Making Projects Real in a Higher Education Context

Challenging educators to rethink projects and see them as a practice rather than as a model of management the authors explore the possibilities for using live projects to enhance real world learning in higher education. Drawing on the work of the ‘critical projects movement’ the chapter outlines a theoretical underpinning for reconceptualising projects as a practice and proposes a new pedagogic model that of ‘agile learning’. Framing the use of live projects is a mode of real world learning that generates encounters with industry professionals and provides real-value outputs for clients. The chapter explores the challenges that face educators who wish to foreground ‘social learning’ and engagement with communities of practice as a means of easing the transition for students from education to the world of work.

Real-Time, Real World Learning—Capitalising on Mobile Technology

Parry, Richards and McAuliffe critique an active learning approach that makes use of mobile technology and augmented reality to enhance students’ real-world learning. Students are now bringing a variety of mobile technology into the classroom and the chapter discusses the challenge of maintaining students’ interest and engagement when they can be connected to the world outside the classroom via electronic devices. Although sometimes a distraction, embracing the use of Web 2.0 technologies can provide the “highly active and participatory experiences” that today’s students are searching for (Brill & Park. Facilitating engaged learning in the interaction age taking a pedagogically disciplined approach to innovation with emergent technologies. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 20(1), 71. 10.12691/education-4-1-9). The chapter explores the use of Web 2.0 technologies and their use to upskill students in the technical complexities of the digital world and the use of specialised online discourses suitable for real world learning and working.

‘Getting to the Soul’: Radical Facilitation of ‘Real World’ Learning in Higher Education Programmes Through Reflective Practice

This chapter foregrounds reflective practice as integral to ‘real world’ learning in higher education. Concerning the development of professional ‘artistry’ of and for post-degree life, literature focuses on the nature and form of reflective activities to foster student scrutiny therefore control of self and situation whilst engaged in real world learning. Yet, Trelfa’s doctoral research suggests the only real ‘learning’ is correct performance to pass their course. Reflective practice, and real world learning, has ‘lost its soul’. Drawing on Lefebvre’s (Rhythmanalysis: Space, time and everyday life. London: Continuum, 1992/2004) concept of ‘breaking-in’ to understand this soul-less situation (illustrated in case study one), Trelfa calls for it to be radically different: if real world learning is to live up to its name then its reflective practice needs to be authentic (illustrated in case study 2).

Introduction: Real World Learning—Recalibrating the Higher Education Response Towards Application to Lifelong Learning and Diverse Career Paths

Morley and Jamil critique the changing higher education landscape where metrics, marketisation and challenging employment prospects for graduates put into question traditional modes of higher education ethos and delivery. Theorists identify alternative approaches where learning is focused on greater authenticity, personalisation and longitudinal development. The chapter introduces the emerging concept of ‘real world learning’, which is under-researched within higher education yet shows early potential to address some of the disjunctions between students’ learning and the world of work. An introduction is made to the chapters within the book that follow, written with the intention to illuminate what is real world learning and how it can be applied to curriculum design and pedagogy.

Real World Learning: Simulation and Gaming

Simulations and games are being used across a variety of subject areas as a means to provide insight into real world situations within a classroom setting; they offer many of the benefits of real world learning but without some of the associated risks and costs. Lean, Moizer, Derham, Strachan and Bhuiyan aim to evaluate the role of simulations and games in real world learning. The nature of simulations and games is discussed with reference to a variety of examples in Higher Education. Their role in real world learning is evaluated with reference to the benefits and challenges of their use for teaching and learning in Higher Education. Three case studies from diverse subject contexts are reported to illustrate the use of simulations and games and some of the associated issues.

Real World Learning and Authentic Assessment

Archer, Morley and Souppez critique the value of building authentic assessment to reflect better a real world learning approach that prepares students more explicitly for employment after graduation. The two case studies within this chapter are drawn from the different disciplines of festival and event management and yacht design; both aim to prepare students for their respective industries from the onset of their degree programmes. The case studies present how the use of well-managed pedagogic strategies, such as peer review and assessment, reflective practice and the use of formative feedback, can prepare students successfully for authentic and high-risk summative assessments. The authors argue for a learning and teaching approach that emphasises sequential, real world assessment that focuses on student longitudinal development.

Internal Knowledge Transfer: Professional Development Programmes and Embedding Real World Learning for Full-Time Undergraduates

Perrin, Hancock and Miller provide a discussion of the distinctive features of negotiated work-based learning frameworks that help capture and develop learning for part-time students who are professional practitioners. They demonstrate how approaches to teaching, learning and assessment established in these frameworks can also be leveraged for programmes aimed at full-time undergraduate students wishing to engage with ‘real world’ learning. In this way, full-time students are able to develop the type of professional practice outlooks and skills redolent of part-time students already in employment. The chapter includes two case studies of where this has occurred in UK universities and the methods that were used for this type of internal knowledge transfer.

Conclusion: Real World Learning—Researching and Co-constructing Working Definitions for Curriculum Development and Pedagogy

Morley presents a research paper on a qualitative study of 15 groups of authors who were submitting chapters to an edited open-access collection, “Applied pedagogy for higher education. Real world learning and innovation across the curriculum”. Through the method of concept mapping, authors discuss their views and experience of “real world learning”. The concept of real world learning is an emerging area in higher education where students are focusing not only on their present learning but on how they can develop attributes and identities that equip them to progress following graduation. A thematic analysis of the author focus groups identifies three themes of fidelity, individuality and mutuality. A discussion of the themes applies the authors’ experience of real world curriculum planning and pedagogy in higher education.

Real World Learning and the Internationalisation of Higher Education: Approaches to Making Learning Real for Global Communities

Real world learning and the internationalisation of curricula are relatively new considerations in contemporary higher education discourses. Inquiry and application lie at the heart of real world learning, and the internationalisation of academic programmes is expected to equip learners with diverse learning styles and global citizenship skills. However, combining these two sets of educational objectives for pedagogic success is challenging, mainly because of learners’ academic, social and cultural differences. The chapter addresses this problem theoretically and with the help of three real cases drawn from the UK and Bangladesh. The cases convey the ethos and procedures for accommodating diversity, inquiry, application of learning, and cross-cultural collaboration in international educational settings. The findings suggest several practical guidelines on creating authentic and long-term learning opportunities in higher education.

Learning Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Through Real Business Projects

Enterprise and entrepreneurship are widely regarded as important for economic, social and political change, and higher education (HE) institutions are seen as appropriate places to develop entrepreneurial competencies. This chapter describes an experiential, real world approach to entrepreneurship education in HE known as ‘Team Academy’ and suggests a complementary conceptual grounding to the accepted curriculum using candidate entrepreneurship threshold concepts and pedagogical approaches identified from doctoral research. Four case studies taken from the two oldest and largest UK Team Academy programmes illustrate the approach and highlight the way in which an understanding of a selection of candidate entrepreneurship threshold concepts have been successfully developed in the students.