{"id":6174,"date":"2019-06-24T16:11:55","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T16:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hfdwhdev.15.phee.host\/blog\/promoting-innovative-teaching-a-practical-report\/"},"modified":"2019-06-24T16:11:55","modified_gmt":"2019-06-24T16:11:55","slug":"promoting-innovative-teaching-a-practical-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hfd.phee.dev\/en\/blog\/promoting-innovative-teaching-a-practical-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Promoting innovative teaching: A practical report"},"content":{"rendered":"

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How can innovative teaching succeed? Prof. Dr. Ralph Sonntag has initiated a fund for innovative teaching projects at the HTW Dresden. He reports on his experiences in our blog.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This article was automatically translated using DeepL Translator.<\/a> Please excuse any errors.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Hands<\/p>\n

Hands support a buildingTeaching at universities is constantly changing. It is not just a matter of imparting new specialist knowledge and integrating more and more methodological knowledge into the courses of study. Nor is it a question of taking into account the diversity of students by increasing the flexibility of the courses on offer. We are all aware of the dynamics, complexity and changes in society. Digitisation has and will have a significant impact on education. Digital competences, e.g. skills of the 21st Century of the OECD<\/a>, are reminiscent of the basic competences of reflective, scientific and creative action in every discipline. One could therefore say prematurely: old wine in new wineskins. But this does not do justice to the issue of digitisation.<\/p>\n

What is new in digital competences is the consideration of action contexts. Our graduates need skills to respond to changes in society, the economy and the world in which they live and to shape them proactively and sustainably. These are the skills that we need as a society and whose development we must provide for in the courses we offer.<\/p>\n

Innovative teaching: Digitisation as a driver<\/h3>\n

The initial idea was to support innovative teaching projects during the peer-to-peer strategy consulting of the Hochschulforum for Strategies for Higher Education in the Digital Age<\/a> at the HTW Dresden. If the changes in higher education increase in the digital age, this can often not be implemented by the university, the faculties and the individual lecturers themselves. Nobody will deny the necessity of change. Personally, however, I have not (yet) noticed an increase in the basic funding of universities due to the new tasks and changes for universities at state universities. The HAWtech network demands<\/a> that the expenses resulting from the changes be taken into account as a stable pillar of university financing.<\/p>\n

Active design of teaching means promotion<\/h3>\n

For me, the simplest and most effective recipe is: All of us at universities can proactively help shape this change. For me it is important that my colleagues see that changes and developments in teaching are desired and can be implemented. My goal is to consciously stimulate and promote developments in teaching in a low-threshold and easy way. For me, a broad impact for all colleagues in all disciplines is more important than individual funding for special projects.<\/p>\n

In my view, the promotion of teaching is not a promotion of excellence but primarily a broad promotion from which all students benefit. By the way, this is and would be a good funding philosophy for teaching in general.<\/p>\n

Fund for Innovative Teaching Projects<\/h3>\n

\"handful<\/p>\n

In 2018, the HTW Dresden set up a fund for innovative teaching projects in order to pursue the goal of broad support. The funding per project amounts to 2,000 \u20ac. It was important to me that there should not be an a priori cap on the total, university-wide funding. Innovations in teaching should be created and, if possible, not limited. When initiating the fund, I was asked what would happen if too many or all teachers applied with good applications. My answer was that this would be optimal and that we would then have achieved that everyone would proactively take care of the further development of teaching or trying out new forms of teaching.<\/p>\n

Specifically, the aim of the funding was to test or develop teaching forms that support the change of perspective from teaching to learning and have a clear focus on learning objectives, e.g:<\/p>\n