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Teaching

Teaching and learning activities

The specification of learning objectives is obligatory – they must at least be provided in the module handbooks. However, they are didactically worthless if the forms of teaching and learning in the course, and later the exam, are not developed with these learning objectives in mind. Only when this is the case can the shift from teaching to learning begin. If students should be able e.g. to analyze something by the end of the course, they - not you as instructors – should also be the ones to accomplish this task. This is an essential point in the context of constructive alignment: the verb used when formulating the learning objectives should also describe the primary activity of the students in the course itself!

This lynchpin poses a challenge for you as an instructor: You require a sufficiently large repertoire of methods so that the students attending your course can engage in precisely that activity that is defined in the course learning objectives. At the same time, this implies a substantial reduction in pressure: you no longer have to “perform” over the entire 90 minutes of course time, as this activity now falls to the students. This is precisely what is meant when speaking of the shift from teaching to learning.

eLearning and Blended Learning: Learning with electronic media opens up a variety of (new) didactic possibilities. However, when considering utilization of these methods, the first question to ask is what concrete advantages eLearning offers compared to other forms of teaching.

The Bavarian Virtual University offers free, high quality web-based courses for students who are enrolled at a Bavarian university. These courses can be attended in addition to regular courses (at the university). Students can generally attend virtual courses from all subject areas, regardless of the specific degree program in which they are enrolled.

In den einzelnen Disziplinen kommt den 3D-Druckern eine unterschiedliche Bedeutung zu. Vor allem sind es Medizin, Zahnmedizin und Naturwissenschaften, die von den Möglichkeiten des 3D-Druckes profitieren können.  

3D-Drucker

Case-based training is an increasingly popular (online) form of teaching, in which either real, practical cases or practice-oriented, didactically designed problems are presented to the student, who must then independently solve them.

Case Train

The basic idea of the Inverted Classroom Model (ICM) is the reversal of the locations of teaching and practice; students acquire necessary specialized knowledge before the course, then apply this knowledge together with the lecturer.

Inverted Classroom

In this methodological framework, students deal with the learning content prior to a course, solve assignments independently, and receive the knowledge they need to do so in the course itself. The instructors adjust their teaching to correspond with the knowledge level of the students.

Just-in-Time Teaching

Educational videos give your students the opportunity to prepare for the course where and when they prefer, and to learn at their own pace. This leaves you with more time in the course itself to solve specific problems or to discuss questions as a group.

Teaching videos

 

MOOCs are a special form of online course with a theoretically unlimited number of participants (“Massive”). The basic principle is that participants from all over the world can register for the course free of charge without having to meet any requirements for admission to the course (“Open”).

MOOCs

In the peer-instruction method, students are presented with conceptual questions in a short, argument-based discussion. This methodology facilitates not only better learning, but also better retention of the acquired knowledge.

Clicker and Peer Instruction

Service Learning (SL) combines academic learning with a service that provides a concrete benefit to civil society. Students learn within the context of a specific project for a real-life civil service partner.

Service Learning

In team-based learning, students do not work in temporarily created groups, but rather in fixed teams. They carry out case-based and problem-based tasks during the in-class course sessions. Prior to these sessions, they engage in independent learning to acquire the knowledge necessary for commencement of the team-based work.

Team-Based Learning