This workshop will explore the student experience of a blended learning approach (Macdonald 2006) to the teaching of human development across the lifespan. By showcasing the core components of the module, participants will be encouraged to explore how they could utilise similar techniques within their own learning and teaching strategies. The structure will be a short presentation followed by hands on experience and wider discussion. Human development is taught at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) to undergraduate students in the 2nd year of the course. This is a large student group involving full-time students and part-time students who are employed within social care posts in our partner local authorities. Employing an essentially constructivist approach (Koohang et al 2009), students are introduced to several ‘families’ within the virtual town ‘Clydetown’ where their classroom learning of the theories of human development are tested against the experiences of the people within the case studies. This facilitates the scaffolding of the learning process (Hung 2005) as students can test out through discussion their understanding of the taught materials. This is further augmented by the use of audio materials from the BBC archive which allows this understanding to be tested against the lived reality of individual testimony. This module evaluated consistently well with students who found the blended approach responsive to their varied learning styles, age differences and practice experiences. It also begins the process of understanding how to function within the group learning environments and of reflective understanding (Fook and Gardner 2007) that will be required for their practice placement in the subsequent semester. References. Fook J and Gardner F, (2007) Practising Critical Reflection : A Handbook, Maidenhead, Open University Press Hung D, Chee T.S., Hedberg J.G. and Seng K.T. (2005) ‘A framework for fostering a community of practice: scaffolding learners through an evolving continuum’ , British Journal of Educational Technology, 36 (2) pp.159-176. Koohang A, Riley L and Smith T (2009) ‘E-learning and Constructivism: From Theory to Application, Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects, Volume 5 . Macdonald, J. (2006), Blended Learning and Online Tutoring - A good practice Guide. Gower Publishing