Making teaching more engaging – methods for greater participation and learning success

Target group: Academic staff, professors

Workshop series
Dates: 24.11.2025, 9am - 12pm, 
             25.11.2025, 9am - 12pm,
             01.12.2025, 9am - 12pm
The dates build on each other and your attendance is required on all days.

Location: Room 324, Simulationswissenschaftliches Zentrum (Building C9), Arnold-Sommerfeld-Str. 6,

Trainer: Florian Kainer
Course language: German
Frequency: irregular

Work units: 12

Further information and registration

Sustainably motivating and activating learners is a key skill in university teaching. Research shows that activating methods increase attention, promote knowledge transfer and enable sustainable learning processes. Constructivist teaching-learning approaches focus on the students: through targeted activation - for example through discussions, group work, movement-based methods or modern online tools - students are actively involved in the learning process, which activates prior knowledge and their own experiences, promotes self-efficacy and increases motivation and commitment. All of this contributes noticeably to the quality and sustainability of learning success and helps to involve all students, especially in heterogeneous learning groups.

Course of the workshop series

The workshop series extends over three dates of three hours each and is divided into the following focal points:

Part 1 & 2 (presence - consecutive)

  • Introduction to the importance of activation and constructivist didactics
  • Basic principles of activating teaching (scientifically based)
  • Trying out cognitively activating methods
  • Getting to know and trying out physically activating methods
  • Reflection and planning for your own course

Part 3 (online, can also be attended individually)

  • Activation in the digital space: possibilities and limitations
  • Practical introduction to virtual whiteboards for interactive online settings
  • Trying out and transferring into practice

After participating in the workshops, you will be able to: Select activating methods for different teaching contexts with confidence and use them effectively. Assess the effect and suitability of cognitive and physical forms of activation. Design and plan your own activating courses. Actively involve students online using virtual whiteboards. Reflect on the potential and limitations of activating forms of teaching.

The target group includes lecturers from all faculties who want to make their courses more interactive and participatory - from beginners to experienced university lecturers.