On an Architectural Concept for Didactics in the Context of Constructive Alignment

[EN] In the wake of the massive digitalization in education brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, a vast variety of didactic concepts, methods, activities, tools and technologies came into use and are now widely discussed. However, a lack of clarity is observable, as to how these different concepts, activities and tools integrate into a big picture, when to use what, and which aspects have to be considered and addressed to create solutions that work effectively towards achieving specific learning and teaching objectives. To systematically structure this vast variety of didactic concepts, activities and tools, we introduce an architectural concept for didactics in the context of constructive alignment. We achieve this via an abstraction process, which clusters the existing didactic concepts, activities and tools, and specifies interrelations between the identified clusters. On this basis, it is possible to quickly adapt our model by subtractive customization, thus focusing on what is really needed within a specific teaching and learning situation.Böttcher, A.; Thurner, V. (2021). On an Architectural Concept for Didactics in the Context of Constructive Alignment. En 7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'21). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 949-956. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd21.2021.13024OCS94995

An Action Day for First-Semester Students, fostering Self-Reflection, Networking and many other Skills

[EN] Over the years, we observed that students have difficulties when moving from school to university. In order to support our first-semester students,we designed and performed an action day at the beginning of their first semester. This day is designed to create identification with the subject, to get them actively engaged, and to let students get in contact with each other in an unstressed atmosphere. Furthermore, we intend to assess students’ initial level of competences relevant for studying successfully. The first four applications achieved good results. Passive students turned to a more active attitude, as they understood that they are responsible for their academic success right from the beginning. In a survey the majority of students agreed that the action day helped to get in contact with their fellow students. Interviews with lecturers confirmed this statement. Moreover, through the assessments, lecturers get insights into their students’ competences at a very early stage. This helps to adjust the teaching to students’ needs or offer additional support to them. Taken together, we designed an approach that offers our students a better start into their life at our university and we will continue performing this action day.Zehetmeier, D.; Thurner, V.; Böttcher, A. (2017). An Action Day for First-Semester Students, fostering Self-Reflection, Networking and many other Skills. En Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 549-557. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD17.2017.528854955

Designing Lectures as a Team and Teaching in Pairs

[EN] A technique that is frequently used in modern software development is the so-called pair programming. The proven idea behind this technique is that innovative work in a highly complex environment can benefit from the synergy between two persons working together with well-defined roles. The transfer of this technique as a metaphor for teaching has repeatedly been reported as a successful teaching strategy called pair teaching. In this paper, we describe our experiences with designing and teaching a complete lecture on software development as a pair. Our contribution is the definition of patterns for role-assignments to both persons. These include patterns for the design of the lecture as well as patterns for the teaching in class itself. Our experience shows that there also exists a couple of anti-patterns namely role distributions that should be avoided. First evaluation results are promising in the sense that the reception of structure and content as well as students' satisfaction increased significantly with the introduction of pair design and pair teaching. http://ocs.editorial.upv.es/index.php/HEAD/HEAD18Zehetmeier, D.; Böttcher, A.; Brüggemann-Klein, A. (2018). Designing Lectures as a Team and Teaching in Pairs. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 873-880. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD18.2018.8103OCS87388

Defining the Competence of Abstract Thinking and Evaluating CS-Students\u27 Level of Abstraction

Although it is commonly agreed that the competence of abstraction and abstract thinking is one of the most important competences in Computer Science, only a few of these sources define this competence and its processes in a precise manner. Furthermore there is a lack of instruments to test the competence of abstract thinking and to integrate it into teaching. This work will start to close the gap concerning the competence of abstract thinking by deriving a theoretical description of the competence construct of abstract thinking, focusing on a Computer Science perspective. Furthermore, we will present a coding manual based on the model, which can be used to evaluate student assignments. This coding manual is applied to examples of our teaching practice in order to demonstrate its validity

Teaching Abstraction

[EN] Many technical disciplines require abstraction skills, such as the ability to deduce general rules and principles from sets of examples. These skills are the basis for creating solutions that address a whole class of similar problems, rather than merely focusing a single specific instance. Experience shows that many freshmen students are ill equipped with these skills. Therefore, we developed an intervention that systematically teaches abstraction skills to students, and applied our approach to a cohort of freshmen students in computer science.Böttcher, A.; Schlierkamp, K.; Thurner, V.; Zehetmeier, D. (2016). Teaching Abstraction. En 2nd. International conference on higher education advances (HEAD'16). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 357-364. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD16.2015.2770OCS35736

Development of a Classification Scheme for Errors Observed in the Process of Computer Programming Education

[EN] Every semester, we observe more or less the same principal difficulties among our students who are striving to learn the intricacies of software development. Basically, they run into the same kind of errors throughout their learning process as previous student generations. Based on this fact, we suspect that there is a set of underlying problems which are causing these errors. Our goal is to identify and tackle these basic problems, in order to deal with errors effectively in our teaching and coaching activities, rather than merely treating observable symptoms. To achieve this, we develop a comprehensive and topic-independent error classification scheme and employ this to classify errors found in literature and in our own courses. This classification scheme is mainly based on the cognitive dimensions of the revised Bloom’s taxonomy for educational objectives. Each error is based on a deficiency in certain competencies. Therefore, it is possible to develop a set of interventions for each error class, which focuses on the specific deficits that are the main cause for all the errors of this class.Zehetmeier, D.; Böttcher, A.; Brüggemann-Klein, A.; Thurner, V. (2015). Development of a Classification Scheme for Errors Observed in the Process of Computer Programming Education. En 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION ADVANCES (HEAD' 15). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 475-484. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd15.2015.35647548

Multi-parameter immune profiling of peripheral blood mononuclear cells by multiplexed single-cell mass cytometry in patients with early multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Studies in rodent models demonstrated an association of CNS-infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophages with disease severity. However, little is known about humans. Here, we performed an exploratory analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from healthy controls and drug-naïve patients with early MS using multiplexed single-cell mass cytometry and algorithm-based data analysis. Two antibody panels comprising a total of 64 antibodies were designed to comprehensively analyse diverse immune cell populations, with particular emphasis on monocytes. PBMC composition and marker expression were overall similar between the groups. However, an increased abundance of CCR7+ and IL-6+ T cells was detected in early MS-PBMCs, whereas NFAT1hiT-bethiCD4+ T cells were decreased. Similarly, we detected changes in the subset composition of the CCR7+ and MIPβhi HLA-DR+ lymphocyte compartment. Only mild alterations were detected in monocytes/myeloid cells of patients with early MS, namely a decreased abundance of CD141hiIRF8hiCXCR3+CD68- dendritic cells. Unlike in Crohn's disease, no significant differences were found in the monocyte fraction of patients with early MS compared to healthy controls. This study provides a valuable resource for future studies designed to characterise and target diverse PBMC subsets in MS

Characterization of serum biomarkers and antibody responses against Prevotella spp. in preclinical and new-onset phase of rheumatic diseases

IntroductionThe characterization of the influence of the microbiota on the development and drug responses during rheumatic diseases has intensified in recent years. The role of specific bacteria during disease development has become a central research question. Notably, several lines of evidence point to distinct microbes, e.g., Prevotella copri (P. copri) being targeted by antibodies in clinical phases of rheumatic diseases.MethodsIn the present study, we compiled a broad collection of human serum samples from individuals at risk of developing RA, chronic RA patients as well as patients with new-onset of rheumatic diseases. We evaluated the presence of inflammatory biomarkers in our serum collection as well as serum antibody responses against novel, genetically distinct isolates of P. copri and several oral pathobionts.ResultsOur analysis revealed the presence of increased levels of inflammatory markers already in pre-clinical and new onset rheumatoid arthritis. However, antibody reactivity against the microbes did not differ between patient groups. Yet, we observed high variability between the different P. copri strains. We found total serum IgG levels to slightly correlate with IgG antibody responses against P. copri, but no relation between the latter and presence or prevalence of P. copri in the intestine.DiscussionIn conclusion, our work underlined the importance of strain-level characterization and its consideration during further investigations of host-microbiota interactions and the development of microbiome-based therapeutic approaches for treating rheumatic diseases

Digitalisierung beruflicher Lern- und Arbeitsprozesse. Impulse aus der Bauwirtschaft und anderen gewerblich-technischen Sektoren

Der Sammelband stellt aktuelle Ansätze zum digital unterstützten beruflichen Lernen dar. Die Beiträge geben Einblicke in die dynamische Entwicklung der Schnittstellen von Erwerbsarbeit und beruflicher Aus-, Fort- und Weiterbildung im Kontext der Digitalisierung Arbeits- und Lernmitteln. Der Band schließt damit an die 2019 ebenfalls im Universitätsverlag der Technischen Universität Berlin erschienene Publikation „Berufsbildung am Bau digital“ (hrsg. von Bernd Mahrin und Johannes Meyser) an. Das erste Kapitel erörtert grundsätzliche didaktische Fragen zu digital unterstütztem Lernen und Arbeiten einschließlich der Rahmenbedingungen. Im zweiten Kapitel schließen sich Beiträge zur Kapazitätsentwicklung, zu Standards und zu digitalen Werkzeugen an. Das dritte Kapitel widmet sich konkreten Einzellösungen mit starkem Praxisbezug und hohem Transferpotenzial zum digitalisierten Arbeiten und Lernen im Bausektor und im Metallbereich. Das abschließende vierte Kapitel präsentiert übergreifend nutzbare und frei zugängliche Online-Angebote wie einen Medienpool für Bildungszwecke, eine Lernmedien-Datenbank und ein hybrides Lernsystem mit virtuellem 3D-Gebäudemodell. Das Buch ist entstanden im Rahmen des durch das Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung und den Europäischen Sozialfonds geförderten Projektes DigiBAU – Digitales Bauberufliches Lernen und Arbeiten. (DIPF/Orig.)The anthology presents current approaches to digitally supported professional learning. The articles provide insights into the dynamic development of the interfaces between gainful employment and vocational training and further education in the context of digitization of work and learning aids. The volume is thus connected to the publication “Berufsbildung am Bau digital” (edited by Bernd Mahrin and Johannes Meyser), which was published in 2019 by the University Press of the Technische Universität Berlin. The first chapter discusses fundamental didactic questions about digitally supported learning and working, including the framework conditions. The second chapter picks contributions on capacity development, standards, and digital tools out as central themes. The third chapter is dedicated to concrete specific solutions with strong practical relevance and high transfer potential for digitized work and learning in the construction sector and in the metal sector. The final fourth chapter presents comprehensive and freely accessible online offers such as a media pool for educational purposes, a learning media database and a hybrid learning system with a virtual 3D building model. The book was created as part of the DigiBAU project - digital vocational learning and working in the field of construction - funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the European Social Fund. (DIPF/Orig.