gms | German Medical Science

Learning through Inquiry in Higher Education: Current Research and Future Challenges (INHERE 2018)

08.03. - 09.03.2018, München

Project Laboratories and tu projects – Project based inquiry learning at the Technical University of Berlin

Meeting Abstract

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Learning through Inquiry in Higher Education: Current Research and Future Challenges (INHERE 2018). München, 08.-09.03.2018. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2018. Doc52

doi: 10.3205/18inhere52, urn:nbn:de:0183-18inhere524

Published: March 1, 2018

© 2018 Haas.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Outline

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At the Technical University (TU) of Berlin students have the possibility to design their own research and teaching in so called Project Laboratories [http://www.projektwerkstaetten.tu-berlin.de] and tu projects. The Project Laboratories have been established at TU Berlin in consequence of a student’s strike to improve study conditions in 1985. Based on this idea, the tu projects have been additionally funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research since 2012. They comprise a similar methodological orientation and content while including a stronger focus on involving first-year students. Until today, more than 150 of these self-organized project-courses have been conducted. Currently there are more than 25 projects running in parallel.

The courses are independently initiated, designed and led by students. Their methodology ranges from preliminary project based learning up to strictly conducting the whole process of learning through research. The practical orientation of the program facilitates the accessibility for students with varying backgrounds and activates their inquiring mind while teaching important key competencies.

The projects are scientifically supported by specialist areas and by TU Berlin’s science shop kubus concerning all other issues. Each semester, interested students can submit their ideas. If accepted, two tutors are funded for two years to conduct the project. They are obliged to hand in mid-term and final reports. Participating students have the possibility to obtain study credit points.

The overall topic of the program is to foster sustainability issues and to activate socially useful and environmentally friendly thinking and acting. The interdisciplinary projects deal with issues and apply methods which are insufficiently represented in the officially teaching standards. The participating students test innovative teaching, learning and research concepts. Approved good practice courses or successful elements can be subsequently transferred into the official standard of teaching at TU Berlin.