Constructive Alignment
Transparency in teaching and continuous quality assurance as to the didactics and contents of the learning processes are vital elements in the design and implementation of structures for personalized learning processes at MCI. It is of essential importance to give students the opportunity to learn in collaborative settings based on application-oriented contents.
Good teaching is always focused on the student. Good instructional design is always based on the intention to help create a successful learning process for the student. And in order to be successful the teaching method must be matched with the desired learning outcome and the envisaged types of examination. All lectures, courses and seminars at MCI are, in design and orientation, based on these three vital elements for the creation of a successful teaching concept.
The following are MCI’s essential principles for good and innovative teaching:
An e-portfolio is a personalized website on which students present their skills in a particular field. Creating an e-portfolio provides an opportunity for students to independently work on unstructured problems while at the same time acquiring valuable competencies for work in digital space.
In this way the acquisition of academic competences is linked with the acquisition of digital skills, complemented by a critical reflection on the student’s own work on the e-portfolio.
MCI offers bridging courses on various subjects (mathematics, physics, chemistry) for first-year students, as an efficient tool to help them refresh their knowledge in the relevant field. Bridging courses are designed as blended learning courses, combining online and on-campus teaching phases.
At MCI’s Biotechnology and Food Engineering department, lab work also takes place in virtual laboratories (Labster).
Labster entails various benefits: the opportunity to do “dry runs” in a safe setting ensures that the time spent in the real-life lab can be used more efficiently; on the other hand, Labster also allows the simulation of experiments that would not be possible within the bounds of the available time or organizational framework of a lecture.
In addition, the use of gamification elements helps to enhance theoretical knowledge in playful ways.
Also outside formal settings such as directly on campus, learning takes place at all times. Field trips and study tours to various international destinations are an integral part of many study programs.
It takes a video to learn. Micro-lectures are series of lectures on video, retrievable by the students to watch and study whenever and wherever they choose.
Digital badges are digital certificates documenting knowledge and skills acquired outside the regular curriculum.
In addition to the relevant study program, students are given the opportunity to enhance their personal competence portfolio by acquiring a variety of key competences and skills in different areas, and thereby improve their career prospects.
“Overall, the e-portfolio project was one of the most challenging, yet most rewarding projects I ever had to deal with at university. It is definitely appropriate within the curriculum.” (evaluation 2019)
“The study tour to Asia was great! It made me realize how different cultural approaches are reflected in business life, too.” (evaluation 2018)
“One of the things I liked about the e-portfolio project was that it involved many different tasks, which gave me the opportunity to learn a lot, e.g. how to use new tools, to prioritize tasks, personal time management, etc.” (evaluation 2019)
“Working with Labster was exciting. I was able to repeat the simulation of lab experiments at home, and I really profited a lot from that.” (evaluation 2019)
“What I liked most was being able to watch the lecture series in my own time several times over. This contributes a lot to my learning outcome.” (evaluation 2018)
“I now have a digital badge in responsible management, which I can also post on my social media channels. Some of my contacts have already commented on it.”
“The bridging course in mathematics was vital for me. It gave me a head start into the semester.”
