She Knows What Makes Teaching Boring  [09.12.19]

Accounting? Boring! Prof. Dr. Kristina Kögler investigates how students experience business lessons and what effects their experience has on their learning performance. With her results, the business educator aims to optimally support learning processes. For the best possible use of the short teaching time - and for more educational quality.

 

 

Since April of this year, Prof. Kögler has been head of the Department of Business and Economics Education: Teaching and Learning Processes at the University of Hohenheim, after a two-year period as a substitute.

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Ms. Kögler, what was your path to Hohenheim like?

I grew up in the north of Germany, but then I studied business education in Bamberg. After my studies, my supervisor offered me the opportunity to do my doctorate, which was about boredom in business teaching processes. After my doctorate, I held a junior professorship in business education in Frankfurt until 2017 and then filled in as a substitute in the department here in Hohenheim.

In 2017 the subject area was still called something else?

Yes, the current subject area "Business and Economics Education: Teaching and Learning Processes" was still called "Business Education: Education and Didactics." It was renamed during my time as a substitute.

You said you did your doctorate on boredom in class. What exactly was it about?

I wanted to understand how pupils experience teaching processes, which factors influence the development of boredom, and what consequences this has for learning success. To this end, I filmed lessons in the subjects of accounting and business administration over a longer period of time and worked with the experience sampling methodology.

This allows the experience of test persons to be recorded directly in the concrete action process, either at fixed intervals or linked to specific events. I measured the students' experience in class every seven minutes and was then able to trace situational constellations of boredom using the observation data from the videos.

Do you apply your findings in your lectures now?

That is the goal, of course. In any case, through the study I developed a good eye for how the learners are doing at the moment and whether my teaching concept is going as planned. The ultimate aim is to do justice to the recipients, to link up with the reality of the learners' lives, and to avoid recurring idleness. I am also noticing this again in my practical semester at a vocational school.

What are the central elements in your teaching?

These are essentially three points: First of all, when dealing with the analytical and conceptual fundamentals of the subject, the teaching must always deal with authentic problems of the later occupational field and have a certain applied focus.

Secondly, it should make it clear to the students that the responsibility for the learning process lies ultimately with them. However, this does not mean that I will not be responsible as a lecturer. Rather, it is about awakening a sense of seriousness and aiding the students in experiencing autonomy. This is achieved with action-oriented teaching methods in which students can have a say in the path they take and, to a certain degree, in the goal they are aiming for. This also includes lively exchange and discussion.

And the third point is research-based learning. I think it's very important to show students that research is not done in a vacuum or in an ivory tower, but involves a permanent dialogue with the practice. This includes working on the department's research projects and realizing that statistics and empiricism are not annoying opponents to overcome, but that they can also be a source of inspiration. All this is important so that the students can take a well-founded position on their future profession and reflect on their own actions.

What teaching methods do you use?

In the Master's program students work on their own projects in small groups, each of which is part of a specific topic. For example, the question of how digital media can be used meaningfully in business lessons. This is conceptualized using didactic theories and then tried out in teaching experiments. In the Bachelor's program, the simulations are also filmed for video-based feedback, and there are workshops with practitioners.

In general, I try to use the lectures more for application and exchange, and not just to present the subject matter, which is known under the principle of the flipped classroom.

What about later? Can your students only work in the teaching profession or are there other career opportunities?

Education for Business and Economics is a versatile degree program. In order to make this clear, it was also renamed "Teacher Program in Business and Economics" to "Master of Science in Education for Business and Economics." This also makes it more compatible with other locations because the name already expresses that you can do something different with your studies than going into the teaching profession.

There is a broad portfolio of career opportunities. For example, in-company educational work in initial or continuing vocational training, but also activities in education administration and education policy, such as with chambers of commerce, associations, or ministries.

What good advice do you have for your students?

Take things into your own hands at an early stage. Organize your studies according to your own interests and abilities, use the help available at the university, and network with others.

And just sit down in the library and read only led by your interests - you won't have much time for that later. Or take the books with you to the beautiful Hohenheim Schlosspark. Enjoy the free time you still have now.

Can students participate in your research projects?

In addition to the project work in the seminars, there is the possibility to participate in research projects as student assistants or during the final thesis phase. Depending on the topic, there is sometimes even the opportunity to participate in publications.

You have already started your research in part, but could you please give us a general overview of your research topics?

My first research area is about emotions in learning processes. We used to look at the development factors, but now we are dealing mainly with emotional dynamics. We want to find out whether there are context-dependent typical emotional processes and how they develop. For this we need longitudinal data in which we record the experience in teaching, learning, or work processes over a longer period of time using different experience sampling variants.

In the second research area, we investigate problem-solving strategies of trainees in complex professional situations. This is done via log files, i.e. recording all activities in a problem-solving environment.

This means that you have test subjects sitting at the computer to solve problems?

Yes, we have tested about 800 trainees from three business occupations in a larger joint project: For example, they were given the task of selecting the best possible supplier from several alternatives, or were asked to make a decision based on numbers as to whether the model company should keep production inhouse or outsource it. The mouse clicks and keystrokes of the test persons were also logged. Now we are evaluating samples to see if successful problem solvers approached the problem differently than the others. At the moment we are developing hypotheses.

The third area deals with the didactic quality of online-based learning offers such as MOOCs.

What are MOOCs?

This is the abbreviation for "Massive Open Online Courses." These online courses are often used in higher education and adult education. They usually have no access restrictions and therefore very large numbers of participants. Actually MOOCs are an exciting approach in the sense of a democratization of education or education for all. But many of the courses have a quality problem, also the dropout rates are often very high. We are currently investigating why this is the case for business and management. Our goal is to develop evidence-based quality criteria for MOOCs.

What is the most important question that drives you in your research?

At the moment, the question is how far-reaching digital learning can be supported. It would be nice if you could accompany learning processes digitally in such a way that they are individualized and thus create a real added value. This would alleviate the problem of time scarcity in institutional educational pathways and ultimately promote equal opportunities. And one could equalize education in terms of time and space. Of course, this is done without denying the value of personal exchange between teachers and learners. It should be thought of as more of a meaningful and comprehensive supplement that accompanies you through all formal and informal learning processes.

What project would you tackle if you had unlimited resources and opportunities?

I would develop a learning environment that can do exactly what I have just described - individualized and comprehensive, for both formal and informal learning. A kind of lifelong learning companion that uses intelligent algorithms to give the learners individual feedback and motivate them when difficulties arise.

But for the time being I am trying to understand learning processes in different domains with the available means and attempting to support them in the best possible way.

Do your ideas also flow into the faculty?

In an ongoing project, we are currently developing a studyability test for the Bachelor of Business Administration and Economics, which is intended to identify individual gaps in knowledge and gaps in learning as early as possible and recommend individualized support offers from the University. We have already been in contact with many colleagues for this purpose, which has strengthened our belief that such an instrument offers great added value for students and can ultimately contribute to their academic success.

Finally, a personal question, Ms. Kögler: How do you like it now as a professor here in Hohenheim?

The atmosphere here in Hohenheim is great, I feel very comfortable in the faculty and have had many exciting conversations with my colleagues. The students are open to new approaches and participate actively in the research activities of the chair in various projects and dissertations. Only the WiFi in the institute could be better.

And how do you spend your free time?

I'm studying drums with my son and I like to take pictures.

 

Thank you very much for the interview, Ms. Kögler!

 

Interview: Elsner / Translation: Neudorfer