Seminar
Imke Buß; Jutta Rump; Janina Kaiser; Melanie Schiedhelm; Petra Schorat-Waly
a) Description of the method
Seminars at universities serve to deepen scientific knowledge and can be offered on any topic of the respective subject area. In contrast to lectures, the focus here is on interactivity between teachers and seminar participants and the joint development of topics. Methodologically, seminars often include exercises, discussions or presentations by students. At the end of a seminar there is usually a term paper or assignment.
What is it good for?
The aim of the teaching format seminar is the scientific deepening of a subject area and - in combination with a term paper - the competence development in the field of scientific writing. Especially due to the small groups of up to 30 participants, work can be done intensively. Each seminar participant can be individually involved and challenged, since participation of the learners is part of the didactic concept.
Procedure
The procedure depends on how the seminar is designed. If it is a literature seminar, the students regularly read texts in preparation and analyze and discuss them in the classroom. If the learning objectives are that students should gain moderation and teaching experience, they can be assigned the task of designing an event lesson. In another version of the seminar, the students are more involved by working on (their homework) topics in presentations and thus filling a larger part of the classroom sessions. In this case, the instructors must ensure that the common thread remains recognizable throughout the semester. The lecturers should intensively support the students in the preparation of the presentations in order to achieve a high quality of the impulses by the students.
Group size
Small groups up to a maximum of 30 participants. This allows all participants to be effectively involved in discussions and exercises, given the appropriate moderation skills and assignments.
Time required
Preparation of seminar content, possibly a presentation, exercise texts, case studies or discussion guide. Compared to the lecture, the time expenditure arises more from the preparation of good assignments and the supervision of the students.
Room setup
Smaller rooms with projector. U-shaped seating facilitates discussion. Student mobility should be possible when small group work is required.
Materials
Students should have access to seminar-preparatory materials (e.g., literature lists, required reading).
b) How does & the seminar promote the following diversity dimensions?
Prior professional experience & Prior knowledge
In the usually smaller groups it is possible to respond to students' questions and experiences and thus to take into account their prior knowledge and prior professional experience. In case of paper- or homework-based seminars, topics can be selected by the students according to their previous experience, if necessary. In addition, the teachers have the possibility to use a short seminar guide to query the learning status within the group in order to adjust the formation of small groups accordingly. By referring to support offers for scientific work (e.g. workshops "Scientific Writing", "Night of Term Papers", etc.), the possibilities for an increase in competence can be pointed out to the less experienced students.
Core competence independent work & Learning
The seminar demands and promotes a medium level of self-learning competence, as it is usually necessary to work independently on given texts. The requirements for self-direction of the learning process increase if a term paper has to be written independently in a seminar (see exam: term paper). A consultation hour, in which feedback on the term paper or presentation is given in person, can be used at the same time to address active self-directed learning and to clarify its influence on learning success.
Study motivation
With regard to learning motivation, both incentive systems are addressed in the seminar. Extrinsically motivated students get their recognition through assessment of presentations/ papers and seminar work. The possibility to choose topics for presentations or seminar papers according to interest and/or prior knowledge addresses the intrinsic motivation. In this way, students can contribute according to their competencies and experience their own competence.
Academic & social integration
Provided that direct exchange with lecturers and feedback on papers/ term papers are guaranteed, the seminar promotes academic integration. Interaction among students, in the context of the seminar through work in small learning groups, supports social integration.
Time & Location Restrictions
Participation in the seminar usually means that students are present in the seminar room of the university on a specific day of the week and at the specified time. Nonetheless, it is often possible to offer block seminars instead to accommodate anyone subject to time/location restrictions. Other forms of work and communication that are very beneficial for these students are digital exchange and virtual collaboration.
Literature
Baumann, K. (2007): Freedom, equality, teaching. Designing seminars narratively. In: B. Berendt, H.-P. Voss and J. Wildt (Eds.): The New Handbook of University Teaching, E 3.5. 2nd ed. Bonn: Raabe-Verlag.
Marks, F. (2001): Motivating students in seminar teaching. In: Brigitte Berendt, Hans-Peter Voss and Johannes Wildt (Eds.): Das NEUE Handbuch Hochschullehre. 2nd ed. Bonn: Raabe-Verlag (E 3.1).
Citation
Buß, Imke; Rump, Jutta; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra (2017): Seminar. In: Rump, Jutta; Buß, Imke; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra: Toolbox for good teaching in a diverse student body. Working Papers of the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences, No. 6. www. hwg-lu.de/arbeitspapiere
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