Practical learning

Reflection and advice for hands-on university teaching practices and experiential learning. These resources offer expert tips to support quality teaching through lab work, fieldwork and work placements as well as community-based learning, project-based learning and simulations. 

Advice on getting students involved in community projects which boost their learning experience in creative and practical ways

Creative ways to boost student learning through community-based projects

Jamie Darwen explains how community projects offer creative and practical ways to enhance student learning and shares advice on building successful partnerships outside the university

Jamie Darwen

University of the West of England Bristol

Why and how to introduce random error into virtual experiments

Striving for imperfection: introducing randomness into virtual experiments

Rachel Martins explains how she introduced random error into her lab simulations when teaching online physics, to better replicate real-world experiments for her students

Rachel Martins

Leeds International Study Centre

Advice on creating virtual fieldtrips to complement in-person teaching

Playing the field: how virtual field trips can benefit student learning now and in future

Theresa Mercer and colleagues explain how to develop virtual field trips that support in-person learning, boost accessibility and help future-proof teaching against unforeseen challenges

Theresa Mercer

University of Lincoln

Advice on implementing rapid response public engagement projects

Three steps to successful rapid-response civic engagement with students

Kathleen Riach outlines key lessons from successfully leading a rapid-response civic engagement project with students to help over 50s gain better digital access

Kathleen Riach

University of Glasgow

With more and more students achieving high grades, online micro courses can help graduates stand out in the jobs market

Short online courses can grease the wheels of student employability

The degree has transitioned from differentiating factor to basic benchmark. Online microcredentials can help graduates stand out from their rivals, says Madina Tash

Madina Tash

University of Sussex

A student takes part in an online work placement. Given the huge backlog of placements created by Covid-19, universities should consider e-placements.

It’s time for the sector to embrace online work placements

Placement capacity has been shaken to its core by the Covid-19 pandemic, creating a huge backlog. We must look for sustainable alternative solutions, says Gilly Salmon

Gilly Salmon

Swinburne University of Technology

How to set up virtual work placements for students to gain real world experience online

Developing internship opportunities for students online

Lecturer Dorothy Kwok offers three strategies institutions can take in setting up digital work placements and industry projects to ensure students get real-world experience when learning online

Larry Ching, Dorothy Kwok, Candy Law

Hong Kong Metropolitan University

Advice on redesigning assessment in the digital space, to test skills needed in future careers

Rethinking assessment in line with the changing world of work

Sarah Montano offers insight on redesigning assessment in the digital space to test the skills students will need in their future careers

Sarah Montano

University of Birmingham

Guidance on how to teach practical, creative subjects online

Singing on mute: facilitating practical creative work online

Rebecca Berkley shares lessons on creating an immersive, inspiring digital learning environment to teach practical and creative subjects online

Rebecca Berkley

University of Reading

Five steps to moving practical learning online

Five simple ways to recreate the practical sides of teaching online

It can be a challenge to shift physical elements of teaching online. Eoin Coakley shares five approaches to recreating the experience of in-person learning for remote students

Eoin Coakley

Coventry University

Boosting student employability via digital learning

Boosting student employability through virtual experience

From digital industry projects to virtual internships, employability can be enhanced online in many ways, but it is how students reflect upon and learn from their experiences that is important, as Dino Willox and Laura-Anne Bull explain

Dino Willox, Laura-Anne Bull

The University of Queensland

Approaches to moving practical courses to more remote learning

Innovative approaches to moving practical learning online

A major challenge of the move to remote learning has been how to teach practical subjects. Here, Lesley Saunders and Lucy Kirkham discuss how they adopted a combination of online, blended and socially distanced teaching for a large nursing course

Lesley Saunders , Lucy Kirkham

Sheffield Hallam University

Encourage students to take their online learning outside

Take your online teaching outside

Being outdoors can offer students and teachers dozens of benefits, from improved learning outcomes to better mental health. Aimée Little talks about taking online classes outside

Aimée Little

University of York

How to offer real-world training and fieldwork through digital channels as part of its online courses

How to tackle fieldwork and real-world training online

Francine Ryan explains how the Open University law school offers real-world training and fieldwork through digital channels as part of its online courses

Francine Ryan

The Open University

Use 360-degree video to create a more immersive digital learning experience

Using 360-degree video to bring online classes to life

Using 360-degree video can help create a more immersive digital learning experience, making practical aspects of online classes more realistic. Here Jane Frost draws on her experience of training nurses to explain how it can be used

Jane Frost

University of Canberra

Remote vs virtual labs

The move to online teaching has led to a huge rise in the use of both remote and virtual laboratories. Here Dr Yeung explains how each works and outlines their strengths and weaknesses

Yau-Yuen Yeung

The Education University of Hong Kong

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