Pedagogy

Learn more about pedagogy and how different theories of teaching and learning work across higher education. Here, academics offer insights into a variety of pedagogies, drawing on their own teaching experience alongside research, to provide practical advice on what instructional methods work best for different university contexts, disciplines and classes.

By miranda.prynne, 13 October, 2021

Using productive failure to activate deeper learning

View

Manu Kapur explains how using a flipped-classroom approach, setting students problems that they are unable to tackle properly until they have been taught the associated concepts, deepens their learning through ‘productive failure’

By dene.mullen, 8 October, 2021

Forget the tech – in the new normal, let’s focus on human beings

View

In the new normal we might forget the technology and focus on motivating human beings again

The key to making learning effective, now and in the post-pandemic world, is focusing on motivation, says Grace McCarthy

By miranda.prynne, 1 October, 2021

Serious play: building knowledge with Lego bricks

View

Advice on how LEGO can facilitate learning across many disciplines in higher education

Using Lego blocks to aid brainstorming has migrated from boardrooms into university classrooms. This guide explores how to get the most out of it in your teaching – whether virtual or on campus

By miranda.prynne, 29 September, 2021

Capturing students’ attention in the classroom: Does listening equal learning?

View

Webinar discussion how to reduce student drop out rates in the context of the pandemic and online learning

Four teaching academics discuss effective approaches to keeping students focused and engaged inside and outside the classroom

By miranda.prynne, 20 September, 2021

Designing back from the future: building scenarios to engage students with global challenges

View

How to use design methods such as scenario building to guide students in tackling real world challenges

Anke Schwittay shows how design methods such as scenario building can help students think creatively about diverse challenges and imagine responses to them

By Eliza.Compton, 16 September, 2021

Want to tear students from their phones? Learn their names

View

Holding students’ attention in a world of digital distractions is tough, but James Lang explains why remembering and using their names can make the task less herculean

By miranda.prynne, 8 September, 2021

Designing ‘knowledge checker’ quizzes that motivate students to review feedback and revise learning

View

Advice on developing regular quizzes that test students' understanding so they can address any gaps in their knowledge

Jonathan Sim advises on designing regular quizzes as a tool to ensure students review their assignment feedback and address gaps in their understanding

By miranda.prynne, 3 September, 2021

Place-based learning in digital universities

View

A discussion of how the exploration and understanding of a place can be the backbone of higher education teaching and learning, whether delivered online or in-person

By miranda.prynne, 2 September, 2021

Teaching with Lego: using plastic bricks to encourage play and interaction in class

View

Advice on using lego to support active learning in lectures

Dan Swanton explains how using Lego to demonstrate and apply lessons in class promotes play and interaction leading to better engagement and peer discussion as part of active learning design

By sara.custer, 31 August, 2021

Follow the (learning) science and put problem solving at the centre of teaching

View

A magnifying glass among scattered letters represents problem solving

Rather than a digital transformation, universities should undergo a learning transformation that supports effective technology and evidence-based teaching, argue Carl Wieman and Bror Saxberg

Pedagogy