Experiential learning additional resources

Blog posts, podcasts and videos; University training, networks and signposting; External toolkits, guidance and websites; Journal articles and book chapters.

Blog posts

The following are Teaching Matters blog posts, which incorporate the overlapping experiential, reflection, fieldwork, placements 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


Sign-posting

Teaching with Collections: Part of the University's Heritage Collection, this service is aimed at supporting experiential learning through object-based teaching.

Living Labs: The Social Responsibility and Sustainability (SRS) department is supporting Living Labs, where student engage in research projects that generate recommendations and outputs capable of progressing the University's social and civic responsibility delivery plan as part of their studies. Course organisers interested in embedding living lab assignments in their course are encouraged to contact lucy.patterson@ed.ac.uk, but SRS also offer individual dissertation placements for all students.

In time, the SRS department will also be able to offer support for integrating outdoor experiential learning at their forest and peatland restoration sites across Scotland. To express early interest in this please contact lucy.patterson@ed.ac.uk.


Toolkits

Experiential learning toolkit: set within a North American context, this toolkit provides a comprehensive overview of experiential learning and how to get started with this.

Website

Experiential Learning: The Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning at Northern Illinois University offers a helpful suite of webpages.

Experiential Learning: The Boston University Centre for Teaching and Learning has a range of useful tips in relation to experiential learning.


Journal articles

There is a dedicated Higher Education journal called Journal of Experiential Education, which is worth browsing.

Specific articles to read include:

Elsden, E., Kador, T., Sercombe, H., Piper, K., Barkan, M., Webster, E., & Smyth Zahra, F. (2023). Experiential learning spaces and student wellbeing: a mixed-methods study of students at three research intensive UK universities. International Review of Psychiatry, 35(7–8), 591–604. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2023.2268720.

Seaman, J., Brown, M., & Quay, J. 2017. The Evolution of Experiential Learning Theory: Tracing Lines of Research in the JEE. Journal of Experiential Education, 40(4), NP1-NP21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053825916689268

This article connects experiential learning and widening participation, and is written by colleagues at the UoE:

Speirs, N. M., Riley, S. C., & Mccabe, G. 2017. Student-Led, Individually-Created Courses: Using Structured Reflection within Experiential Learning to Enable Widening Participation Students? Transitions Through and Beyond Higher Education. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice5(2). https://doi.org/10.14297/jpaap.v5i2.274

Books and Book chapters

Assessment for Experiential Learning, (2023) (Book, 379 pages) 

Outdoor Learning Across the Curriculum: Theory and Guidelines for Practice. (2nd ed.) Routledge. (2024) (Book, 186 pages)