Registration is open for the 2nd round of the online workshop series on teaching innovation!

The Arqus Alliance invites teachers to participate in a series of online workshops aimed at supporting this community in promoting innovative teaching approaches for more effective and engaged student learning in multiple contexts, in and outside the classroom. The second round of workshops will take place online from 8^th to 23^rd February 2024.

The workshops are organised in the framework of the Arqus Teaching Innovation Initiative and will be delivered by experienced teachers in specific strategies, methodologies and technologies for active learning and psychological approaches to improvement of motivation and engagement.

Registration is already open for the following online workshops:

Workshop “Teaching (for) Future Skills in Higher Education”

• Trainer: Beatrice Kogler (University of Graz).
• 1^st February 2024, 10:00 – 12:00 CET
• The 21st century is, among other things, characterised by a technology-driven economy and society. Disruptive advances can happen anytime, as the emergence of AI tools like ChatGPT have impressively shown. In such dynamic and rapidly changing times, not only subject knowledge is key to a successful career but also general intra- and interpersonal skills are required to effectively participate and quickly adapt in today’s world of work. Thus, the demand of aligning higher education teaching with the so-called future skills or 21^st-century skills has been around for a while now. But what exactly is meant by the terms “future skills”, “21^st-century skills”, the “4 Cs” or the “7 Cs”? What can higher education teachers do in order to foster the development of these skills among their students and is it worth the effort? What prerequisites are necessary at the organisational level and what can universities really achieve? The workshop will tackle these questions by providing input and opportunities for critical discussion in the plenary and small groups. Peer exchange and peer learning will be emphasized throughout the event. Teachers from all ARQUS Alliance universities are invited to share their approaches and practices regarding teaching (for) future skills in higher education.
• Learning outcomes:
  • After the workshop, participants will be able to
  • explain the concept of future skills and the different terms used for it
  • discuss the significance of teaching future skills at universities
  • select different teaching methods and techniques in order to foster the development of future skills among their students
  • compare and contrast their approach to teaching future skills with the ones of colleagues from other Arqus universities
  • compare and contrast organisational measures to foster future skills at different Arqus Alliance universities 
• Registration deadline: 31^st January 2024.

Workshop “How to teach to read better“:

• Trainer: Dovilė Jakniūnaitė (Vilnius University).
• 8^th February 2024, 15:00 – 17:00 CET.
• One of the main challenges in teaching new (and more experienced) university students is to overcome their anxiety and reluctance to read academic texts perceived as “difficult”, “complicated”, “long”, or “boring” and to avoid the dreaded silence during seminars. In addition, reading for students is becoming increasingly demanding due to their diminishing attention span and external distractions. Students must become aware of these issues and the various strategies and techniques available to address them. This workshop is designed to provide a space for educators to explore and identify possible solutions to improve students’ reading and comprehension skills. During the session, the main obstacles students face with academic reading and strategies to help them overcome these challenges will be discussed. These strategies include teaching students more effective reading methods and improving teaching techniques. The focus will be on the importance of understanding different levels of reading, addressing the pitfalls of excessive highlighting, applying smart annotation strategies and formulating assignments to help students overcome their academic reading challenges.
• Maximum of 30 participants.
• Register here.
• Registration deadline: 6^th February 2024.

Workshop “Analytical dialogue – the role of questioning”:

• Trainer: Donatas Murauskas (Vilnius University).
• 23^rd February 2024, 13:00 – 14:30 CET.
• The workshop will focus on a distinctive method where teachers lead students through a sequential and building series of questions and answers. Although this teaching approach was developed in US law schools, it has a universal appeal to enhance spontaneous analytical skills, vital in practical scenarios in a variety of educational fields. The workshop will illuminate how this teacher-led, student-centred dialogue not only deepens and broadens knowledge but also sharpens decision-making abilities. The workshop will be led by Assoc. Prof. Donatas Murauskas (Vilnius University, Law Faculty), who applies analytical dialogue in practice, including the joint course taught to Lithuanian and US students together with Prof. Charles Szypszak (University of North Carolina, School of Government), who is one of analytical dialogue method enthusiasts in the US.
• Maximum of 30 participants.
• Register here.
• Registration deadline: 21^st February 2024.