Sussex Open Press Catalogue

Ever wondered what ‘teaching outside the box’ looks like? Disrupting Traditional Pedagogy: Active Learning in Practice answers this question by sharing real stories of innovation in active learning from a variety of contexts and disciplines. The central premise of active learning is that people learn best when they are actively involved in constructing, modelling or representing knowledge and skills, rather than being passive recipients of content as was commonplace in traditional top-down approaches to teaching.

This book is packed with practical ideas which are directly applicable to classroom instruction. However, it also challenges us to think honestly and critically about the successes and challenges of each approach. Every chapter contains a step-by-step guide on how we, as teaching practitioners, can develop similar tasks and environments in our contexts.

Drawing on the University of Sussex’s ‘disruptive by design’ philosophy, this book provides an eclectic anthology of real-life experiments in disrupting outmoded pedagogy. We have explored beyond the perimeters of teacher-centred learning and returned with maps that detail tested routes through the territory of active learning, but also pitfalls to avoid on your own journey.

What does ‘teaching beyond the box’ look like? Step outside with us and see for yourself.

This set of resources is designed to support students in engaging with the complexities of climate change and biodiversity loss in their everyday lives. It consists of ten on-the-ground sustainability topics, each offering different activities that can be used to enrich teaching across the curriculum. They engage students philosophically and practically to work towards a more sustainable world. What is key is that this pack offers opportunities to be creative with uncertainty, so that students and their teachers can draw on their own and curricular knowledge, to see what new things they might discover. The invitation is to be uncertain together, where neither the educator nor the student knows (and cannot know) the answer in advance.

The ability to teach online makes learning content accessible to all with internet access. However, in the process of moving our courses online it is crucial that educators continue to provide students  practical experiences to learn from. Hands-on learning in courses such as nursing, dance, and chemistry is challenging to adapt for online learning and significant ingenuity is needed to make them suitable for an online setting. That is why it is crucial that, as a broader community, we share ideas on how to overcome the challenges faced. This book aims to address this need by providing a range of case studies from higher education students and staff on how practical learning can be redesigned for online teaching.

This is a practical handbook for educators and curriculum designers who wish to apply active learning tools and strategies in their own teaching and learning contexts. It contains short chapters under six themes: theory and curriculum design,  inclusive communities, transferable skills, assessment and feedback, teaching strategies, digitally-enhanced learning. Practitioners from around the world offer ideas for those wishing to encourage students to take active learning approaches to their studies. Effective learning happens through embodied experiences; when students are applying all their senses, physical, mental, emotional and social.

The book is novel in its inception, scope and aims. Educationalists from across the world have come together to write about something they are passionate about and hope will improve teaching delivery, student learning experiences and assessment integrity for all.

Dr Paolo Oprandi, University of Sussex

This book offers practical advice (supported by pedagogical theory) for implementing active learning techniques. It is a great resource for educationalists who are looking for fresh ideas, both in the classroom and online!

Nayiri Keshishi, University of Surrey

This book is a must-have tool book for teachers looking to improve engagement and liven up their lessons. This book is recommended for teachers from all stages of their career, from an experienced educator who needs some refreshing to a beginner who requires easy-to-follow creative ideas to support them. What I love about this book is that it offers a diverse range of activities that cater for all subjects. It is also refreshing to have a book containing activities coming from educators across the world. 

Dr Shelini Surendran, University of Surrey

Produced by a globe-straddling team, this innovative volume was put together whilst authors were dealing with the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a testament to the editorial team, as well as individual authors. The diverse chapters it contains will provide inspiration for educators across disciplines far into the future. 

Peter Finn, Kingston University

For me, this has quickly become a go-to book for anything Active Learning, covering a myriad of examples and cases for various disciplines and areas of application, from assessment practice to inclusive practice, and will be of value to educationalists exploring active learning principles for the first time, to the veteran pedagogue looking for diverse inspiration.

Matt East, Perlego

An open access textbook designed primarily for use by first and second year undergraduate students of British Psychological Society accredited Psychology degree courses in the UK.

This toolkit is filled with suggestions from colleagues across the University of Sussex’s School of Media, Arts and Humanities, and beyond. It is aimed at supporting educators in building themes, concepts and practices related to sustainability into their teaching.