Reflections on Teaching
The purpose of academic education is to cultivate independent thinking. In all of my courses, it is a central objective to emphasize the significance and essential skills required for scrutinizing existing knowledge claims. It is essential that students acquire the ability to critically evaluate scientific research and formulate their own judgments regarding the validity of theoretical arguments, the suitability of empirical methods, and the appropriateness of the conclusions presented.
One approach to teaching is to serve as a role model. As a student, I was inspired by teachers who demonstrated enthusiasm for the material. Therefore, I strive to communicate my own passion for the subject to my students. In my experience, even seemingly dry concepts can capture students’ attention when presented in an engaging manner. By demonstrating the relevance of misleading claims, even technical details like p-values can become interesting. Additionally, I believe it is crucial to emphasize the political field as a distinct research area that grapples with questions of a just society and often has immediate relevance to everyday people. Thus, my teaching is based on the premise that we are more likely to learn when our curiosity is piqued or when we see the practical applications and relevance of the subject matter.
In my instructional practice, I am committed to exploring innovative teaching methods and approaches. In terms of pedagogy, I believe that providing clear and well-justified tasks with a structured framework is essential. However, I also place great importance on fostering student autonomy by allowing them to have a say in the design of the course and the content of their tasks. As a result, each course I teach is unique and tailored to the specific needs and feedback of my students.
Current Semester (2024 WS):
Past Semesters:
| Year | Title | Participants | Levels | Exam |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 SS | Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten | MA | ||
| 2024 SS | Bachelor-, Masterseminar | BA, MA | ||
| 2023 WS | Research Design in Political Systems | |||
| 2023 WS | BA, MA, PhD Colloquium | BA, MA, PhD | ||
| 2023 SS | At the cutting edge of social science research: causal, transparent and computational science | 21 | MA | Term Paper |
| 2023 SS | BA, MA, PhD Colloquium | 4 | BA, MA | Theses |
| 2022 WS | Research design political systems | 24 | BA | Term Paper |
| 2022 WS | Forschungsdesign Politische Theorie | 27 | BA | Term Paper |
| 2022 HWS | Seminar in Political Sociology: Democracy Today: Normative and Empirical Perspectives | 26 | BA | Theory-guided, empirical study |
| 2022 FSS | Seminar in Political Sociology: Can democracy survive? The crisis, value and future of self-rule | 19 | BA | Theory-guided, empirical study |
| 2021 HWS | Seminar in Political Sociology: The Societal Prerequisites of Democracy: When Will Democracies Emerge and Thrive? | 16 | BA | Theory-guided, empirical study |
| 2021 FSS | Seminar in Political Sociology: The Societal Prerequisites of Democracy: When Will Democracies Emerge and Thrive? | 21 | BA | Theory-guided, empirical study |
| 2020 HWS | Übung Methoden der Politischen Soziologie: Wählen und politische Einstellungen [Methods of Political Sociology: Elections and political attitudes] | 15 | BA | Replication study |
| 2020 FSS | Übung Methoden der Politischen Soziologie: Demokratiemüdigkeit, Polarisierung, Populismus [Methods of Political Sociology: Democratic fatigue, polarization, populism] | 11 | BA | Replication study |
| 2019 FSS | Übung Methoden der Politischen Soziologie: Wahlverhalten bei der Bundestagswahl 2017 [Methods of Political Sociology: Electoral Behavior at the German federal elections 2017] | 13 | BA | Empirical study incl. statistical analysis |