An Introduction to Learning Activities

A quick skim through Learning Outcomes, pedagogic methods and preparing and describing a learning activity.

Prepare for success

You can use these learning activities to prepare yourself for academic life in the UK.

Active citizenship

The aim of this activity is to allow students to explore the nature of political action, which can be thought of as a form of active as opposed to passive citizenship. By learning about and reflecting upon past instances of political action, or activism, students will be able to start thinking about what is likely to make a campaign successful. It is intended that these reflections can then be applied to their own actions as active citizens. It is hoped that the historical case studies combined with the information provided on different campaigning tools and methods will help to make students feel empowered and inspired to take action. In setting students the task of planning an action, it is expected that time management and organizational skills will be improved. It is believed that by putting themselves in the shoes of activists and going through the process of planning an action, they will have an engaged learning experience. The reflective element of the activity encourages students to form and defend opinions on the relative strengths and weaknesses of different campaigning methods, and on the acceptable limits to political action. This learning activity has been designed presuming no prior knowledge of activism or its methods, and has been successfully used with first year undergraduate students from a variety of disciplines. However, the activity provides a basis for more in-depth study of several issues, or alternatively study into further examples of campaign organizations. There are 3 different learning activities presented on this web site. For a dynamic and well-illustrated introduction to contemporary activism, see Jordan, T. (2002) Activism!: Direct Action, Hacktivism and the Future of Society, London: Reaktion Books Ltd. This material is also available via JORUM.

The UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education

This is a part of a collection of materials developed by the HEAcademy Subject Centre for Languages, linguistics and area studies. The materials provide reflective activities designed to engage teachers with some of the key issues in working with international students and practical ideas for ways in which these can be addressed. They will be of particular interest to new staff or anyone new to working with international students.

Technology Enhanced Learning Guide

Technology is changing how students learn and how we research. Perhaps you want to use technology to enhance communication or improve student support. You may want create a distance learning activity, a flexibly delivered module or indeed a whole course. You may simply want to find out where to find authoritative information, or to see what support exists for this type of work. The University is committed to delivering high quality learning and teaching, using technology where appropriate, in order to offer a distinctive Southampton educational experience. Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), also known as e‑learning, is becoming increasingly important to students, teaching staff and the institution. This guide highlights some of the most important matters to consider. It is intended to help you to tackle the key issues that determine the success of TEL projects and to work on those projects in a considered way. Written with the input of colleagues from around the University, it prompts you to ask important questions and points you to sources of up-to-date knowledge and advice. Technology changes rapidly. This guide is about managing the work in a practical way. The University supports the use of a variety of TEL approaches for teaching and learning and colleagues are ready to offer their experience and advice. Each person has distinctive skills and specific experiences. No single person will have all the answers you are looking for. Be ready to investigate alternative approaches that suit you and your students’ needs in different ways. - Madeline Paterson, University of Southampton

Peer Feedback for Group Projects - Kenji Takeda

This is one of a series of short case studies describing how academic tutors at the University of Southampton have made use of learning technologies to support their students.

Collaborative Projects Using Wikis - Simon Kemp

This is one of a series of short case studies describing how academic tutors at the University of Southampton have made use of learning technologies to support their students.

Learning, Teaching and Lesson Planning

This resource was designed for use with MSc Web Scientists as an introduction to a coursework that requires them to produce some teaching materials.

W2 Interdisciplinary Projects

Slides summarising discussions, activities and links

W4 Interdisciplinary Projects

Slides, notes and links summarising presentation, discussions, activities and further reading