Design seminars
In contrast to other course formats, seminars have the following objectives:
- Consolidation of course content
- Development of special and elective topics
- Practical transfer of theoretical content
Students take on a more active role in learning and discuss/transfer academic content. Teachers support this process by activating, supporting and moderating.
Planning a seminar step by step
- Definition of learning objectives and form of examination - the principle of constructive alignment can provide orientation.
- Reflecting on your own role as a teacher in the seminar.
- Compilation of content and methods - planning methods that are adapted to the respective phase and its teaching objective, as well as the content. Here you will find a selection of methods that are suitable for different phases and areas of competence:
- Simple teaching methods
- Initial situations
- If necessary, reduce the didactic content.
- Use of impulses for the design of seminars according to Prof. Dr. Gabi Reimann (2022) as optional assistance.
- Create a teaching plan for the entire semester and the individual sessions in detail.
Further suggestions for your teaching
It is advisable to include opportunities for physical activity in seminars (including virtual ones). There are two reasons for this:
- "Current health science findings increasingly highlight prolonged and uninterrupted sitting as a significant health risk." (Rupp 2022, p. 2)
- In addition, "[...] learning research shows that activating movement in teaching-learning processes can have a positive effect on learning performance and academic performance overall." (Rupp et al. 2020 in: ibid.)
The Heidelberg model of teaching in motion provides inspiration for implementation (cf. Rupp et al. 2020):
- Can be implemented in online and face-to-face formats
- without loss of time
- Everyday activities and micro-movements are synchronized with the learning process
The concrete implementation of teaching in motion can be found in the monograph Online-Seminare bewegt gestalten.