Experiencing Active Learning Practice in Higher Education

Active learning has become one of the most widely discussed ideas in university teaching, but what exactly is it? And does it work? Experiencing Active Learning Practice in Higher Education examines what active learning looks like today from both staff and student perspectives, explores the issues currently shaping debate among practitioners, and considers what its future might hold.

The book is organised in three sections. The first establishes the current landscape, tracing how definitions of active learning have evolved, reviewing the evidence for its effectiveness, and identifying the personal and institutional barriers educators face. In the second section contributors from across disciplines and institutions tackle pressing issues as they apply to active learning: equity and inclusion, technology, disciplinarity, assessment, the ethical dimensions of classroom power dynamics, building community and belonging and artificial intelligence. Each chapter incorporates student voices alongside academic research. The final section looks ahead, offering practitioner and student reflections on how active learning might develop amid technological, cultural, and global change.

This book interrogates the lived experience of active learning — what it feels like for the people delivering and receiving it. By foregrounding student perspectives alongside evidence-informed analysis, it offers educators, programme leaders, and educational developers a frank, research-grounded account of where active learning stands now, the challenges it faces, and how it might evolve in an increasingly AI-shaped educational landscape.