data-driven drug-discovery scenario

Charlotte Dodson, Steve Flower

University of Bath

What is experiential learning and why is it crucial in today’s world?

Mónica Gárate presents an experiential learning methodology, including characteristics, benefits and how the professor should participate in the process

Mónica Gárate

CETYS Universidad

Driving change: creating student-NGO partnerships for climate solutions

Luis Ricardo Fernández Carril and Luis Gerardo Rojas Solorio reveal how to energise and empower students to take part in the fight against climate change

Luis Ricardo Fernández Carril , Luis Gerardo Rojas Solorio

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Student doctors practising clinical skills on a plush bear

How to teach clinical communication skills in a foreign language from scratch

This hands-on approach to clinical practice integrates content and language and enables both local and international students to acquire communication skills and vocabulary alongside activities relevant to medical practice

Katalin Fogarasi, Judit Császár

Semmelweis University

Civic education is crucial for today's students

How to improve civic education through service learning

Civic education is essential, writes Grace Ngai, so how can universities teach it effectively?

Grace Ngai

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Implementing project-based learning: a practical guide

Ibham Veza and Mohd Syaifuddin Mohd provide practical guidance and methodologies for introducing project-based learning and outline its potential impact on students

Ibham Veza, Mohd Syaifuddin Mohd

Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP)

An introduction to creating escape rooms

Bernardo Pereira Nunes offers tips on how to get started on an escape room experience that will boost students’ teamwork, leadership, communication and problem-solving skills

Bernardo Pereira Nunes

Australian National University

Lessons learned from a fellowship year as a dentist and early career researcher

Winning a fellowship as a dentist and spending a year in Graz as an international scholar not only taught me about the profession but also fostered my self-awareness, writes Dániel Végh

Dániel Végh

Semmelweis University

Student money worries ahead of internship

Equitable access to work-integrated learning is finally on the agenda in Australia

A group of Australian academics discusses what changes could ameliorate the issues faced by students from equity groups when it comes to accessing internships

Anne Hewitt , Craig Cameron , Deanna Grant-Smith , Laura Grenfell

Adelaide University, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland University of Technology

A man with a prosthetic leg sitting in a forest with his laptop

Ten steps to equity: making fieldwork accessible

Fieldwork can be isolating for disabled students and academics when it is not designed with inclusivity in mind. Becky Alexis-Martin shares 10 strategies to ensure disabled students and academics are included by field-based disciplines

Becky Alexis-Martin

University of Bradford

Tips for applying universal design for learning in healthcare practice placements

Ailish Malone and Fiona Daly offer tips on implementing UDL in the busy and variable environment of students’ practical placements

Ailish Malone, Fiona Daly

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

Three strategies for creating a field experience course

Three important steps needed to create an effective field experience course that aids students’ learning and development, shared by Donna-Maria Maynard

Donna-Maria Maynard

The University of the West Indies

Young women campaigning for more action on climate change

A practical approach to tackling eco-anxiety

We induce eco-anxiety by teaching students about climate change, so training them in practical and achievable solutions to it are needed, too, write Helen Hicks and Dawn Lees

Helen Hicks, Dawn Lees

The University of Exeter

A group of students discussing a project

Teamwork, support and structure: the core principles of rewarding student internships

Student internships are an effective way to facilitate student-staff collaboration but, to work well, they require teamwork, the right support and structure, and a focus on tangible outputs

Craig McEwan

The University of Exeter

Recommendations for using design thinking in the classroom

How to prepare a design thinking workshop, from introducing the concept to students through to ideation and eventually pitching their idea

Karla Margarita Banda Martínez, Graciela González-Valdepeña

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Enquiry-based learning in five steps

Enquiry-based learning bridges the gap between theory and practice, enabling students to learn by doing. Nicky Goodall shares five tips for successfully bringing it into your teaching

Nicky Goodall

The Open University

Unifying theoretical and clinical education in a medical curriculum

A focus on practical competences comes with the risk that theoretical knowledge will be sidelined during the clinical years. However, two-way vertical integration of medical training can provide a more balanced strategy for learning

László Köles

Semmelweis University

Flip the classroom to improve practical skills teaching

How educators can use a flipped classroom approach to aid the teaching of practical skills to a wide range of students

Louise Smith

The University of Manchester

A methodology to trigger social entrepreneurship ideas in your class

José Carlos Vázquez Parra shares five steps for triggering social entrepreneurship and thus encouraging students to become agents of change, whatever their discipline

José Carlos Vázquez Parra

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Group of young people in a circle all joining hands in the centre

Why we start undergraduate transdisciplinary research from day one

Hands-on knowledge discovery can give students the chance to put learning into action from the beginning of their studies, write Gray Kochhar-Lindgren and Julian Tanner

Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, Julian Tanner

The University of Hong Kong

Develop the skills of the future through challenge-based learning

Modern employers require a broad suite of skills from graduates; Jorge Membrillo-Hernández outlines how challenge-based learning can help, and how to get started

Jorge Membrillo-Hernández

Tecnológico de Monterrey

How to set up immersive VR experiences on your university campus

How to set up immersive VR lessons on your campus

Using extended reality can enable students to have experiences that would otherwise be impossible to access. Here’s how to get started

Ana Gabriela Rodríguez-Mendoza , Adriana Plata-Marroquin , Brenda Aimé Luis-Chavira

Tecnológico de Monterrey

University student teaching secondary school students

How to embed service to society within the educational experience

Helen Coulshed and Jeanne Wilson discuss their experience creating an interdisciplinary “service” module to challenge gender inequalities in local schools

Helen Coulshed , Jeanne Wilson

King’s College London

Black student points at a computer screen

Touch is a simple and effective way to manage learners’ cognitive load

Studies from educational psychologist Paul Ginns show that students who point and trace learning material results have greater comprehension and retention

Paul Ginns

University of Sydney

A robust complaints process for students working in NHS placements

Students training as health and social care workers must be supported to speak up about complaints or concerns from practice settings. Helen Carr outlines a clear process

Helen Carr

Canterbury Christ Church University

Inter-faculty working brings students together

Building the future: the case for inter-faculty learning

Launching an innovative inter-faculty way of working has brought great benefit to students, especially in the post-Covid period, say Gemma Ahearne and Matt Murphy

Gemma Ahearne, Matt Murphy

University of Liverpool

Three blended learning challenges and how to overcome them

Tips to improve student retention, engagement and participation drawn from teaching blended and online introductory computer programming courses, which cannot rely on in-person labs

Erick Purwanto, Thomas Selig, Na Li

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Image of a young woman working with school children

Community-engaged learning: a pedagogic approach to civic outreach

A guide to developing community-engaged learning projects that benefit the student participants and the communities they work within, by Sonia Kumar

Sonia Kumar

University of Leeds

Community projects for students can help with critical thinking

How community projects can promote students’ critical thinking skills

Embedding project-based learning and participatory research in degree courses can provide students with the critical-thinking skills that employers require

Tom Dobson

York St John University

When to use online laboratories for STEM teaching and why

A guide to help STEM educators understand which aspects of practical laboratory learning can most effectively be delivered online and the benefits of this approach

Helen Lockett

The Open University

A digital boost to music teaching and performance

Drawing on an audiovisual project to create a virtual studio where researchers and students can test sound in multiple settings, from a cathedral to a cave, William Minty shares lessons on how to manage institution-wide tech developments

William Minty

Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM)

Home labs and simulations to spark curiosity and exploration

Francesco Fornetti explains how home lab kits and simulation tools can help spark curiosity and exploration among engineering students

Francesco Fornetti

The University of Bristol

Using immersive tech to enrich healthcare education

As virtual reality technology has become more affordable and user friendly, it opens opportunities to enhance teaching of clinical skills. Here’s how one team brings VR into the classroom

Chris McKenzie, Janet Skinner, Amy Poole

The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University

Experiential education through a simulated summit to combat human trafficking

Advice on setting pedagogical goals and planning a simulated international summit to support experiential learning for remote students, by Clara Chapdelaine-Feliciati

Clara Chapdelaine-Feliciati

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

The fundamentals of successful student knowledge exchange

What basics must be considered in order to build a successful student knowledge exchange project? Sharon Ingram shares insight based on supporting a student-led chemistry consultancy

Sharon Ingram

University of Strathclyde

Image of a lecturer teaching a class of adult students

Tutor training for architect-educators: twinning, observation, reflection and testing

Staff development and training for architecture tutors is very limited. This resource looks back at a tutor training programme that ran from 1996 to 2002, and draws lessons for future architect-educators

Martin W. Andrews, Mary Caddick

The University of Portsmouth

Lessons in running workshops to train students in basic electronics

Workshops that train pre-university students in open-source electronics and programming platform Arduino can broaden access to and knowledge of readily available technology. Here‘s a guide for how to design them

Jorge N. Gutiérrez

Technological University of Uruguay (UTEC)

A remote student working in a group with other students via an online meeting

Lessons in helping remote students obtain practical work experience

Universities face obstacles in helping distance learners access practical work experience. Ewout van der Schaft and Alex Mackrell share insight from initiatives at their business school

Ewout van der Schaft, Alex Mackrell

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Critical thinking is a crucial skill for students to be taught at university

Starting from scratch to promote critical thinking in your classes

Critical thinking is a crucial skill for all areas of life. Adriana González Nava and Paulo Mendoza Rivera explain how to promote it in course design

Adriana González Nava , Paulo Mendoza Rivera

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Giving students the chance to work in a professional company housed in a university has benefits for all

We started a commercial software company at our university – and you should too

Staffed by students, epiGenesys provides profits for the university and allows students to work in a lively, supportive and successful business environment

Mike Holcombe

University of Sheffield

Outside help for local communities can have unintended negative consequences

Is that overseas field trip you’re looking forward to really necessary?

However well-intentioned, outside interventions can have unintended consequences for local communities if carried out without rigorous research, says James Derounian

James Derounian

University of Bolton

University staff and leadership should not forget that the academic and the vocational are deeply intertwined

Don’t forget that the ‘academic’ and the ‘vocational’ are deeply intertwined

It’s not enough to focus solely on academic mission, but neither is it enough to think of universities as little more than training schools, says Sir Chris Husbands

Chris Husbands

Sheffield Hallam University

Challenge-based learning: design and delivery in undergraduate courses

Courses that incorporate real problems from real companies offer students a rare chance to acquire knowledge while also developing useful professional skills

Nelly Ramirez Vásquez , Maria del Rosario Rosas Escalona

Tecnológico de Monterrey

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