The Future of Education

Universities of applied sciences benefit institutionally and culturally from a highly heterogeneous student body with diversified educational biographies (e.g. vocational baccalaureate, master craftsman's certificate, previous professional training). The heterogeneous composition of their student body holds a special potential for mutually stimulating learning processes. Consequently, up-to-date concepts of university teaching are increasingly focusing on cooperative learning and project-based studies ("shift from teaching to learning"). New areas of interaction are emerging, which offer a wide range of possibilities for cooperative and collaborative learning settings, social exchange and the dynamic-activating design of peer interactions. One effect of this shift towards self-organized forms of learning, however, is also an increasing centralization of space and time, which tends to disadvantage individual students with special needs or in exceptional life circumstances. Less participation in local events correlates directly with a lack of academic and social integration (1,2). We examine the academic and social integration of this target group by means of effective digital support functions ("scaffolds"). Our overall aim is to gain knowledge about (a) how to interlink diverse formal learning processes and (b) how to effectively improve digital scaffolds in a research-led way. To this end, we conduct an empirical longitudinal analysis of specific requirements. Our working hypothesis is that, paradoxically, up-to-date variants of teaching at applied universities (e.g. project-based teaching, laboratory work placements, field studies, cooperative and practice-oriented learning formats), run the risk of disadvantaging or even excluding nontraditional or special need students. This results in a particularly stressful situation and potentially has a negative impact on academic success (3). Other effects include exceeding the standard study period, lower self-efficacy expectations and more frequent doubts and discontinuation of studies (see the results from (4).

Keywords: digital scaffolding, shift from teaching to learning, social integration, university teaching.

References:
[1] Dahm, G., Becker, K. & Bornkessel, P. (2018). Determinanten des Studienerfolgs nicht-traditioneller Studierenderqualifizierter Studierender ohne Abitur. In P. Bornkessel (Hrsg.), Erfolg im Studium. Konzeptionen, Befunde und Desiderate (S. 108-174). Bielefeld: wbv.
[2] Blüthmann, I., Lepa, S., & Thiel, F. (2008). Studienabbruch und -wechsel in den neuen Studiengängen. Untersuchung und Analyse von Abbruchgründen, Zeitschrift für Hochschulentwicklung, 11(3), 406-429.
[3] Weber, A., Daniel, A., Becker, K. & Bornkessel, Philipp (2018). Proximale Prädiktoren objektiver wie subjektiver Studienerfolgsindikatoren. In P. Bornkessel (Hrsg.), Erfolg im Studium. Konzeptionen, Befunde und Desiderate (S. 59-104). Bielefeld: wbv Publikation.
[4] Bornkessel, P. (Hrsg.). (2018). Erfolg im Studium. Konzeptionen, Befunde und Desiderate. Deutsches Zentrum für Hochschul- und Wissenschaftsforschung GmbH (DZHW). Bielefeld: wbv Publikation.