Seminar
Imke Buß; Jutta Rump; Janina Kaiser; Melanie Schiedhelm; Petra Schorat-Waly
a) Description of the method
Seminars at universities serve to deepen academic knowledge and can be offered on any topic in 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. In terms of methodology, seminars often involve 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 seminar teaching format is to deepen the academic knowledge of a subject area and - in combination with a term paper - to develop skills in the area of academic writing. The small groups of up to 30 people allow for intensive work. Each seminar participant can be individually involved and challenged, as learner participation is part of the didactic concept.
Procedure
The procedure depends on how the seminar is designed. If it is a literature seminar, students regularly read texts in preparation and analyze and discuss them in the classroom. If the learning objectives are for students to gain moderation and teaching experience, they can be given the task of organizing a session. In another form of the seminar, 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, teachers must ensure that the common thread remains recognizable throughout the semester. Teachers should provide students with intensive support in preparing their presentations in order to achieve a high quality of input from the students.
Group size
Small groups with a maximum of 30 participants. This allows all participants to be effectively involved in discussions and exercises if they have the appropriate moderation skills and tasks.
Time required
Preparation of the seminar content, possibly a presentation, exercise texts, case studies or discussion guidelines. Compared to lectures, more time is spent preparing good assignments and supervising students.
Room equipment
Smaller rooms with projectors. U-shaped seating facilitates discussion. It should be possible for students to move around if small group work is required.
Materials
Students should have access to preparatory materials for the seminar (e.g. literature lists, compulsory reading).
b) How does & the seminar promote the following diversity dimensions?
Prior professional experience & Prior knowledge
In the generally smaller groups, it is possible to respond to students' questions and experiences and thus take their prior knowledge and professional experience into account. In seminars based on presentations or assignments, topics can be selected by the students according to their previous experience. In addition, teachers have the opportunity to use a short seminar guide to assess the learning level within the group in order to adapt the formation of small groups accordingly. By referring to support services for academic work (e.g. "Academic Writing" workshops, "Term Paper Night", etc.), less experienced students can be shown opportunities to improve their skills.
Core competence independent work & Learning
The seminar demands and promotes an intermediate level of self-learning competence, as it generally requires students to work independently on given texts. The requirements for self-regulation of the learning process are increased if a seminar paper has to be written independently (see examination: term paper). A consultation hour in which feedback is given personally on the term paper or presentation can also be used to address active self-directed learning and to illustrate its influence on learning success.
Study motivation
With regard to learning motivation, both incentive systems are addressed in the seminar. Extrinsically motivated students receive recognition through the assessment of presentations/ papers and seminar work. The opportunity to choose topics for presentations or seminar papers according to interest and/or prior knowledge addresses intrinsic motivation. In this way, students can contribute according to their skills and experience their own competence.
Academic & Social integration
Provided that direct exchange with lecturers and feedback on presentations/ term papers are guaranteed, the seminar promotes academic integration. The interaction between students during the seminars through working in small learning groups supports social integration.
Time & Location restrictions
Participation in the seminar usually means that students are present in the university seminar room on a specific day of the week and at a set time. Nevertheless, it is often possible to offer block seminars instead in order to accommodate those who are 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, education. Designing seminars narratively. In: B. Berendt, H.-P. Voss and J. Wildt (eds.): Das Neue Handbuch Hochschullehre, 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 education in a diverse student body. Working Papers of the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society, No. 6. www. hwg-lu.de/arbeitspapiere
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