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.

By Laura.Duckett , 9 September, 2026

Paid research internships can level the playing field for bioscience students

Two lab workers discussing something on a screen

Research experience is invaluable – but only if students can afford to take part. Learn about a scheme that supports under-represented students

Reading time

4minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 8 September, 2026

Three ways to foster an interdisciplinary mindset in students

A group of students discussing an interdisciplinary project at a table

Interdisciplinarity can feel vague and abstract. Read guidance on helping students understand how concepts are defined and how approaches to problems differ across disciplines

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 7 September, 2026

Teaching AI use in music for intercultural perspectives

One way to navigate the tension between fear of AI’s impact on creativity and using it to enhance these processes is to take a human-centred approach to its use. Hyesoo Yoo explains

Reading time

4minutes

By kiera.obrien , 4 September, 2026

How living labs bridge the gap between the classroom and the real world

A researcher inspects solar panels in a lab

To help students connect their classroom learning to the messier results of the real world, perhaps living labs are the answer. Find out more

Reading time

4minutes

By kiera.obrien , 19 August, 2026

How to set your students up to write compelling op-eds

Help students develop their writing and refine their arguments by publishing opinion pieces. Find advice for supporting student writers here

Reading time

5minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 11 August, 2026

The role of work-based learning in psychology education

A psychology student providing counselling to a patient in a clinic

By offering choice and emotional support, educators can prepare students for a range of psychology careers. Learn how

Reading time

5minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 6 August, 2026

An academics’ guide to integrating industry engagement in course design

Business colleagues having a meeting in a boardroom

How to embed short, structured company projects into courses, from securing institutional support to building lasting relationships with external organisations

Reading time

4minutes

By kiera.obrien , 29 July, 2026

Four ways that study tours can put decolonisation into action

Instead of discussing decolonisation in theoretical terms, engaging with those theories in practice via a study tour can be transformative. Here’s how

Reading time

4minutes

By kiera.obrien , 24 July, 2026

How VR can embed the health and safety standards of the future

A construction student uses a VR headset

Virtual reality simulations can equip construction students with technical skills and impress on them the importance of safety. Find out how here

Reading time

4minutes

By kiera.obrien , 15 July, 2026

Use XR to make invisible networks visible to students

Computer science students often need to understand technical concepts hidden within layers of software. Here’s how extended reality could offer a solution

Reading time

6minutes

Practical learning