TLHE project presentation 2025 by Tobias Liebetrau, Political Science
ABSTRACTThis project examines how student learning can be enhanced by rethinking the course structure of Master’s electives to better align with teaching and educational concepts. I do so by explaining the transformation between two iterations of the MA course “The Politics of Cybersecurity” (taught in Spring 2023 and Spring 2024) through the lens of contemporary educational and pedagogical theory and comparing the student feedback. The redesigned 2024 course operationalizes backward design and constructive alignment principles by restructuring learning around collaborative Research Groups that directly support the competency outcomes of the course. The evolution from a traditional lecture-based model to a scaffolded and practice-integrated approach addresses key pedagogical challenges, including promoting deep rather than surface learning through assessment tasks, supporting diverse learners through universal design principles, and fostering self-regulated learning through distributed feedback cycles. Moreover, the 2024 collaborative structure creates productive backwash effects encouraging sustained engagement while democratizing access to academic practices often transmitted through hidden curriculum. Based on student evaluations and a focus group interview, I found that redesigning my course through central pedagogical concepts nurtured a more appreciated and dynamic learning environment, improved student-student and teacher-student interaction, and enhanced student engagement and understanding.