Anna Sofie Schøning: Hit the ground running – scaffolding to enhance learning before meeting students

TLHE Project presentation 2025. Anna Sofie Schøning, FAK

ABSTRACT

This project examines how student learning can be enhanced before the first day of in-person classroom teaching. The introductory course of the Master in Military Studies consists of two presence modules lasting respectively 3 and 4 long and intensive teaching days with a significant amount of reading before each module, including before their first physical introduction to the master’s programme. Didactic literature emphasizes the value of pre-class activities in order to scaffold student learning. Building on research on pre-class activities I introduced four preparatory activities: 1) an introductory quiz, 2) a short self-presentation by each student, 3) reading questions for selected texts, and 4) a video presentation explaining the purpose of a particularly challenging text. I evaluated these new activities with the students at the end of the first presence module. The students reported that these activities supported their preparation and provided guidance regarding how to approach their work. Several students indicated that they would welcome even more activities of this kind in future modules.