Blog posts

The following are Teaching Matters blog posts, which incorporate the overlapping experiential, reflection, fieldwork, placements and problem-based learning:

• Exploring and refining the value of ‘experiential’ learning in higher education: Dr Jule Hildmann, and Dr Andy Cross discuss the outcomes of a project that explores how an experiential learning framework can be used for designing and evaluating more ‘experiential’ courses.
• Fieldwork: The liminal experience you never even knew you had!: Dr Gillian McCay reflects on the transformative experience of fieldwork for Earth Science students.
• Immersions and encounters: Fieldwork in landscape architecture: Elinor Scarth shares her thoughts on students’ experiences of being immersed in the field, and how it can open up moments of experimentation and creativity.
• “Dear Oak”: Showcasing the value of place-based education through local landscapes – a video blog post: Prof Robbie Nicol leads this video blog post, which provides a snapshot of some of the teaching and learning that takes place on a Masters course in Moray House Scool of Education and Sport - Outdoor Environmental Education: Concept-Based Practice.
• SLICCs (Student-Led, Individually-Created Courses): A Supportive experiential space where students can flourish: Andrea Levy, Sharon Levy and Neneh Rowa-Dewar explain the value of Student-Led, Individually-Created Courses (SLICCs) as a profound opportunity for personal and professional growth
• What is a living lab?: Living Lab projects are a key pedagogical tool that the University of Edinburgh use to increase understanding about real-world issues and the solutions to those issues through engaging academics with operational staff in order to form a mutually beneficial collaboration.
• Co-creating a zombie apocalypse: Learning how to deal with failure through play: Emily Hochkins describes how she and other students designed a zombie apocalypse scenario to help students learn about dealing with failure.
• From field experiences to experiential learning: The importance of reflection: Dr Dan Swanton links experiential learning to reflective practices through fieldwork.
• Geoscience Outreach: What we do, how we assess, and client/student reflections: A useful example of how authentic assessment designed in conjunction with community engagement can inspire interdisciplinary and problem-based learning.

Podcasts

• Place Based Education: A four-part series focusing on creative approaches to practicals and field work in online and hybrid spaces, with Prof Robbie Nicol and Dr Heidi Smith, from Moray House School of Education and Sport.

• Media Hopper Create: the benefits of OERs (25 minutes): A Teaching Matters podcast episode featuring Charlie Farley, the Open Educational Resources advisor at the University’s Information Services, and Ewan McAndrew, the University Wikipedian in Residence, who discuss the benefits of Media Hopper Create, particularly in regard to the service’s ability to create Open Educational Resources (OERs).

Videos

• Learning and Teaching Conference 2021 - Walking guides and place-based learning: Some reflections on Edinburgh’s Geographies, by Dan Swanton, Shawn Bodden, Hayden Lorimer, Daniel Munoz, Roisin Gillock Boyle, Tara Patel, Eimear Smith, and Ellie Steward. Integrative Reflection Learning – Done quick, simple and effective, by Andre Phillips.

• Learning and Teaching Conference 2023
  • Larch Panel 4: Academia and Industry – the power of collaboration in the world of data science.
  • Larch Panel 5: SACHA Think Tank: using experiential learning as a tool for co-creation in curriculum transformation.
  • Sensing in the community - Community Based Research in the Curriculum: A Learning and Teaching Conference 2023 presentation by Stewart Smith and Helen Szoor-McElhinney: