Teaching-related advanced training impresses WindH programme reaccredited again

A certificate in higher education didactics honours teaching staff at all universities in Lower Saxony for their personal development in teaching. The programme “Weiterbildung in der Hochschullehre” (WindH) of the Center of Excellence in Lower Saxon Higher Education at Technische Universität Braunschweig (KHN), which they undergo for this purpose, has now been successfully re-accredited once again. The accreditation commission of the National Society of Higher Education (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hochschuldidaktik, dghd) has given it a positive assessment.

With its open module programme “Weiterbildung in der Hochschullehre” (WindH), which has been continuously dghd-accredited since 2006, the KHN contributes to the improvement of teaching at TU Braunschweig and at other universities in the state. To this end, it offers all teaching staff at universities in Lower Saxony the open programme WindH and the in-house programmes based on it, which are offered at TU Braunschweig, but also at many other universities in Lower Saxony, so that academic teachers can acquire the “Landeszertifikat Hochschullehre Niedersachsen”, an award for their personal development in teaching. This award was established by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK).

Didactic repertoire supports development of skills

Since the first award in November 2020, 150 academic teachers have already successfully received the state certificate in KHN programmes. The didactic concept is based on the combination of practical experience in teaching with theory input, engaging with student-oriented, activating methods accompanied by coaching elements (teaching, individual, group coaching, peer consulting) and reflection. With the didactic repertoire acquired with the certificate, academic teachers can cultivate the skills of students and thus enable them to master challenging tasks.

In addition to advanced training in higher education didactics and counselling of the teaching staff of the universities in Lower Saxony, corresponding research as well as quality development of learning and teaching are further focal points of the KHN.

Accompanying advanced training with research

The publication “Kompetenzentwicklung und Lerntransfer bei Hochschullehrenden” (Competence Development and Transfer of Learning among University Teachers) is a current benchmark of research in higher education didactics and a scientific contribution to evidence-based advanced training in higher education didactics.* The study, which is anchored in the context of the accompanying research for the Quality Pact for Teaching, carried out a nationwide investigation of how the knowledge and skills of academic teachers who have been qualified in pedagogical, methodological-didactic programmes such as the WindH programme develop and which factors influence the transfer of what they have learned into their teaching practice.

The assessors of the re-accreditation by the dghd summarise: “The research-based approach implemented in the WindH programme is also impressive and is a unique selling point for the higher education didactic landscape in Lower Saxony.”

*Current evidence of research in higher education didactics and a scientific contribution to evidence-based advanced training in higher education didactics is the publication by Hartz, S., Aust, K., Gottfried, L. M., & Kurtz, C. (2022). Kompetenzentwicklung und Lerntransfer bei Hochschullehrenden. Eine empirische Studie mit Erhebungs- und Auswertungsinstrumenten. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.