Branching Out: Thinking Inside and Outside the Box with Everyday Objects
Lead Author: Viv Bell
Additional authors:
Timetable: Wednesday Session 1: 13:45-14:30, Terrace Room
Description:
Have you ever considered how the simple, everyday objects around you could transform your teaching? This hands-on workshop invites you to explore the endless possibilities of using these objects to spark creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking in your students. Object-Based Learning (OBL) offers a dynamic, student-centred approach that moves beyond lecturing and PowerPointing and encourages active engagement. Not only does it foster deeper learning, but it also provides an opportunity to bring tactile, real-world experiences into the classroom.
OBL promotes the development of essential skills such as teamwork, interpersonal communication, problem-solving and creativity. By working with physical objects, students are encouraged to think outside (and with) the box and approach learning from new perspectives. This can be particularly valuable in higher education, where critical thinking and innovation are key to academic and professional success. Whether you’re working in a humanities, science, or arts discipline, objects can serve as powerful tools to make abstract concepts more tangible and relatable.
OBL doesn’t require expensive materials or high-tech gadgets. Often, low-cost or found items—such as a rock, a postcard, or a piece of fabric—are all it takes to create a rich learning experience. With these materials, you can transform your classroom into a hub of energy, creativity, and conversation, all while making learning more enjoyable and meaningful.
In this workshop, you’ll have the chance to engage with a variety of everyday objects, from simple household items to objects with personal or cultural significance. Each object invites you to use all your senses—touch, sight, sound, and even taste!—to unlock new ways of thinking about teaching and learning. You will try some interactive activities and games that real students have created, giving you insight into their creative process and how they use objects to express their ideas.
You’ll also have the opportunity to reflect on how OBL could work within your own teaching context. How can you integrate everyday objects into your curriculum? How might they enhance student engagement, foster creativity and provide new ways to explore complex topics? As part of the workshop, we’ll take a stroll through the ‘object stall,’ where you’ll have the chance to browse a collection of objects and consider with how they might be incorporated into your teaching.
So, come prepared to play, experiment, and rethink how you approach teaching.
References, web links and other resources:
Buchli, V. (2002). The material culture reader. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003087076
Chatterjee, H.J., & Hannan, L. (2015). Engaging the senses: Object-Based Learning in Higher Education. Ashgate.
Hannan, L., Duhs, R. and Chatterjee, H.J. (2013). Object Based Learning: a powerful pedagogy for higher education. In A Boddington, J Boys and C. Speight (Eds), Museums and Higher Education Working Together: Challenges and Opportunities. (pp. 159-168). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315596471
Kador, T., Chatterjee, H.J. & Hannan, L. (2017). The materials of life: Making meaning through object-based learning in twenty-first century higher education. In B. Carnell & D. Fung (Eds.), Developing the Higher Education Curriculum: Research-Based Education in Practice. (pp. 60-74). University College London.
Newton, A. (2025). Student perceptions of object-based learning. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (38). https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi38.1619
Branching Out: Thinking Inside and Outside the Box with Everyday Objects
Lead Author: Viv Bell
Additional authors:
Timetable: Wednesday Session 1: 13:45-14:30, Terrace Room
Description:
Have you ever considered how the simple, everyday objects around you could transform your teaching? This hands-on workshop invites you to explore the endless possibilities of using these objects to spark creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking in your students. Object-Based Learning (OBL) offers a dynamic, student-centred approach that moves beyond lecturing and PowerPointing and encourages active engagement. Not only does it foster deeper learning, but it also provides an opportunity to bring tactile, real-world experiences into the classroom.
OBL promotes the development of essential skills such as teamwork, interpersonal communication, problem-solving and creativity. By working with physical objects, students are encouraged to think outside (and with) the box and approach learning from new perspectives. This can be particularly valuable in higher education, where critical thinking and innovation are key to academic and professional success. Whether you’re working in a humanities, science, or arts discipline, objects can serve as powerful tools to make abstract concepts more tangible and relatable.
OBL doesn’t require expensive materials or high-tech gadgets. Often, low-cost or found items—such as a rock, a postcard, or a piece of fabric—are all it takes to create a rich learning experience. With these materials, you can transform your classroom into a hub of energy, creativity, and conversation, all while making learning more enjoyable and meaningful.
In this workshop, you’ll have the chance to engage with a variety of everyday objects, from simple household items to objects with personal or cultural significance. Each object invites you to use all your senses—touch, sight, sound, and even taste!—to unlock new ways of thinking about teaching and learning. You will try some interactive activities and games that real students have created, giving you insight into their creative process and how they use objects to express their ideas.
You’ll also have the opportunity to reflect on how OBL could work within your own teaching context. How can you integrate everyday objects into your curriculum? How might they enhance student engagement, foster creativity and provide new ways to explore complex topics? As part of the workshop, we’ll take a stroll through the ‘object stall,’ where you’ll have the chance to browse a collection of objects and consider with how they might be incorporated into your teaching.
So, come prepared to play, experiment, and rethink how you approach teaching.
References, web links and other resources:
Buchli, V. (2002). The material culture reader. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003087076
Chatterjee, H.J., & Hannan, L. (2015). Engaging the senses: Object-Based Learning in Higher Education. Ashgate.
Hannan, L., Duhs, R. and Chatterjee, H.J. (2013). Object Based Learning: a powerful pedagogy for higher education. In A Boddington, J Boys and C. Speight (Eds), Museums and Higher Education Working Together: Challenges and Opportunities. (pp. 159-168). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315596471
Kador, T., Chatterjee, H.J. & Hannan, L. (2017). The materials of life: Making meaning through object-based learning in twenty-first century higher education. In B. Carnell & D. Fung (Eds.), Developing the Higher Education Curriculum: Research-Based Education in Practice. (pp. 60-74). University College London.
Newton, A. (2025). Student perceptions of object-based learning. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (38). https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi38.1619