Introduction to scientific writing - an e-learning course

I am passionate about teaching...

"Because I enjoy sharing knowledge and interacting with students."

The teaching project allows students to...

“feel well-prepared to write their seminar and/or thesis papers at our department (and beyond)."

My role in the teaching project...

"My role in this teaching project was to work with my colleagues to design and implement the ILIAS e-learning course - that included content, learning videos, and more advanced material. Now we act as moderators in the forum and maintain the course content regularly so it stays current."

My goal...

"in terms of the e-learning course is that students can independently acquire knowledge and tools to assist them in writing scientific papers."

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Idea generation:

There was already an ILIAS course on scientific writing with recorded online lectures. This was created during the Covid pandemic to replace a course of the same name that takes place in person.

After the pandemic, this online format was retained because the topic is well-suited for an e-learning course.
However, the material in the existing ILIAS course was not yet geared towards an e-learning course, e.g. the videos were much too long, there were no suitable materials for further self-study, and so on.
We wanted to change that with this project.

The course content is divided into six learning modules that look at different aspects of scientific writing.  
The first learning module is about good scientific practice and why we need it. This is followed by a discussion of the general structure of a scientific paper, and the subsequent learning modules then deal with the development of a research question based on a relevant research gap, the research design, the identification of relevant literature, and the correct citation of that literature. The course concludes with how to frame one’s research idea into a clear research concept.

In addition to the individual learning videos, the course has been filled with further materials and is constantly being expanded.

Students can test the knowledge they have learned with the help of built-in questions.

Overall, the course provides a good overview of the topic of scientific writing, and prepares students well for writing their seminar paper or thesis.  
And if there are any questions about particular aspects of the course, students can post them in the forum and engage in an open dialog with us or other course participants.

Project objective:

• The creation of a compact but also comprehensive e-learning course on the topic of scientific writing which prepares students for seminar papers and theses in our department (and beyond).
• Implementation challenges
• To convey all relevant content in compact and short learning videos in an appealing way. This sounds easier than it is.

Current status / further steps / feedback / further development:

The course is ready and is already being used by students.

We would now like to continuously add more content to the course, such as content on scientific methods.
In addition, we would like to gather feedback from students in the near future to improve and develop the course. For this we plan to use the ILIAS survey tool.
In terms of advanced content on various scientific methods for data collection and analysis, I could also imagine collaborating with other instructors. This would also allow lecturers who teach the course themselves to their students to place their own relevant content and tools in the course.

Feedback (How do students respond to the project?)

We have already received feedback from some students that the course has not only helped them, but that they have also recommended their course to fellow students who are not taking a module at our department.

The positive feedback from the students makes us very happy and gives us the feeling that the time and energy we put into creating the course was worth it.

Further development (What’s next? Any new ideas yet?)

As already mentioned, we want to continuously develop the content of the course, especially with regard to different scientific methods for data collection and analysis.

We have already received feedback from students that format templates for theses would also be helpful. We will add these in the coming weeks.

Here, I could also imagine collaborating with other instructors. This would also allow lecturers who teach the course themselves to their students to place their own relevant content and tools in the course.

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  being asynchronous

„Because the learning videos and materials are available online, students can engage with the materials at any time and at their own pace. If necessary, or while writing their seminar paper or thesis, students can access the materials again and again or reread certain content.“

  Available anywhere

„Students can view the ILIAS e-learning course not only at any time, but also anywhere. They do not have to be on site at the university to do so. Especially when it comes to writing the final thesis, we have found that more and more often many students are no longer on site in Hohenheim during this final phase of their studies.“

  Interdisciplinary content

„The content of the course are not specific to our department, but are in principle valid for all academic work in the social sciences and humanities. Of course, there are minor differences, e.g. in terms of formatting or citation. Therefore, we recommend all students who are writing their thesis at another department ask their supervisor which department-specific criteria should be paid attention to.“

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What reactions do you receive from other lecturers to your didactic concept?

So far, we have received very positive feedback both from colleagues and from the students. They are already diligently passing on the e-learning course to their students they’re supervising for final theses, for example.
Colleagues from other departments have also already approached us about our course and think it is good that we have created such a compact e-learning course on the subject of scientific writing.

Since most of the content of the course is valid across departments at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, colleagues in other departments may also use the e-learning course and pass it on to their students as a source of information.

What teaching concept do you find inspiring, what teaching concept would you like to try?

I find participatory teaching concepts particularly appealing, i.e. when students are actively involved in the teaching and learning process. In my courses, I already try to implement this through group assignments and plenary discussions.

I find these concepts particularly good because I believe that students have the greatest learning success when they actively and critically engage with the content.

In the future, I would like to try blended learning and flipped classroom concepts so that I can take advantage of both online formats and face-to-face classes. I find that online and face-to-face teaching can be combined very well.

Do you know of any other courses or lecturers at the university that use a similar concept to yours?

I am not aware of any other e-learning course at the University's Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences. However, that doesn't have to mean there aren’t any other courses.

What format do you find suitable to stimulate more didactic exchange among lecturers at the university?

In my opinion, there are already many formats at the university that stimulate discussions among lecturers, such as the Lust auf Lehre interview format or the workshops in which a joint version of the teaching of the future is developed. I think it would be useful to make these formats more widely known among lecturers.

In addition, there is a lot of informal exchange among colleagues. Perhaps, therefore, networking among lecturers and informal exchange could be encouraged more through various event formats.

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When you look back on the project support, what was particularly helpful for you?

The exchange with the digital coaches was particularly helpful, as we received direct feedback on our concept and practical tips, e.g. on helpful ILIAS functions.

What tip would you give to people who are interested in support?

Just try it out.

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