InterAct - a project for cross-location teaching
The goal of the LehrTransfer project is to empower university instructors (particularly early-career researchers and teaching assistants) to design their courses in a way that maximizes learning transfer. To this end, they are provided with the “Offer and Use Model for Transfer Promotion,” which equips instructors with tools (e.g., methods and didactic principles) to apply transfer-promoting approaches to their respective research groups. The concept addresses the promotion of transfer on two levels: First, participating faculty members acquire knowledge and skills to promote transfer in their courses. Second, the program itself is, of course, designed according to principles that promote transfer, enabling faculty members to successfully apply what they have learned in their university teaching. Among other things, this means that needs are assessed in advance, teaching and learning methods that promote transfer are used, participants work on their own courses and receive feedback on them, and their learning processes are supported over an extended period (Wißhak, 2022). In addition, over the course of the workshop, participants develop a checklist tailored to their own needs for designing their courses in a way that promotes transfer.
The cross-campus teaching and learning infrastructure is accommodated by the fact that the blended-learning course is open to participants from both campuses, and the in-person sessions take place once in Landau and once in Kaiserslautern, with each session open to participants from both participating campuses.
The project is funded as part of the cross-campus teaching initiative (InterAct) at RPTU (Rhineland-Palatinate University of Technology) and is being carried out in cooperation between the Kaiserslautern campus, represented by M.Ed. Pia Schäfer, and Landau, represented by Prof. Dr. Susanne Wißhak. The project’s funding period begins in May 2024 and ends in April 2026. The program was designed in the Summer Semester 2024 and successfully implemented in the Winter Semester 2024/25 and the Summer Semester 2025. In addition, a self-study course was developed using the workshop materials, which remains available on OLAT even after the project has ended. Further information on this can be found in the section below.
Do you want your students to be able to put the content of your courses into practice later on? Then we have just the right offer for you! In the free self-study course Designing university teaching to promote transfer we deal with various questions relating to transfer, didactic and methodological tools. The aim is for you to get to know the various factors that influence the transfer of your course in order to make your own teaching more conducive to transfer.
The self-study course is based on a supply and utilization model for transfer in university teaching, which takes into account various influencing factors along
- external factors (relating to the course and lecturers),
- individual factors (concerning the students) and
- contextual factors (concerning the university)
comprises. In a total of seven learning nuggets, you will learn about various aspects of transfer in university teaching. Learning videos as well as handouts and reflection tasks are used so that you can actively engage with the learning content.
Content: Designing courses to promote transfer
- What does transfer mean in university teaching?
- What knowledge and skills do I need for this?
- Which didactic and methodological tools are suitable for this?
- Which aspects on the part of the students are important and how can I promote them (e.g. motivation)?
- Joint work on own courses
Target group: University lecturers of different status groups, in particular junior academics who have only recently taken on teaching duties
Objectives: You will be able to design your courses in such a way that it is easier for your students to transfer their practical experience.
Organizational details: The self-study course is available free of charge on OLAT and can be completed at any time and from any location.
Further information can be found in the flyer.
We look forward to your participation,
Pia Schäfer, Susanne Wißhak, Alisha Koch
Contact us
Kaiserslautern: M.Ed. Pia Schäfer
Landau: Prof. Dr. Susanne Wißhak
Email: LehrTransfer(at)projects.rptu.de
