Project integration of students through open problem assignments in competence-oriented courses

Abstract

The everyday life of academic staff is characterised by the duality between teaching and project work. Modules usually consist of lecture and practical parts. These are often repeated over several semesters and are the same for all students. Scientific staff or students in higher semesters supervise them without direct added value in projects.
Within the framework of the Master's degree programme in Textiles, the possibility of replacing prefabricated practicals with tasks adapted in advance to current research projects is evaluated. These are presented in the form of an open problem assignment at the beginning of the semester. The students work on their personal assignment in the course of the course. The contents of the lecture enable students to use industrial software packages independently. The didactic analysis according to Klafki takes place after the end of the course [1, 2].
All participating students were able to successfully complete their assignments. The research assistants received high-quality results that could be used in ongoing projects. The practical exam task was successfully completed by all students with individual approaches.
The results of this experiment show that individual and project-related tasks can lead to increased competence gains and at the same time provide usable results for the lecturers. Participation in research projects gives students insights into current research.