In the latest podcast by Unconditional Teaching, Rasmus Bisanz, Gabi Meihswinkel, and Solveig Lena Hansen from the Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research (IPP) of University of Bremen share their experiences and results from an innovative teaching project. Together with around 20 other students and lecturers, the project developed multimedia learning and teaching paths to make academic work in Health Sciences / Public Health more accessible and practice-oriented.
The project set out to continuously support students in acquiring academic skills throughout their studies. To this end, materials and exercises on academic work and good scientific practice were developed, which can be used not only at the beginning but at all stages of the degree program. Embedding these materials into regular courses is intended to encourage their use and ensure their sustainable integration.
Beyond this, the InnoLab pursued the idea of fostering academic skills not in isolation within individual modules, but across modules and throughout the entire course of study. This creates ongoing support that forms the foundation for responsible and reflective academic work. To enable strong networking between students and lecturers, elements of information, communication, and collaboration were developed in order to build sustainable teaching and learning structures.
The implementation of these goals took place in close cooperation between lecturers and students. In various working groups, needs-oriented materials were developed, prepared in multimedia formats, and continuously evaluated. From the outset, intensive dialogue among all participants was a central principle. Students were involved in every step of the process and were able to actively contribute their perspectives—participation being understood by the project as a fundamental principle of both Public Health practice and teaching. The developed materials were tested directly in courses and also disseminated via social networks. For sustainable use, a shared platform within Stud.IP was created, enabling lecturers to flexibly integrate the materials into their courses and adapt them as needed.
In the podcast, the three project participants reflect not only on these processes and results but also on the role of Unconditional Teaching. A workshop on “Relational and Power-Sensitive Higher Education Teaching,” conducted by Tyll Zybura and Katharina Pietsch with the InnoLab team in fall 2023, provided important impulses.
The conversation highlights how the concept of power-sensitive and relational teaching enriched collaboration in the project, what challenges arose, and what impulses for the future design of (Public Health) teaching may emerge from it.
