About this course: This course will prepare you for teaching science in higher education. In this MOOC you will learn to make your knowledge as an excellent researcher accessible to your students. We will show you how to communicate science to novices as well as advanced students in science. You will experience the value of teaching with analogies and you will be guided to train your students' competences. Based on up-to-date findings from research into teaching and learning science you will be able to - implement evidence-based strategies into your own teaching, - use students everyday-conceptions for the development of courses, - prepare analogies and models to teach in your field, - implement problem-based teaching, - set up for experiments and teach the nature of science. This course enables you to teach abstract science topics to your students and make them become active and successful learners.

Who is this class for: Professional graduate university science teachers: Teaching staff in science faculties. PhD students in science fields. Assistant professors in science fields.

Created by: University of Zurich

Taught by: Kai Niebert, PhD, Professor for Science Teaching
Faculty of Science

Level	Beginner
Commitment	5 weeks of study, 2-3 hours/week
Language	English
How To Pass	Pass all graded assignments to complete the course.
User Ratings	4.1 stars Average User Rating 4.1See what learners said

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Introduction: Teaching and Learning Science

Welcome to your first week of Teaching Science at University! In this first module we will give you an overview of what you will learn during our 5-week course and show you what you can achieve as an excellent lecturer or teaching assistant at your university!...

7 videos

Graded: Evidence-based teaching strategy

WEEK 2

Conceptual Change

Welcome to your second week of Teaching Science at University. Understanding scientific concepts is the core of learning science, but often our pre-instructional conceptions act as barriers to reach an appropriate understanding. In this module we will show how...

6 videos

Graded: Initiate a conceptual change

WEEK 3

Teaching with analogies

Welcome to the third week of Teaching Science at University! In this week we would like to show how invisible concepts become visible. In everyday life we learn so many things by comparing and contrasting. From research we know that the use of analogies and me...

5 videos

Graded: Develop an analogy

WEEK 4

(Re-)Frame your science teaching

Welcome to the fourth week of Teaching Science at University! In this week we want to show you how we can frame our science teaching to increase interest, motivation, and understanding of the students. In the first lesson we ask how the framing of science teac...

6 videos

Graded: Reframe your teaching

WEEK 5

Teaching science in a lab or field

Welcome to the fifth week of Teaching Science at University! In this week we want to show you how we can improve students’ learning in a lab or in the field. In the first lesson we show you how to design a lab class, then we focus on delivering a lab class. We...

6 videos

Graded: Foster students' inquiry skills

FAQs

How It Works

Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

Help from Your Peers

Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.

Certificates

Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.

Creators

University of Zurich

Founded in 1833, the University of Zurich (UZH) is Switzerland’s largest university, with a current enrollment of over 26,000 students. Made up of seven faculties covering approximately 100 different subject areas, UZH is proud to offer the most comprehensive academic program in the country.

Ratings and Reviews

Rated 4.1 out of 5 of 15 ratings

Great course. VEry helpful for my proper teaching.

Inspiring teacher.

Me gustó mucho el curso. Los videos son llevaderos y fáciles de mirar. Si bien algunas estrategias de enseñanza parecen demasiado intuitivas, es muy común que nos olvidemos de ellas a la hora de enseñar ciencia. Volvernos concientes de su utilidad y ponerlas en práctica pueden mejorar muchísimo la calidad de nuestras clases.

I really liked the course very much! Some tips that seem to be quite intuitive are actually very infrequently in sciences classes. Using them could clearly increase the students chances to undestand some abstract and difficult concepts.

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