Flipped Classroom Concept Recognized

RWTH Professor Carmen Leicht-Scholten Awarded 2023 Digi Fellowship

 

For her extended flipped classroom concept, which aims to allow students to reflect on diversity perspectives more deeply in the context of the cross-faculty lecture Engineering and Society, Professor Carmen Leicht-Scholten from RWTH’s Research Group Gender and Diversity in Engineering has received the 2023 Digi Fellowship.

The joint initiative of RWTH Aachen University, the NRW Ministry of Culture and Science, and Stifterverband supports innovative approaches in digital university teaching. Since 2020, universities in NRW have committed to holding an annual university-wide competition to award “Fellowships for Innovation in Digital Teaching and Learning.” Each university receives 50,000 euros to support a project.

The lecture “Engineering and Society” provides students with basic knowledge of issues and perspectives in the context of sustainability and social responsibility in technical and engineering professional fields. The flipped classroom concept turns the classic sequence of instruction around: Now, the students first prepare the material for class independently, mostly with the help of learning videos, and then deepen their knowledge in the classroom.

Blended and independent learning are combined and students are encouraged to actively engage, reflect, and discuss. Independently reflecting on the subject matter alongside the learning process allows students to deepen their understanding of the lecture material. In the 2023 summer semester, the concept was even expanded and adapted to the needs of different learning types to enable students to acquire comprehensive skills.