At the Residentials, formal lectures are kept to a minimum. Instead, students work collaboratively, engage in debates, make presentations, and focus on practical assignments and tasks in ways that are limited in an online environment. The Residentials also provide the instructors with an opportunity to model pedagogical practices. By taking part in simulations, debates and other activities, students get to see firsthand how these activities can be incorporated into their own instruction. They complete a series of experiential application tasks that complement the theoretical and empirical input provided through the online courses.