The ETH Library has developed building blocks for teaching competences needed along the research process. This includes all relevant steps from searching information, structuring notes, organizing literature, managing research data, navigating generative AI, to writing a thesis or a paper. To make the teaching more effective, we aim at embedding our teaching blocks within the subject-specific teaching of the departments discipline and hence seek collaboration with research groups and lecturers.
Example 1 is a workshop, co-organized between ETH Library, D-BAUG and the Language Center. «Scientific Writing in English for doctoral students» is a two-day block course conducted in-person, utilizing a variety of interactive formats to engage students (e.g., active learning sequences, group work, group discussions with peer-feedback). Participants benefit from the lecturers with different backgrounds – experts from the Library and Language Center with in-depth knowledge on topics within the realm of scientific writing and a professor from the department who can guide discipline-specific discussions. This design encourages active participation, with students engaging in group discussions and collaborative activities. Communication is multifaceted, including direct student-lecturer interactions, student-to-student discussions, and lecturer collaboration for course enhancement.
Example 2 is a format that evolved from a lecture Trainingswissenschaften (D-HEST). One requirement for this course is that students submit a literature review. To improve student’s performance, a cooperation with ETH Library emerged in 2020, which in short covers the following steps: A library expert gives a short input on “literature research” in class. During the following weeks, the students develop their search strategy individually or in small groups and subsequently meet with a librarian to discuss their approach. This meeting is mandatory for students and allows for direct feedback. The students engage deeply in their literature research as the librarian supports them with individual feedback and tips. The librarians appreciate the close contact with the students and the fusing of teaching and library. And finally, the lecturers are satisfied with the increase in the quality of the students› term papers. This win-win-win situation ensures that students do not only progress is the subject-specific topic of the class, but also gain the competences that they will need as researchers.
Encouraging student engagement
– Workshop character: Wherever possible, students work on their own projects and tackle their current challenges.
– Groups discussions and Peer feedback: Encouraging students to participate in group discussions and provide peer feedback enhances collaborative learning and critical thinking.
– Co-teaching approach: Combining the expertise of library professionals and subject-specific experts offers a diverse learning experience, keeping students engaged through varied perspectives.
– Tailored program modules: Providing modules on specific topics like plagiarism prevention and bibliometrics helps target student interests and needs, promoting deeper engagement.
– Direct contact with librarians in small groups supports student engagement.
Innovative elements of the course
– Co-teaching Approach: The integration of library professionals with subject-specific experts in a co-teaching format is innovative, offering students a holistic and interdisciplinary learning experience.
– Modular Building block course design: The course is structured in a modular fashion, allowing various elements to function as ‹building blocks› that can be flexibly integrated into different educational settings. This approach enables the course to be adaptable to various contexts, whether as standalone workshops, components of larger courses, or part of self-directed learning modules on Moodle. This modularity and adaptability reflect our approach to education that values flexibility, customization, and student-centered learning.
– Peer Feedback System: Encouraging peer-to-peer feedback within group discussions introduces a dynamic, interactive learning environment that fosters collaborative learning and critical thinking skills.
– Feedback from Librarians in small groups: The students engage deeply in their literature research as the librarian supports them with individual feedback and tips.
Effects on student learning
– Enhanced Engagement through Co-Teaching: The diverse perspectives offered by the co-teaching model likely increased student engagement, as they were exposed to a broader range of expertise and teaching styles, leading to a deeper understanding of the subject matter.
– Collaborative Learning through Peer Feedback: The emphasis on peer feedback in group discussions likely fostered a collaborative learning environment, encouraging critical thinking and enhancing students› ability to evaluate and improve upon their own and others› work.
– Practical Application with Workshops: The focus on practical learning in workshops provided students with directly applicable skills for the research process.
– Improved quality in assignment (literature review)
Ensuring feedback on student learning
– Feedback meetings in small groups: The meeting with a librarian allowed students to receive detailed and tailored feedback.
– Peer Feedback: By incorporating peer feedback into group discussions, students had the opportunity to learn from each other’s work.
– Reflective Self-Evaluation Opportunities: Encouraging self-reflection and self-evaluation enabled students to continuously assess their own learning, fostering a habit of self-awareness and proactive improvement.
Course Description
- Name:
- Co-Teaching with tailored building blocks: How ETH Library enhances academic skills of Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral Students. - Example 1
- Description:
- This two-day block course is aimed at early doctoral students within the first two years after starting their doctorate. It is an intensive course covering all central aspects of writing scientific papers in English to equip students with all necessary insights and skills to write their first scientific paper. The course is particularly tailored for doctoral students with a technical background, like engineering, or computer science. Topics covered are academic integrity, scientific writing, scientific English, giving and receiving feedback, information research, project and time management. The course is designed as an interactive writing laboratory, where students give each other feedback and support.
- Objective:
- At the end of the 2-day course, the participants are able to efficiently write good scientific texts in fluent English thanks to their knowledge of methods, tools and guidelines.
- Department:
- D-BAUG, ETH Library
- Level:
- Doctoral students
- Format:
- workshop
- Size:
- ca. 20 students
- Type:
- Block course
- Teaching Power:
- 1 professor, 4 library experts, 1 lecturer from the language center
- Assessment:
- self-assessment
Course Description
- Name:
- Co-Teaching with tailored building blocks: How ETH Library enhances academic skills of Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral Students. - Example 2
- Description:
- As part of the lecture Trainingswissenschaften (D-HEST), students need to submit a term paper containing a literature review. To improve student’s performance, a cooperation with ETH Library emerged in 2020, which in short covers the following steps: A library expert gives a short input on “literature research” in class. During the following weeks, the students develop their search strategy individually or in small groups and subsequently meet with a librarian to discuss their approach. This meeting is mandatory for students and allows for direct feedback.
- Objective:
- Students are able to conduct a literature search and evaluate their results according to relevance and evidence.
- Department:
- D-HEST, ETH Library
- Level:
- Bachelor and Master students
- Format:
- lecture, exercises, feedback meetings
- Size:
- ca. 120 students
- Type:
- Lecture with exercise
- Teaching Power:
- 2 lecturers and 4 library experts
- Assessment:
- written term paper / creating an evidence-based exercise therapy
