I want to share some of my accumulated wisdom on teaching International Relations. This page catalogues my The IR Classroom article series, providing detailed write-ups and instructions for learning activities drawn from my teaching across several undergraduate and Masters subjects in International Relations over the past two decades.
I have taught subjects in International Relations, Comparative Politics, Environmental Politics, and Asian Studies programs across several institutions, delivered in face-to-face, blended learning and online modes, in synchronous and asynchronous formats. If you teach in any of these areas, my learning activities are adaptable to any mode of delivery.
Each of these activities has been battle tested in the crucible of the classroom and include detailed briefing notes that can be shared with students. I hope you find this collection of learning activities to be a useful resource.
Learning activities
Teaching philosophy
My approach to teaching and learning design, as embodied in this collection of learning activities, is grounded upon the principles below:
Iterative journey: Content builds iteratively over the duration of a subject, with each learning element building on previous ones to a crescendo of deep topic understanding. Actualising the iterative journey requires the design of a subject through an integrated narrative arc, in which each topic, class, activity and assessment is a chapter.
Diverse pedagogical content knowledge: Subject content and learning activities should incorporate different representations of the material to offer diverse gateways for students to engage. This has the added benefit of increasing knowledge retention.
Multifunctionality: Every learning element in a subject should achieve multiple learning objectives simultaneously. No aspect of a subject should be extraneous.
Holistic integration: Every learning element in a subject should be directly integrated with each other. For example, as you can see from the design of the learning activities above, face-to-face and online classes should include real-time work that contributes to an assessment task. Required readings should also be required citations for assessments.
Skin in the game: As a corollary of holistic integration and multifunctionality, having every learning element in a subject integrated with assessment tasks incentivises student participation and engagement. In today’s educational environment, students simply won’t engage with learning elements of a subject if they don’t have any material incentive to do so.
Experiential value-add: In the context of the ubiquitous availability of information online, even more pervasive now in the age of AI, what is the experiential component that makes education worth paying for? I suggest that the most effective learning designs incorporate activities that incorporate creative and varied learning elements that maximise the opportunity for real-world interactive learning.
Reflective practice: Learning design needs to activity build in reflective components into all learning elements, to teach students how to embody reflective practice and continues improvement as professional skills. Merely encouraging students to be “lifelong learners” is not enough, we have to show them how to do it in a way that’s transferable across professional contexts.
Research
These learning activities are based on extensive research, professional development, and reflective practice. My research outputs include:
Houghton, S., Wilmsen, B., Conor, L., Dehm, J., Habib, B., Gamble, R., Millner, J., Garvey, J., and Strickland, K. (2023) ‘Towards an interdisciplinary agenda for teaching in the climate crisis: reflections from the humanities and social sciences.’ Environmental Education Research.
Habib, B. (2018) ‘Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Global Environmental Politics.’ International Studies Perspectives. 19(3): 218–234.
Habib, B., Miles, R. and Pawsey, N. (2016) ‘Online Learning and the Infinite Replicability of Digitised Knowledge‘. Fusion Journal. 008.
Zirnsak, T & Habib, B. (2022), “Learning from Each Other: An Autoethnographic Dialogue on Being Mad in the Academy” in (ed.) C. McGunnigle. Disability and the Academic Job Market, Delaware: Vernon Press, pp. 3-30.
Habib, B. (2018). ‘Journey to Another Reality: An Overseas Study Program Pedagogy for Sustainability Transition Practice.’ Are We There Yet? Global Citizenship Education Symposium. 5 October 2018. La Trobe University, City Campus.
Habib, B. (2010). ‘The Metaphysics Pyramid: Planting the Seed for Climate Conscious Behavioural Change‘. ‘Living on the Edge’—the Fourth International Conference of the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 16-19 December 2010, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
Habib, B (2007) ‘Breaking the Ritual: Getting Students to Participate in Discussion-based Tutorials in the Social Sciences‘, 30th HERDSA Annual Conference (pp. 1-10), Adelaide, Australia.
Zirnsak, T. and Habib, B. (2023). ‘Post-COVID return to uni campuses is burning out Mad and Neurodivergent staff, students‘. Croakey Health Media. 23 March 2023.
Habib, B. (2015). ‘Reflections on Online Learning from the (Digital) Coalface‘. Edge Dwellers Cafe. 4 August 2015.
Habib, B. & D. Casey. (2010). ‘Step 2010 Projects 1 & 2: Integrated Proposal for the B. Arts (International Studies) Program‘. Adelaide: University of South Australia.
Habib, B. (2006). ‘Flinders Foundation of University Teaching – Personal Learning Portfolio‘. Adelaide: Flinders University.
Edge Dwellers Café 
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