University teaching
In addition to research , university teaching is one of the basic tasks of university lecturers. It is oriented towards the curriculum . On the basis of the qualification goals of a degree program , skills development is implemented through a consistent, sequentially modularized study program in which possible event formats and examination forms are also specified.
Students should acquire competencies through university teaching. The overarching action competence is analytically divided into specialist competencies (fundamental specialist knowledge and methods) and personal competencies (social and personal skills, skills and readiness), on the basis of which new research questions can be posed and methodical approaches can be developed. Building on this, the students acquire scientific working practices that allow them to independently solve research questions in scientific project work and theses.
aims
The teaching in the course should not be a collection of arbitrarily interchangeable elements of currently valid knowledge with a short half-life, but should open up an educational opportunity for the students, which leads above all to the development of an intellectual and cosmopolitan personality for the encounter with science, the individual learning and promotes the ability to reflect and thus allows students to recognize what is worth knowing.
In this way, students are prepared for their professional entry either in academic, social, cultural, entrepreneurial or other areas of activity.
Methods and formats
University teaching uses various didactic methods that are dependent on and tailored to the scientific disciplines, the type of event and the participants. The German higher education system is still characterized today by the unity of research and teaching based on the Humboldt educational ideal of a holistic education of students. Active research-oriented learning should enable the application of knowledge and its transfer into new and realistic contexts, thus leading to a deeper understanding and more sustainable learning.
University teaching is largely organized in the traditional forms of lectures and seminars and is mostly characterized by a hierarchy and knowledge gradient, a kind of master-student relationship. Lectures and seminars are often supplemented by peer-assisted learning formats, i.e. the teaching of students by other students in the sense of student tutorials.
In addition to these more traditional teaching formats, more action-oriented teaching and learning forms are also part of the method canon of universities. These are u. a. Exercises, internships, excursions and experiments.
In this context, teaching concepts based on “ research-based learning ” are currently experiencing great interest, as they promote free, self-motivated occupation with practical and theoretical content of the subject, make inter- and transdisciplinary contexts tangible and are most likely not able to do so -to achieve intended positive learning effects that lie beyond any curricular creative power.
Inquiry-based learning relies on the experience of a “research project, which is aimed at gaining knowledge that is also of interest to third parties, in its essential phases - from the development of questions and hypotheses to the choice and implementation of the methods to the examination and presentation of the results in independent work or in active participation in an overarching project - shaping, experiencing and reflecting. "
A prerequisite for success in research-based learning is the 'critically questioning attitude' among the students, so that the development and promotion of this attitude, which also forms a basis for gaining knowledge based on understanding and for sustainable and lifelong learning, is a central task across disciplines good university teaching is.
Teaching quality
The universities in Germany are paying more and more attention to the quality of teaching.
Quality describes the extent to which a product or service meets customer requirements (cf. DIN EN ISO 9000: 2005-12). In relation to the university environment, this concerns the requirements of the stakeholders involved such as students, university management, education ministries, employers and society. The following table provides an exemplary overview of the target groups of “good teaching”, their requirements and existing instruments for quality measurement and assurance.
| target group | Conditions) | Quality measurement instruments |
|---|---|---|
| Students | (Subjective) satisfaction with regard to the increase in competence, personality development and studyability | Teaching evaluation, course evaluation, study commissions, group discussions, university rankings / portals |
| Society and Labor Market | Employability (qualification for the job market) | Alumni survey,
Employer survey |
| University management | Recommendation from students,
Student satisfaction, image of the university or the educational offer || University rankings, teaching reports from the deans of studies, quality circles, peer reports |
|
| EU Commission, Ministries of Education | Studyability and comparability of courses, employability | Program accreditations, system accreditations |
| Ministries of Education | Graduate numbers, drop-out rates | Graduate and dropout statistics |
Two factors are highlighted as outstanding for the quality of teaching: the competence of the teachers and the quality culture at universities, which is mainly shaped by the university management. Quality culture means developing and living a common understanding of quality.
The quality of teaching can be divided into structure, process and result quality. The structural quality includes the adequacy of personnel, material and financial resources or the supervisory relationship between students and teachers. The process quality includes all processes that are carried out at the university for the students. This applies to administrative processes such as enrollment and the central learning processes in the educational establishment. The quality of the results relates to B. on the acquired competence of the graduates.
University didactic centers for quality development in the area of teaching / learning processes make a major contribution.
In university teaching, the triad “education, science and innovation” jointly form the cornerstone for cultivating the sciences and the arts through research and teaching as well as practice-oriented professional training and further education; University teaching is thus almost inextricably linked with science research and science didactics and is more broadly based than the focus on the pure teaching-learning situation. It faces the challenge of taking into account the never-ending process of knowledge development in the academic disciplines in the organization of learning and gaining experience, which means for the course that learning content is derived from academic problems (e.g. classifying questions in a larger theoretical / methodological context, reflection on the quality of data or range of theories, ensuring that conclusions can be checked) and the learning subjects enter this larger problematic context of a science.
Digitization of university teaching
University teaching is also exposed to the upheavals of digitization , which is why digitally organized or supported forms of teaching and learning are gaining in importance. The digitization of teaching offers the organizational advantage of decoupling teaching both spatially and temporally from the physical educational institution, which takes into account the individual needs of the students; At the same time, however, it also offers the possibility of personalizing the learning content, which is particularly relevant in very heterogeneous learning groups. The learning process in the learner may be better supported, but still remains a central challenge. High-quality digital teaching material in the form of online modules which, in addition to text (with voice recordings) and images, also contain videos, animations, interactive elements, games and tests, cannot be created and maintained by just one teacher. This requires an inter-university group of professors. When creating digital teaching materials, it is particularly important to ensure that the content can be updated with reasonable effort, which is an often underestimated aspect, especially with more complex materials such as animations and games.
Hopes for a significant increase in learning efficiency through digital media have so far only been partially fulfilled.
Funding programs
In the last decade, government and private funding programs and prizes have been awarded in order to structurally strengthen university teaching and improve its reputation. With differences in subject-specific cultures, increased attention and appreciation as well as the development of teaching expertise at the universities and the inter-university networking of experts can be determined.
Funding programs (selection)
| Funding program | Alignment | carrier | running time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teaching Quality Pact | Improvement of equipment, qualification of staff, quality management, further development of regionally appropriate teaching concepts | BMBF | 2011-2017 |
| Ars Legendi Prize for excellent university teaching | Reputation promotion | Donors Association | Since 2006 |
| Excellent teaching competition | Promotion of an institutional teaching profile and strategy development | KMK, Donors' Association | 2008 |
| Bologna - future of teaching | Promotion of special teaching concepts in individual courses and institutions | Mercator Foundation and Volkswagen Foundation | 2009-2010 |
| Fellowships for innovations in university teaching | Personal funding to increase innovation and network experts | Stifterverband, Baden-Württemberg Foundation | since 2011 |
| Teaching high N | Networking and professional support for particularly committed actors | Stifterverband, Hoachim Herz Foundation, Nordmetall Foundation, Alfred Töpfer Foundation and Volkswagen Foundation, BMBF (since 2017) | Since 2012 |
In addition, there are further funding programs and prizes at the federal state and university level, which, among other things, particularly focus on the development of digital skills.
literature
- BMBF (publisher): Evaluation of the federal-state program for better study conditions and more quality in teaching (teaching quality pact), final report on the 1st funding phase 2011-2016. (PDF) 2016.
- DGQ (Hrsg.): Quality management for universities. Hanser 2015.
- Ludwig Huber: Why research-based learning is necessary and possible. In: Huber / Hellmer / Schneider (Hrsg.): Research-based learning during studies. 2009.
- Bettina Jorzik (ed.): Charter of good teaching. Principles and guidelines for a better teaching culture. Stifterverband e. V., 2013.
- Wissenschaftsrat (Hrsg.): Strategies for university teaching. (PDF) Position paper, 2017.
Web links
- Ars Legendi Prize for excellent university teaching
- Fellowships for innovative university teaching
- Teaching high N - The Alliance for University Teaching
- Teaching Quality Pact
Individual evidence
- ↑ Huber: Why research-based learning is necessary and possible. In: Huber, Hellmer, Schneider (Hrsg.): Research-based learning during studies. 2009, p. 9 (11).
- ↑ Strategies for University Teaching . (PDF) Wissenschaftsrat, position paper, 2017.
- ^ DGQ (ed.): Quality management for universities . Hanser 2015.
- ↑ Wissenschaftsrat (Ed.): Recommendations for the accreditation of quality assurance . (PDF) 2012, pp. 10, 13.
- ↑ BMBF (ed.): Evaluation of the federal-state program for better study conditions and more quality in teaching (quality pact teaching). Final report on the 1st funding phase 2011–2016., 2016, pp. 96–109.
- ↑ Strategies for University Teaching . (PDF) Wissenschaftsrat, position paper, 2017, pp. 10–12.
- ↑ Strategies for University Teaching . (PDF) Wissenschaftsrat, position paper, 2017, p. 13.