Teaching Methodologies

The WPE has prepared a description of active learning tools and/or methodologies:

Mind Maps
The mind map is a way of schematically illustrating concepts in relation to a central idea. It can be created in advance and projected during a session, or constructed during the session, thus promoting active pedagogy, where students organize and represent their knowledge around a central idea.

Blended Learning
Blended learning is based on alternating independent, directed learning sessions (in which the student uses instructor-provided resources, typically online and which may include multimedia) with face-to-face sessions (e.g. lectures, tutorials, labs) which complement and/or progress the concepts explored during the independent study.

Flipped Classroom
The nature of learning activities are reversed: Learners study the course by themselves (knowledge acquisition) so that the face-to-face activities are focused on application and discussion of the course material (skills development in applying and understanding knowledge). Flipped classrooms leave more initiative to the learners to built and broaden their knowledge.

Interactive Tools
Interactive pedagogical tools encourage active learning allowing situations that foster students’ commitment and become actively involved in their learning.
Often used in face-to-face situations, interactive tools promote social learning enabling a better understanding of the class by boosting engagement, participation, and motivation.

Video Capsules
It is a video sequence, generally short (optimal duration is between 2 and 5 minutes) and dynamic, which can be used to illustrate or complete some parts of the course. Video capsules are frequently offered online, for use before or after the course. They can also be used during face-to face teaching.

Project Based Learning - bachelor's degree, master’s degree
Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered teaching method that involves a dynamic classroom approach, in order students to acquire a deeper knowledge about a subject through active exploration of relevant challenges and problems. The students learn about a subject by working, for an extended period of time, to investigate and respond to complex questions and problems. PBL integrates knowing and doing. Students learn knowledge and elements of the core curriculum but also apply what they know to solve authentic problems and produce results. Sure, Professors have been assigning projects to students for years, but PBL is something different. Doing a project, at the end (or alongside) of a teaching unit, is an add-on to the traditional instruction while in PBL instruction is integrated into the project (the project is the unit).

Conference Training
An active presentation exercise with video taping and peer feedback.

Online Formative Tests
Online tests are used as formative assessment and feedback to scaffold learning of sustainability topics, prior to a summative case study analysis and report.