Lecturers at TU Ilmenau exchanged ideas on the Day of Teaching. With a focus on practical knowledge transfer and innovative approaches for digitally supported examinations, the examING project, in which examinations in the engineering sciences are being tested digitally, was a focal point of the event. One of the highlights was a presentation by a student from TU Ilmenau. She provided insights into the digitalization of examinations from the perspective of the student body.
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Teaching Day at TU Ilmenau: Digital examination formats and practical training in the engineering sciences
The Teaching Day at TU Ilmenau came to a successful conclusion with the aim of bringing lecturers together, facilitating an exchange about innovations and ongoing projects and providing an insight into the university's teaching activities. This semester, the focus of the event was on the project "examING - Digitalization of competence-oriented testing for engineering degree courses", which is funded by the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education. The examING project consists of various sub-projects, which lecturers presented during the event. Lecturers also participated with guest contributions from related subject areas.
After a welcoming address by the Vice President for Teaching and Learning and project manager of examING, Prof. Anja Geigenmüller, guests from the Leipzig University of Applied Sciences introduced the day. Dr. Melanie Eulitz, Dr. Erik Morawetz and Silvio Hund gave an exciting insight into the project "FAssMII - Feedback-Based E-Assessment in Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering", which is also funded by the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education. The participants found many points of contact, asked specific questions and began a professional collaboration.
In the morning, the presentations focused in particular on practical training and innovative approaches to digitally supported examinations as well as programming training. In the first slot, lecturers reported on how the start of studies in engineering and natural sciences can be made easier in a practical way and with the help of digital tools. The joint project Crosslab - "Flexibly combinable cross-reality labs in university teaching: sustainable skills development for learning and working 4.0" was also presented. TU Ilmenau is one of a total of four partners in Germany. The FabLab@TU-Ilmenau, which was funded as part of the examING project, presented its services.
In the second slot, the lecturers focused on innovative, digital examination scenarios. The transformation of the library from a place of learning to a place of teaching was discussed, as were various concepts and experiences of sub-projects with digital examination concepts. In a guest lecture, student Elisa Hilbrecht presented insights and opinions on the digitalization of examinations from her perspective. She also pointed out concerns that students have and that should be taken into account in further developments.
Tours of laboratories, the educational video studio and internships
The third slot dealt with the digitalization of programming training. In the AutoPING sub-project, teachers worked on improving programming training with the help of an autograder. The last two contributions were supported by the "THInKI - Thuringian University Initiative for AI in Higher Education" project. The RISE extension for Jupyter makes it possible to create interactive presentations in which programming code can be edited and executed live, while a self-designed development environment called WebIDE aims to enable students to program without the complicated setup of their own devices.
The morning program was hybrid. In addition to attending in person, it was also possible to watch the presentations in the stream and ask questions via the chat. During the breaks, participants were able to discuss the ideas and concepts presented in the talks over coffee and cake and engage in a peer-to-peer exchange.
The afternoon was dedicated to two guided tours of various laboratories, the educational video studio, internships and teaching and learning locations, which opened their doors to interested parties. The responsible employees gave a brief introduction and were then available to answer questions.
The coordinator of the examING project and organizer, Anna Hertlein, is very satisfied:
Overall, the Teaching Day 2024 was a complete success! It not only promoted exchange among teaching staff, but also provided a comprehensive insight into innovative projects and digitally supported teaching methods. This event shows that our university is continuously striving to improve the quality of teaching through modern approaches and technologies.