Ellen van Reuler: ‘Introduce student-led sessions in small-group teaching’"
The tip
Ellen van Reuler (Political Science) let her Bachelor project students lead their own sessions. During these student-led sessions, the students themselves decided how a topic would be covered. ‘The results were great and beyond my expectations. We had seminars in which we experienced a simulation of the EU decision-making process, developed research questions and drafted a policy advice, among other things.’
How did you come up with the idea?
‘Last year, I decided to change the topic of my Bachelor project. In Political Science, this subject consists of first a block of instruction on the theme of the project (in my case, European Health Policies), followed by a block in which students conduct their research and write a thesis. While I was not really dissatisfied with the previous format of this course, I thought it was a good time to see if I could make some didactical changes. Especially with the rise of GenAI, I think having students more actively engage with the material is a must. In addition, I wanted to give students as much space as possible to follow their interests so that they were well prepared for writing their thesis.’
Want to know more?
On Wednesday 23 October between 12:00 and 13:00h, Ellen is hosting a lunch meeting for the Institute of Political Science entitled ‘Handing over control: organising student-led sessions’. She will give a short presentation sharing both her experiences and do's and don'ts formulated by students. There will also be time to exchange views with colleagues on this topic. All FSW collegues are welcome to join in PdlC 5A.37.