This text has been translated from Norwegian with the assistance of GPT UiO.
– Which teaching program would you like to highlight for your colleagues at the faculty right now?
– There are so many people doing exciting things with us these days! But I actually want to brag a bit about a course I am part of myself, namely the Introduction to Political Analysis and Qualitative Methods. This is one of the very first courses our bachelor’s students take, and excellent colleagues have spent a lot of time and resources putting together a brilliant set-up. The course’s superpower is the intensive seminar teaching, where students get practice in academic reflection and develop analytical skills together with skilled seminar leaders and fellow students.
– A similar course in quantitative methods, which runs in the spring semester, also receives a lot of praise from students – and with good reason. Håvard Strand, who is responsible for the course, really puts his heart and soul into bringing the subject to life, ably supported by a group of sharp and capable seminar teachers. I think such enthusiasm rubs off on the students and helps them develop a real fondness for political science.
– Who do you collaborate with?
– First, I might just say that I think it is particularly important to seek collaboration at the moment. With one’s own colleagues, of course, but also across departments and faculties. We are facing some shared challenges – and opportunities – related to artificial intelligence, but also to the pedagogical framework for our activities. There is excellent work being done in very many places, and we need to collaborate in order to learn from one another.
– As director of the Master’s programme in Political Science, I have the opportunity to collaborate with many different parts of the organisation – from students and the study administration to department management and teaching coordinators at other departments. That provides many valuable perspectives.
– But some of the most enjoyable collaboration I am involved in is the seminar set-up on our introductory course in political analysis, which I mentioned at the beginning. Our seminar teachers are so talented, so committed, and very well liked by the students. I learn a great deal from them every single year.
– In your opinion, what are the three most important factors for achieving good teaching in this field?
– For me, teaching in methods is fundamental, because methods provide a deeper understanding of how knowledge is created. Students learn to ask critical questions, assess sources and analyse arguments in a systematic way. Methods also offer important insight into the relationship between theory and empirics – how theoretical perspectives can be investigated, tested and developed through the analysis of reality. These are skills that students take with them, both into working life and as citizens. That is why I believe methods should be seen as more than just a technical tool – they are an important part of intellectual formation in the discipline.
– Inspired by ongoing discussions on artificial intelligence and teaching that we are having at the department, I also think we need, to a greater extent, to make our students more aware of what actually underpins good learning. Even though AI can be used for many sensible purposes, they still have to acquire knowledge themselves before they can become the analytical and creative professionals we want them to be. Such activity presupposes, precisely, that they have their own knowledge base to draw on. That means they cannot avoid doing some things the “old-fashioned way” – they have to read, write and discuss together with others. And through our teaching we must then ensure that they have the opportunity to build this necessary knowledge and to train these skills.
– A third factor is a well-thought-out approach to assessment. Students often ask for more feedback on their work. Even if we do not always have the capacity to give more detailed, individual feedback, I think it is at least as important to give students the opportunity to discuss the feedback they receive, so that they understand it. This can usefully take place in plenary, because feedback is often quite similar for many. I believe such a feedback loop helps to strengthen learning.
– If you were to give one piece of advice to new teachers at the faculty, what would it be?
– It would be to start from how you liked to learn as a student. Think back to teachers and situations that made you curious, motivated and engaged – what worked for you, and why? And then you can try to recreate some of that for your own students. When teachers themselves are genuinely engaged in the material, I believe it has an inspiring effect on students. You do not need to be perfect. The most important thing is to be academically present, curious, and committed to learning together with the students.