LibGuides: Lectures, Seminars and Tutorials: Lectures, Seminars and Tutorials: An introduction

Lectures, Seminars and Tutorials: An introduction

“Our students are inspired and challenged by academic experts who teach them, their world-leading research and their scholarly engagement with pedagogy. Students experience a diverse range of learning environments including seminars, laboratory practicals, flipped classrooms, performance spaces, field study, lectures, problem-based learning and independent research. This is further enriched by teaching delivered by business, industry and professional experts and by postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers.”

University of Exeter. (2021). Teaching quality: Blending teaching and research activities [webpage].
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/about/teaching-excellence/teachingquality/about/

What do we mean by a ‘learning experience’?

As a student at Exeter, you will participate in a range of learning experiences. Most courses use a ‘blended learning model’. This is defined as “a range of virtual and on-site learning experiences, some of which take place partly in a digital environment (such as the University’s VLE, MS Teams or Zoom) and some of which occur on-site, in a physical teaching space.” (University of Exeter, Institutional Enhance Design Principles). Some courses may be delivered fully online.

You may also hear the term ‘flipped classroom’ or ‘flipped learning’. This refers to a learning experience where you use primarily digital resources to gain an initial understanding of the content outside of a teaching session. You will then take part in teaching session with an educator and other students, where you are able to discuss the content, ask questions and perhaps take part in particular activities.

Learning experiences can be:

Synchronous sessions. This is where educators and students are together at the same time. However, they might be in different spaces. For example, you might be all together in a physical space, or in a digital environment (Exeter’s VLE, Zoom, Microsoft Teams), or a mix.
Asynchronous learning experiences. These are flexible learning experiences that are designed for students to engage with in their own time. They might involve listening and engaging with a recorded presentation, for example. Some of these components might need to be completed within certain timescales to support a particular assessment.