When teachers define the learning objectives for the upcoming course and for the course participants, it is assumed, most likely quite correctly, that the teachers already have obtained those skills themselves that they are teaching. Teachers do master the subject matter, but in my pilot, I wanted to check, how can I in my course design process identify my own innovation competences.

Course: Destination Germany Austria 3 ECTS (offered as a compulsory course for students going to ERASMUS / double degree exchange in Autumn 2024) 

Teacher: Sanna Simola   

Students: 11 (+ 2 who chose to attend, but not to do all the tasks) 

Goal and learning objectives: training and preparation for exchange in Germany or Austria, networking, inspiration (guests), career planning, language and culture skills, information search. 

Course implementation Hybrid (Campus – online lessons – tasks in LMS itslearning)  

Duration: March- May 2024 (14 weeks) 

Below I list advantages of this format: 

versatile, varied (the content and place are matched to suit the purpose) 

It is good to have different kinds of tasks and environments to enhance the learning experience. 

flexible (weather conditions- easy to change the place) 

to get guests to attend (abroad, longer distances) 

high quality online learning material (e.g. Deutsche Welle)  

in this case: online lessons with a small group, camera on, active participation, discussions. Working online did succeed well, because of the group size and motivation of the students. Motivation was high due to upcoming stay in Germany/Austria. 

Link to extended description