Event summary: Voices in learning and teaching
On 26 November 2025, the Postgraduate Network (PGN) hosted its monthly online event, this time titled 'Voices in Learning and Teaching: Participatory Methods for Inclusive Education'. The session brought together an engaged audience and two excellent speakers: Dr Maísa Edwards (King’s College London) and Dr Leonie Jackson (Northumbria University). The speakers offered rich reflections on how participatory pedagogies can strengthen inclusion and empower learners across the social sciences.
Dr Edwards opened the event with an exploration of active learning through games and interactive activities in the teaching of history and international relations. At the centre of her talk was Be A Revolutionary!, a strategy-based learning tool she developed to help students engage with the ethical, political, and strategic dilemmas surrounding authoritarianism and revolutionary change. Drawing on lessons from the Haitian, French, and American Revolutions, the game places students within four fictional autocratic regimes, prompting them to navigate the complexities of power, ideology, resistance, and political action.
Through this immersive gameplay, students confront challenging questions about violence, justice, compromise, and the consequences of collective decision-making. Dr Edwards highlighted how such activities encourage deeper engagement with course material while supporting key academic skills, including argumentation, multi-perspectival analysis, and critical reflection. Interactive learning, she emphasised, enables students to build confidence and take intellectual risks in a supportive environment.
Dr Jackson followed with a compelling discussion of participatory learning as an approach that positions students as producers, rather than passive recipients, of knowledge. She described how learning-by-doing helps students form meaningful connections between ideas, take ownership of their work, and contribute to a vibrant shared intellectual community.
Drawing on her extensive experience with simulations of contemporary political processes, Dr Jackson illustrated how scenario-based exercises immerse students in the complexities of negotiation, conflict, and policy decision-making. These activities foster critical thinking by placing students in realistic roles and encouraging them to navigate uncertainty, competing interests, and real-world dynamics within a structured setting. While some students may initially feel hesitant, she noted that participatory formats rapidly build confidence as learners see their contributions recognised and valued. Such approaches nurture curiosity, strengthen peer relationships, and empower students to take responsibility for their learning journeys.
Thank you to all participants for contributing to such a thoughtful, engaging, and enriching session!