10 Thesen für eine bessere Uni – These 2: Feedbackkultur einführen

Mein Studium ist abgeschlossen. Endlich ist die Zeit, Überlegungen und Argumente aufzuschreiben. Die 10 Thesen sind nichts Revolutionäres, nichts Teures und vor allem nichts Unmögliches. Sie würden meiner Ansicht nach die Uni – die Lehre an der Uni – besser machen ohne viel Aufwand oder Geld zu kosten.

These 2: Feedbackkultur einführen

Eigentlich ein No-Brainer, gleichzeitig aber ein durchaus schwieriges Unterfangen. In der Schulpolitik ist es noch relativ leicht, transparentere Benotung zu gewährleisten: Anonymisierung von Schularbeiten; Benotung der anonymisierten Schularbeiten von fremden LehrerInnen, etc. Auf der Uni ist das nicht mehr so leicht möglich. Dennoch gibt es ein paar Grundregeln, die leicht implementiert werden können: Seminararbeiten dürfen nicht einfach so benotet werden. Es muss eine Überarbeitungsphase geben. In meiner Unikarriere habe ich ein einziges Mal eine Seminararbeit mit Anmerkungen zurück bekommen. Zwar war sein größter Kritikpunkt, dass mir die Überschrift des vierten Kapitels auf Seite 8 gerutscht ist, dennoch hatte ich zum ersten und einzigen Mal das Gefühl, dass meine Seminararbeit aktiv von einer Lehrperson gelesen wurde. Natürlich ist die ProfessorInnenseite verständlich, die mit einem Stapel von 50 Seminararbeiten pro Seminar schon ohne zweite Phase überfordert sind. Das spricht wieder für den für Studierende gewöhnungsbedürftige bis unangenehme Vorschlag in These Nr. 1 die Arbeiten nicht nach dem Semester sondern während des Semesters zu verlangen. Außerdem – und das wird in These 3 diskutiert werden – ist nicht einzusehen, an dieser sinnfreien Seitenanzahl von 20 festgehalten wird.

 

Fazit: Durch das Schreiben von Seminararbeiten allein werden wissenschaftliche Skills der Studierenden nicht besser. Durch die Diskussion der Arbeit mit einer Lehrperson schon.

10 Thesen für eine bessere Uni – These 1: Referatsflut eindämmen

Mein Studium ist abgeschlossen. Endlich ist die Zeit, Überlegungen und Argumente aufzuschreiben. Ein letztes Mal will ich mich also mit dem Thema Uni beschäftigen, vor allem, weil praktische Überlegungen zur Uni-Lehre in meiner aktiven Zeit in der Studierendenvertretung viel zu kurz gekommen sind.

These 1: Referatsflut eindämmen

Es gibt zwei Argumente für die Methode „Studierendenreferate in Seminaren“. Erstens ist ein großer Teil von akademischer Arbeit die Präsentation von Ergebnissen, was während des Studiums geübt werden soll; Zweitens besteht die romantische Vorstellung, Studierende würden Teilbereiche eines Themas bearbeiten und präsentieren. Die Realität sieht anders aus. Referate blockieren echtes Lernen und echte Diskussionen. Studierende lernen nichts, wenn sie Referate von KollegInnen anhören. Referate sind durchschnittlich schlecht gehalten (Wie können sie auch gut sein, wenn Studierende nie Rückmeldung darauf bekommen) und basieren nicht auf vorhergegangenem Forschen. Will man in Seminaren wissenschaftliche Konferenzen simulieren, so müssten Studierende zuerst eine Arbeit schreiben und erst dann ihre Ergebnisse präsentieren. Stattdessen halten Studierende Referate die zwar informieren, aber dadurch das Thema nicht aus einer wissenschaftlichen Perspektive vorstellen (Wie können sie auch, wenn sie noch nicht begonnen haben das Thema wissenschaftlich zu bearbeiten).

Es gibt zwei Möglichkeiten, darauf zu reagieren: Entweder Studierende müssen vor Präsentation ihres Themas eine wissenschaftliche Arbeit dazu abgeben oder es muss auf Referate verzichtet werden. Auch wenn ich sie nicht während meiner Unikarriere gesehen habe, kann ich mir nicht vorstellen, dass es außer Referate keine andere Lehrmethode in der Hochschuldidaktik gibt.


Homepage Updates I

This headline is an elegant understatement. Indeed, I updated the Texts part of my homepage. It’s not that I updated it, but what I updated it with. Long speech short sense (I love translating German idioms in English): I updated it with my thesis!!! It’s in German, but here’s the abstract. If you are able to read German and don’t have anything better to do: I’d be happy if you read (parts of) my thesis and tell me what you think.

Pick, Carl: Serial Narration in Children’s Literature. Thesis, Vienna, 2009.

In this thesis, I create a typology of children’s book series. I analyze series from four different countries: the Italian “Adventures of Pinocchio,” the Austrian “Die Knickerbocker-Bande,” the German “Die Wilden Fußballkerle” and the American “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” and consider specifically the areas of fabula-episode-relation, beginnings and endings, and the relationship of the author to his/her work and story/discourse time. The paper defines three major different types of children’s book series: “Serie”, which has both a contained episode and an overlapping fabula;. “Reihe”, which has only fabula contained within the episode; “Feuilletonroman”, which is best defined with the already established definition: „Every fabula that is published in a periodical publication“.
There exists a phenomenon in current children’s literature called the illusion of the real, especially in children’s books where the level of border crossing between reality and fiction reaches a new climax: In two of the four series analyzed, it’s not only the author who stages himself as a witness-narrator, but protagonists of later episodes who have read earlier ones. While series in other media create cliffhangers by breaking on the peak of suspense, the books analyzed here use the narrator to achieve tension at the end of an episode.

In general, I conclude that similarities prevail over differences in children’s book series. While the plot may vary, the formal frameworks are very strict and serve as a narrative guide for the young reader.

Universität Wien: The empire strikes back

And the SNAFU continues. The handing-in ceremony at the German Department went surprisingly well. It was a clean cut, took 5 minutes and everything worked fine. They even send the form to the service center independently. I don’t have to get it and bring it there. Ok, they gave me another form (two actually) that has to be signed by me and my two professors who I take the final exam with, but that’s a reasonable portion of red tape – for U of Wien standards. The SNAFU continued today at the history department. The very nice office worker looked at my form and made the sound that I was fearing of since I thought of finishing school: Uh-Oh. There was one class missing. It was a free elective class, so I showed her my 10 extra PoliSci credits, my 10 extra German as a foreign language credits and my 29 students union credits, and told her to choose whatever she thought would fit.

That would be too easy. Turns out the free electives aren’t as free as the name sounds like. It has to be a class that has something to do with politics. Not a problem? I do have 10 extra PoliSci credits? Yes, but that’s not enough. There has to be a form. I have to plea that the PoliSci credits (one of the classes is called historical basis of politics) get accepted for the „free yet political history“ credits. But the REALLY bad news is: I have to go to the „service“ center and it takes SIX TO EIGHT WEEKS. Three if everything works out.

INT: STUDENTS SERVICE CENTER, DAY.

I have to pull a number. It’s 889. The door says 888. I’m surprised. I wait and fill out the form. My number shows up, I walk in.

OFFICE WORKER
(harsh doesn't come even close) 
Do you have a number
ME
Yes, here

SHE
Why didn't you get in?
ME
I was waiting for my number to show up.

SHE
I called your number five minutes ago.

I resign and give her the form. Because I thought it would be easier, I wrote down all the PoliSci courses I had, so that they could choose which one they thought would be the right one. She tells me that the Bescheid (1) would be negative, if the form stays like this. I have to guess which class they are thinking is right. If I choose wrongly, well I know that in six to eight weeks and the spectacle can start from the begining. But let’s be optimistic. After another mistake on my part (on the front, I was supposed to write down the name of my curriculum, not the number. On the back I was supposed to write the number of the curriculum, not the name. Stupid me.) I was free to go. I will know more in three to eight weeks. There’s nothing I can do.

(1) there really is not a proper translation that fits the horrifiying tone of the word. Verdict might be closest.


Why am I surprised (or: Universität „Red Tape“ Wien)

Today my red tape marathon at University of Vienna began. SPOILER ALERT: I’m not going to make my final exam date that I planned for END OF APRIL.

Step two (1)

I study at three different departments (German, History and Education/Licensure). That means: Three different office hours. „Office Hours“ in the Austrian sense: It’s open twice a week for two hours. Tuesdays is Education-Day, so I grabbed all my things (diplomas, validations, the form I filled out 5 years ago) and went to turn it in. I filled out the second part of the form I filled out five years ago and gave it to the nice lady at the counter. She took it, went to her little archive and pulled out the duplicate of the form, I filled out five years ago. She gave it to me and asked me to copy what I just filled out on the form that I filled first out five years ago onto the duplicate of the form I filled out 5 years ago. When I told her, that I was done, she asked me TO COME BACK IN 4 WEEKS TO GRAB THE SIGNED FORM THAT I FILLED OUT FIVE YEARS AGO. After looking really sad and desperate (I practiced in front of the mirror) she put the form that I filled out five years ago on another pile, so that it only takes 3 weeks. The person who signs all these forms filled out five years ago apparently has only one signing day a month.

Step three

When I get it back, that’s not even close to getting my degree. There are two other forms I filled out five years ago that I have to turn in at two other offices. When I get those three back (I hope four weeks is the limit, but it might as well be longer), I have to go to a place that is euphemistically called Students Service Center. It’s open – boy I don’t know, there’s no website where I could find that information, but as far as I remember it’s 6 hours a week. Good thing there: the queue is especially long since all students who study languages or various histories have to go there to hand stuff in.

Step four through seven

When I turned my three forms that I filled out five years ago in, I’m still not even close to my final exam. I have to wait: at least 4 weeks. Then I have my diploma, which means I can turn in my thesis. To turn in my thesis physically I have to upload it to a plagiarism controller first. This ridiculously expensive program controls if I plagiarised. It takes one week. For a machine. To run my thesis through Google. After I waited in line at the Service Center again and they accept my thesis, I have to wait two weeks to take my final exam.

Step eight – the bonus round

Does that mean I’m done? Well, yes. If you don’t want to have commencement. If you do want to show your family what it’s worth to put you through school, you have to register. There’s only 4 commencements per semester. There’s a waiting list. There’s a line at the Service Center where you have to register for the waiting list. To get a commencement date THIS JULY, (next date: September) I have to be done with my final exam END OF APRIL. To get a final exam date END OF APRIL, I have to turn in my grades in JANUARY. To do that, I’d have to be done with my courses in the spring term(2). Without any petty looks, sad faces and desperate bribing attempts it takes one year from your last exam to your commencement. With all these obsequious gesti it still takes a semester.

Abstract

I had my final regular exam on March 2nd. My thesis is done. If I’m lucky my commencement will be in July.

Rant over? Hell, no.

(1) I spare you and me the part where I take exams and wait for grades for a month or more. Grades I need to get this whole process, that is coming up, started.

(2) For classes in the winter term you get graded not before February. See me.

Medieval Literature

It’s not that no one told me that would happen: I kept the worst exam for the last minute: Literature of the Middle Ages. As always when I’m procrastinating, I come up with reasons, why the subject I’m suppost to study is not worth studying and has no right to exist what so ever. I never had as many reasons, why this class should be banished from the curriculum. The Top 5:

a) It’s not a science, It’s a believe

In Literature of the Middle Ages you don’t study facts, you study assumptions. Every Professor teaches different assumptions. One prof teaches that Gottfried didn’t finish Tristan, becaue he died. The other one claims that he took a break for reasons unknown and died years after he stoped writing. One prof says that Ottfried (1) didn’t actually state his name in *fill in text here*, the textbook says he did. This goes on and on.

b) It’s all built up on one guys assumption

Karl Lachmann constructed his theory in the 19th century. Everyone works off of his thinking.

c) It brings back puberty angst

Remember Latin? The language where you could actually translate every word (with a little help) and the sentence still didn’t make any sense? Well think of how frustrating that was and then imagine having words in front of you that seem to be your language.

d) It’s religiously discriminating.

I am a poor heathan boy. I don’t know what the first commandment is (until someone reminded me that it’s the first things Bartlet says in the West Wing Pilot) and I really don’t care that much (until, you know…). But in medieval literature everything is about the first commandment (which is not, btw: you shall not cheat on your wife – if that even is one) or any other commandment. Not knowing anything about Christianity is a huge disadvantage.

e) Just because it’s old, it isn’t good

No one would ever think of academically working on a poem that solely rymes bread and dead. But when it’s old, everything is forgotten and we pretend that its really important literature.

Rant over. 11 days to go.

(1) Might not be Ottfried but another guy.