Teaching Prize Winner  [24.07.19]

Bringing theory to life with current examples, motivating students to think for themselves with activating methods, building bridges between research and teaching: this is the didactic approach of Dr. Catharina Vögele from the Department of Communication Science: Communication Theory. And her concept is well-received by students. At the suggestion of the Fachschaft, the lecturer received the Hohenheim Teaching Prize 2019, which is endowed with € 10,000. The Online Courier met Dr. Catharina Vögele for an interview.

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Hello Mrs. Vögele, congratulations on the Hohenheim Teaching Prize! What does this award mean to you? And what do you personally mean when you say "good teaching"?

The nomination by the Fachschaft alone was a great honor for me. In everyday life you don't always get so much direct feedback on your work. The fact that I have now actually received the prize is highly appreciated. It does you good and motivates you. 

For me, good teaching means first and foremost figuring out where the students are when it comes to their learning and then awakening their interest. In my seminars, I also want to encourage students to participate actively and to apply their acquired knowledge by means of current examples.

Fortunately, it is not too difficult to establish current references to my research: Whether it's growing populism or the importance of social media - case studies on theories of political communication can actually be found every day. 

That's obviously being well received. In addition to the relevance of the topics, students especially praise your innovative approaches in teaching. Where do you get your inspiration from?

At this point, I have to express my great praise for the University Didactics Center!

The first course is usually taught because the professor believes you can do it. I had a lot of fun right from the start, but didactically you get thrown into the deep end. That's why I quickly became interested in the offers of the HDZ and acquired the Baden-Württemberg certificate.

That has brought me forward enormously. You learn to consciously think about the structure of your own courses and at the same time you get a toolbox with different methods, which I still use today and adapt for my respective courses.

Your module "Political Communication" is one of the courses with the best evaluation results. How's it set up?

The module consists of two parts. The first event is the reading seminar. It is about getting to know the basics of political communication and the most important theories and concepts of communication science. The second part is the "research seminar". The students apply what they have learned on the basis of a concrete, current question.

Recently, for example, we dealt with how Twitter shapes reporting in classic media. So, whose tweets on which topic are picked up where and how in newspaper articles? We compared two time periods, 2017 and 2013. International studies on this topic already exist, but only a few refer to Germany.

However, it is important to me that the students are not just passive listeners even during the "theory part" at the beginning. Therefore I already use different activating methods in the reading seminar.

Can you give a few examples?

One example is the so-called "expert puzzle". When preparing the seminar, students are given the task of thoroughly examining a particular aspect of the topic. For example, when it comes to election campaigns, some students become experts on the campaign strategies of the incumbent, while others become experts on the campaign strategies of the challenger.

In the seminar, students interview each other in small groups about their respective expert knowledge. In this way, they learn to summarize what they have read in their own words and thus arrive at a deeper understanding. 

Another example would be, for example, impulse lectures in which students relate the theories to current case studies. Or the "tweet on the seminar". At the end of the session, students summarize their findings in a kind of headline.

Research-based learning is an approach that the University of Hohenheim hopes to establish as a special trademark in teaching. However, such formats also pose special challenges for lecturers. What has been your experience?

In our subject area, research-based learning has been firmly integrated into the curriculum for some time now and is very well received by students. In addition, I have conducted three Humboldt reloaded seminars.

The preparation is certainly more time-consuming than with classical courses, because e.g. the reading has to be chosen very carefully. However, if possible, I always try to build a bridge to my current research, so that the additional effort is somewhat reduced.

I myself enjoy the contact with the students within this framework very much. As a scientist, you are often more of a lone wolf in everyday life. That's why I'm always happy when I can discuss with motivated students in a seminar. This is a great compensation for the desk work and also provides ideas for my own research.

From time to time I could even use the results of seminars as preliminary studies or otherwise incorporate them into my work. For example, I conducted an experiment with students to investigate the effect of a state politician's Swabian dialect on the listeners. I was then able to present the results at a conference and publish them in a journal article.

Good teaching and good research: Both cost time - and this is a problem for young scientists in particular. Can research-based teaching relieve this tension to some extent?

I love teaching, but if you look at it realistically I have to say: No. Despite all the described positive effects for my own work, the additional effort remains in the end.

Unfortunately, it is still the case that good teaching is hardly appreciated in the academic system and may even be detrimental to your own career. Because when it comes to being appointed as a professor, it is almost exclusively publications that count. This is a real problem.

I am all the more pleased about the recognition expressed by the Hohenheim Teaching Prize.

The prize is endowed with € 10,000, which can now be used for the department. What are your plans?

The prize money should definitely benefit the students in the best possible way. I am talking to the Fachschaft and my colleagues and we already have some ideas. But the decision has not yet been made.

 

Thank you very much for the interview!

 

Interview: Leonhardmair / Translation: Neudorfer