GCSJ Teaching Lab

The Teaching Lab (TL) for the Centre of Global Challenges and Social Justice (GCSJ) aims to develop a distinctly innovative relationship between research and teaching in the School of Social Sciences and Global Studies (SSGS) at The Open University. The lab follows the centre’s social justice-led approaches to challenges facing global societies.  

The Teaching Lab’s main goals are: 

• To provide a student-facing resource and communication platform that can significantly enhance the experience of our undergraduate and postgraduate students 
• To impact curriculum development by increasing the visibility of our research 
• To contribute to the development, application, and assessment of innovative global challenges and social justice-led pedagogies 

It promotes a wide interdisciplinarity, providing a platform for critical conversations between social sciences, arts, and humanities. The lab also supports collaborations with the Centres for Scholarship and Innovation at The Open University, in order to capitalise on existing partnerships and initiatives and offer colleagues in SSGS increased opportunities for pedagogical impact and engagement.

Resources

A range of free, open access, online educational resources created by our academics are also freely available on OpenLearn and FutureLearn platforms. These include courses relevant for the study of Global Challenges and Social Justice, such as Why Religion Matters: Religious Literacy, Culture and Diversity, Global Ethics: An Introduction and Media, Politics and Society.

Hope and Local Action Exhibition

An exhibition showcasing the awards and selected student submissions for the 2022 Global Challenges: Hope and Local Action arts competition.

Arts-based Methodologies for Global Challenges Seminar Videos

A series of seminar videos discussing different research approaches and using arts and performative methodologies.

Projects

Methodologies for Global Challenges

This project investigates new teaching and research methodologies which can aid expressive and reflective engagement with contemporary global challenges exacerbated by the climate crisis.

Banner image: Laurence Dutton / Getty Images