Term paper or seminar paper
Imke Buß; Jutta Rump; Janina Kaiser; Melanie Schiedhelm; Petra Schorat-Waly
a) Description
Homework and seminar papers are independent, written works, which are prepared in self-study within a given period of time. The examinee should show that he or she is able to work independently on a problem area within a limited period of time, using the methods commonly used in the field. Appropriate written presentation is also an essential element of term papers. A topic for this is determined either by the instructor(s) or according to the student's suggestion.
What is it good for?
This form of examination serves in particular to explore a topic through one's own literature research and to present it in a scientifically sound manner. In term papers and seminar papers, students should also learn methodological skills, such as sound literature research, selection and evaluation, scientific argumentation and writing, and citation. The use of quantitative or qualitative research methods may be required as part of an assignment.
Procedure
The procedure presented below is from the supervisor's perspective.
1. Preliminary arrangements: Topic agreement and topic delimitation with regard to the time frame, recording of expectations regarding quality and scientificity, possibly agreement on renewed meetings or determination of a supervision plan
2. Registration or Start of the processing period (usually a maximum of 8 weeks)
3. Supervision of the work within the agreed framework
4. Review of the work within the corresponding correction period
5. Feedback discussion and professional justification of the evaluation
Group size
The effort of supervising and correcting homework and seminar papers is significantly greater than for exams. Therefore, term papers are usually used as examinations in events with up to 30 participants.
Time required
Homework and seminar papers are either written parallel to the course or during the lecture-free period. Depending on the subject culture, the requirements for term papers and seminar papers may vary. Ideally, term papers should be written several times before the thesis is written.
Room facilities
Students generally use the library facilities, which should provide sufficient individual workstations. This is especially true since not all students have good, undisturbed study facilities at home.
Material
Lecturers can provide reading notes or literature lists. In order to make assessment criteria transparent, it may be useful to provide students with information in this regard.
b) How do & homework or seminar papers promote the following diversity dimensions?
Priorsubject knowledge & Prior knowledge
In the preparation phase and through close consultation with the lecturers, prior knowledge and prior experience can easily be taken into account, provided that the students are involved in the selection of topics. In addition, students can acquire missing knowledge through research. For many students, scientific work represents a major challenge. This previous experience and the knowledge to be built up during the course of study are particularly well supported if the students are supported in terms of content and methodology by courses on the subject of scientific work or similar, as well as feedback from lecturers.
Core competence independent work & Learning
Independent work is strongly promoted by the term paper due to the necessary research and analysis work. This is especially true when students have to set learning goals for themselves (or with the support of the teachers) (more so when they define the topic themselves). The organization of the learning process, including appropriate time management, strongly promotes and demands independent learning.
Motivation to study
Intrinsically motivated students in particular have the opportunity to work intensively on a topic (of their choice) with seminar papers and assignments.
Academic & social integration
Due to the individual work, term papers and seminar papers promote and demand social integration rather little. Exchanges can take the form of tandem partners. Tandems can form, if necessary, following the same method or similar topics, proofreading each other's work, discussing content, etc., thus supporting peer-to-peer exchange.
Academic integration is high when intensive mentoring and final instructor feedback is provided one-on-one.
Time & local restrictions
Time and local restrictions are low if longer processing times are provided for seminar papers and term papers.
Literature
Friedrich, H.; Mandl, H. (eds.) (1992): Learning and thinking strategies. Analysis and intervention. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Friedrich, H. F. (1995): Analysis and promotion of cognitive learning strategies. In: Empirical Pedagogy (9 (2)), pp. 115-153.
Jahn, D.; Kenner, A. (2015): Doing term papers. In: Hochschuldidaktische Leitfäden 05.2015. Available online at www.fbzhl.fau.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Leitfaeden_FBZHL_5_2015_Hausarbeiten.pdf, last checked 16.06.2020.
Mandl, H.; Friedrich, H. F. (Eds.) (2006): Handbook of learning strategies. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Zwingenberger, A.; Banzer, R.; Spiroudis, E. (2014): Assessing academic writing. In New handbook of university teaching (A.3.14).
Citation
Buß, Imke; Rump, Jutta; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra (2017): Term papers and seminar papers. 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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