"If it is fun, it is also easier to learn"

The day was opened by Kristofer Modig, LTH's Assistant Dean for First and Second Cycle Studies:

"The pedagogical inspiration conference is a kind of hub in the faculty's work to highlight good examples of teaching. It gives teachers the opportunity to inspire and learn from each other.”

Pedagogical inspiration

Many of the teachers who attended want to learn more about how other teachers plan their teaching and get inspiration for their own pedagogical changes. One of them is Anna Petersson, Director of third cycle studies at Department of Architecture and Built Environment:

"I'm curious to hear what's new in teaching, things that I may not have known before. I think it is all too rare to talk about teaching on a broad front, but this is an opportunity for such conversations.”

Anna Petersson also says that she wants to capture insights into the bridge between undergraduate and postgraduate education.

“I think this bridge is interesting to discuss, but it can be a bit forgotten sometimes, so a conference like this is an excellent opportunity to make it visible”, she says.

During the conference, parallel activities took place in different rooms. Here, a discussion on teaching and trust is taking place in "Ångpannehallen" in the M-building. Photo: Kumri Altunkaynak

Playful teaching

Anders J Johansson, Director of first and second cycle studies at the Department of Electrical and Information Technology, gave a presentation on simplified tools in programming courses in higher education.

“Simplified tools are simply tools borrowed from primary school or hobby activities and adapted for higher education. This led to an interesting discussion about when it is okay to use these tools in teaching and when it is not.”

Another teacher testing different teaching methods is Josefin Månefjord, a PhD student at the Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety. She uses games as an educational method for students in the civil engineering program in fire and risk.

"I try to use fun, interactive and innovative methods to inspire the students. I believe that if it is fun, it is also easier to learn.”

Josefin Månefjord notes that the inspiration conference is a meeting place for people from different parts of LTH – people who otherwise do not meet in their everyday lives.

"If teachers come up with fun things in their chambers, the students may know about it, but it doesn't spread outside the department, it spreads within the department at best. The conference allows the good examples to reach more people.”

Josefin Månefjord takes away from the conference all the positive energy shared by the other conference participants.

“In addition to the energy replenishment, I also take with me the positive feedback I received from those who participated in my seminar on games in education.”