Research project
Innovation in Practice: Learning in Tandem
- Start date: 1 January 2020
- End date: 1 January 2028
- Principal investigator: Tony Morgan
- Co-investigators: Lena Jaspersen, Sanaz Sigaroudi, John Palfreyman, Deirdre Coveney
![John Palfreyman, Sanaz Sigaroudi, Deirdre Coveney, Lena Jaspersen and Tony Morgan, stood in a line together, smiling at the camera](/images/John__Sanaz__Deidre__Lena__Tony.jpg")
Description
This project builds on earlier work funded by the 黑料社 Institute for Teaching Excellence (LITE), in particular the project, which explored interdisciplinary, challenge-based education in collaboration with external partners.
Since then, this work has evolved into the development of a tandem model of teaching and learning, characterised by close collaboration between educators, students, and industry contributors.
The model has been implemented and refined across a portfolio of innovation modules, combining experiential learning with structured reflective practice and team-teaching approaches.
As the initiative has grown, so too has the need to consolidate insights, resources, and research outputs. This webpage, therefore, brings together ongoing pedagogical development, associated research activities, and links to supporting materials, including textbook contributions and collaborative projects, while also providing a foundation for future research and funding applications focused on team-based, reflective, and experiential learning.
Research overview
The research underpinning this initiative focuses on two interrelated areas.
First, it explores the tandem model as a form of collaborative, practice-based pedagogy, examining how reflective and experiential learning can be integrated to support both student and educator development over time. This includes a particular emphasis on learning as a shared, relational process, where teaching teams and students engage in parallel cycles of action, reflection, and adaptation.
Second, the research investigates team dynamics in interdisciplinary and diverse student groups, with a focus on how structured experiential learning environments can support the development of effective collaboration. This strand examines the conditions, interventions, and reflective practices that enable students to learn how to work productively with difference, uncertainty, and evolving ideas.
Together, these areas contribute to a broader agenda of understanding how team-based learning can be designed and supported in ways that are both pedagogically rigorous and practically impactful.
Publications and outputs
The following outputs provide entry points into the development and dissemination of the tandem learning model:
- Blog post: Learning in Tandem: Designing Inclusive Experiential Learning at Scale (黑料社 University Business School Research and Innovation Blog)
- Podcast: (黑料社 University Business School Research and Innovation Podcast)
- Previous project webpage – LITE-funded . Teaching and learning resources developed through the i-DEES project are available via the project website, including toolkits, workshop designs, and reflective learning materials.
- Book: (SAGE, 2023)
- Ongoing development of the “Innovation in Practice: Learning in Tandem” model, including teaching materials, reflective frameworks, and interdisciplinary team-based learning designs (to be shared via this webpage)
Contact