Insights from TU Berlin on professional development of teaching staff and activating large classes (1000+)
Mid-April dr. Monika Rummler of TU Berlin visited 4TU universities Twente and Delft. She provided guest lectures and workshops. At UT information was exchanged on the professional development of Higher Education staff. At TU Delft she explained how TU Berlin activates large classes of 1000+ students and she talked about TU Berlin’s experiences in working with change agents. A short report of the sessions and links to the presentations can be found hereunder.
Continuing professional development
In a workshop Monika Rummler gave an overview how TU Berlin is improving teaching and learning via continuing professional development of teaching staff. The workshop inspired participants and resulted in the following ideas for teaching development at UT. To pay more attention to:
- Subject didactics
- Continuous learning
- Bildung for all (both students and staff)
- Intercultural and diversity.
The presentation of the workshop is available here.
Apart from the workshop Monika Rummler attended multiple sessions to get an impression about teaching development in Twente. The Twente Educational Model, Senior University Teaching Qualification (SUTQ) and other professional development activities were discussed. Monika gained some nice insights. A visit to the design lab and an interesting discussion with Alejandra Morgana on the use of model- and computational tools in engineering education concluded the visit.
Activating large classes
In Delft around 40 people attended the lunch lecture on teaching and activating large classes. Others joined in from TU Eindhoven, TU Berlin and KU Leuven via streaming video. Monika shared the problems teachers are facing at the TU Berlin; high numbers of students and anonymity, the demands for individual feedback and insecurity with activating classes amongst others were on the agenda. At a high pace we went through beginners problems for students, such as feeling lost in a large group. Before giving us some solutions, we were all invited to think about which learning activities could be observed in our own classes. After which 5 examples were shared from Delft ranging from copying materials and homework assignments as a memorisation activity to having a critical reflection in teams during lecture assignments. Monika concluded with 3 examples on different means of activating large classes in electrical engineering, natural sciences and humanities. For those wanting to hear her story, please watch the streaming video. The slides are also interesting to consult. You may recognise and feel satisfied of using already quite a few tools, but you will certainly be able to spot a few new things to try out.
Change agents
At TU Berlin the concept of change agents has been developed: PhD students taking on a teaching innovation project, within a faculty. The teaching change agents would get extra training and an extra certificate to take along to their next job. The teaching change agents concept is similar to secondment used in the UK at the University of Edenborough or the teaching peers at Chalmers University. Each would cross a bridge between the teachers in the faculty, a project with a problem that would be investigated and if at all possible solved by research or innovation methods. These projects aim at raising the teaching quality by involving staff not trained in education, into educational research, training and innovation. The low threshold between regular teaching staff and these colleagues with a special interest for education and education support service for these change agents fosters staff development. In a lively and interesting discussion the possible formats that could be relevant for Delft were discussed. The Change Agents presentation is available online.