The Certification Program offers flexible options for professional development in a modularized setup. Further information about the program’s structure can be found here.

The further education program for university teaching at the University of Paderborn consists of 200-230 “working units”/ hours (1 WU = 45 minutes), divided between 3 modules. In addition to workshops and structured support during your teaching phase, we also offer individual support plans and credit accumulation or transfer from, for example, didactic advising sessions, observing classes and offering feedback on teaching style, discussions focused on team development, and course/course program planning.

As a part-time accompaniment to your position at the university, the course can be completed in 2-4 years. As an integrated part of the complete program of the “Network for the Didatics of Higher Education” (Netzwerk Hochschuldidaktik NRW) and the corresponding standards, the certificate can be continued and/or completed at another location within the network with no difficulty, once begun.

Modules

Module 1 – Foundation Module (80-90 WU)

The foundation module offers you the opportunity to work with the core questions and issues of teaching and learning. In addition to organizing teaching/learning processes, the module focuses on a (self-)reflective analysis of the role of the instructor, as well as the teaching/learning culture in your own subject as well as in other disciplines. Methods for activating and motivating students play a central role, as does the question of what “good teaching” means in general.

Module 2 – Consolidation Module (60-70 WU)

In the consolidation module, you can follow your individual educational goals and desires by deepening your knowledge of particular (and to some extent, subject-specific) areas of teaching/learning processes in the context of higher education. The topics begun in the foundation module can be expanded upon. For the consolidation module, we recommend expanding your knowledge with an intensive analysis of the topics “Testing and Grading”, “Advising Students”, and “Evaluation”.

Module 3 – Specialization Module (60-70 WU)

In the specialization module, you have the possibility of designing and structuring your own teaching, using the research-based perspective you have developed in the previous modules.

You will examine your own teaching within the context of your subect according to the ideas of the „Scholarship of Teaching and Learning“, using those research methods that are familiar to you. The conclusion of the module – and, with it, of the entire certification – will be finalized by the publication of your results in the reviewed online journal “die hochschullehre “.

Note: Please also note the requirements for each topic/area (see below).

As an introduction to further education in this topic, we would like to invite you to an individual advising session, during which we will provide you with information about our offerings and in which we can clarify and establish your personal educational goals. This individually-reached agreement about your goals and clarification about our programs is particularly important to us as it provides the foundation for successful participation in further education.

The semester-long event series “Teaching and Learning” („Lehren und Lernen“) marks the periodic starting point of the program; the series begins prior to each semester (typically in March and September). Apart from the 2-day introductory workshop, the series consists of a semester-long practical phase and an additional workshop at the end of the lecture period. “Teaching and Learning” is the central component of the foundation module in Paderborn; participation is mandatory when beginning the certification program.

After the obligatory basic qualification, you can design a flexible educational strategy by choosing from a selection of appropriate workshops. In our course overview (Information in German), you can find our current course program at any time, in addition to information about content and credit transfer. If you have any questions or need advice, feel free to get in touch with us as any time!

The three modules in the program focus on content in roughly five areas. Each modules goal is to promote and develop specific competencies that are crucial for higher education, and to accompany and support educators in professionally drafting and structuring teaching in their subject area.

The topic areas on offer are:

1. designing courses in your subject to best promote student learning (Teaching and Learning – at least 60 WU*);
2. designing testing tools that are transparent, fair, and oriented towards previously set learning goals (Testing and Grading – at least 16 WU*);
3. constructive student advising in the learning process (Advising Students – at least 16 WU*);
4. evaluation of individual courses as well as study programs (Evaluation – at least 16 WU*); and
5. contribution to subject-specific as well as interdisciplinary development of innovations in academics and teaching (Developing Innovation in Academics and Teaching – at least 60 WU*)

Beyond that, we offer workshops for academic “key qualifications”, which do not strictly fall within the higher-education qualification framework. These workshops can be used to accumulate up to 16 WU worth of credits.

Descriptions of the Topic Areas

*The required minimum number of credits/working units (WU) is binding as of the winter semester 2018/19 at the University of Paderborn. The numbers are in terms of the requirements of the entire certification.