Using Online and Face-to-Face Simulations in Human Rights Tertiary Teaching: A Comparative Analysis

Learning environments and delivery modes in tertiary education have experienced rapid changes in the past 15 years. A key development has been the increased use of information technology and offering tertiary education online. This paper explores whether simulation exercises used to teach international human rights law at a postgraduate level in a face-to-face setting could be adapted for online teaching. It presents findings from a simulation of a United Nations (UN) human rights treaty body review used in both face-to-face and online settings. As a pedagogical tool, simulations are an active learning technique which seek to recreate real-life scenarios in the classroom in order to engage students and promote learning. They have also been identified as an important way of bridging the 'knowing-doing' gap. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data from student surveys and peer reviews, this paper found that face-to-face and online students generally perceived that a range of skills had been developed from their participation in the simulation. Further, on average, there was a weaker but general agreement that participation in the simulation contributed to personal and professional goals and development in the area of human rights for both online and face-to-face students. These results are significant, suggesting that despite the differences between face-to-face and online learning environments, online simulations can be used to foster students to engage and connect, and to create online learning communities. However, group work was raised as a particular challenge for online students. Solutions to this and the need for further research are discussed.