Supervising Students in Projects and Labs

This chapter explores four case studies of learning in studios, labs, and projects drawn from contexts as diverse as music, teacher education, chemistry, engineering, and social sciences. It looks at the range of goals, forms of organisation, and teaching methods used across these different disciplines and settings. In doing so, this chapter highlights a number of clear commonalities that underpin this diversity. These include some shared ways of thinking, specifically, (i) being able to use things learned in another context, (ii) using an inquiry approach to pose questions and to investigate, (ii) tackling complex and often interdisciplinary problems, and (iv) managing one’s own learning. Although they are often left implicit in teaching in practical settings, they are not of secondary importance – in fact, they are some of the central goals of teaching in higher education. The chapter also identifies commonalities in the pedagogical approaches used across practical settings, and highlights that students learn, not just from having experiences, but also from reflecting on, and identifying patterns in those experiences, and from trying to use this contextual understanding to make decisions and act.

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