Revisiting ‘how we learn’ in academia: practice‐based learning exchanges in three Australian universities

Abstract

Ideas of ‘how we learn’ in formal academic settings have changed markedly in recent decades. The primary position that universities once held on shaping what constitutes learning has come into question from a range of experience‐led and situated learning models. Drawing on findings from a study conducted across three Australian universities, the article focuses on the multifarious learning experiences indicative of practice‐based learning exchanges such as student placements. Building on both experiential and situated learning theories, the authors found that students can experience transformative and emotional elucidations of learning, that can challenge tacit assumptions and transform the ways they understand the world. It was found that all participants (hosts, students, academics) both teach and learn in these educative scenarios and that, contrary to common (mis)perceptions that academics live in ‘ivory towers’, they play a crucial role in contributing to learning that takes place in the so‐called ‘real world’.

Keywords:

• experiential learning
• practice‐based learning
• communities of practice
• learning theory
• community engagement

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all those university staff members, students, alumni and workplace hosts who participated in the research project, and who gave their valuable time to respond to our questions. Support for this project has been provided by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Ltd. Finally, we extend our thanks to the three anonymous referees for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article.