Bridging Courses Research Skills & Methods

City of Vienna Competence Team Master Propaedeutics - Bridging courses in research skills & methods

To facilitate students’ entry into the FHWien der WKW Master’s programs, the project includes the creation of e-learning courses in the context of research methodology. Based on initial experiences caused by Covid-19, the project strives to develop key competences in e-learning, learning analytics, and automated feedback to specifically design courses that boost user engagement using modern technologies and continuous feedback.

Sponsor: City of Vienna MA23 – Economy, Labor and Statistics
Project period: 01.04.2024 to 31.03.2027
Project duration: 36 months

Gefördert von MA 23 Stadt Wien

Contact

Department of Communication

FH-Prof.ⁱⁿ Mag.^a Dr.ⁱⁿ Ilona Pezenka

Head of Competence Team
City of Vienna Competence Team Master Propaedeutics - Bridge courses in Research Skills & Methods

Tel.: +43 690 40 476-110

Project Description

Enhancement of entry competences of Master's students

Prior to the start of the first semester, students have the opportunity to refresh and expand their knowledge in the area of research methods. The e-learning courses are categorized into the following areas and consist of instructional videos, educational resources, practical exercises with solutions and quizzes with constructive feedback:

Identification of research topic (development of scientific problem statement and research questions)
Data collection (using various data collection methods & tools)
Data analysis (qualitative and quantitative analysis)
Presenting & interpreting and final results (argumentation and presentation)

As part of learning analytics, data from the e-learning courses are analyzed, and students are supported. To further enhance the innovative, technology-supported implementation, regular events and consultation sessions are offered to students to accompany the self-study phases.

Finally, students benefit from the flexibility to work independently, irrespective of time and place and from the individualization of learning paths. This also particularly supports part-time students. The ultimate goal is to increase learning accessibility and decrease drop-out rates.

Methodological support for supervisors of students

Supervisors of Master theses are provided with additional training and coaching sessions as well. The aim is to motivate supervisors to actively engage with the content of the e-learning courses and to continuously expand their portfolio of teaching methods.

Development of media pedagogical resources for diverse subject and knowledge areas

Based on this concept, guidelines for the creation of didactic resources are formulated, applicable not only for the topic of scientific research, but also to a range of different subjects and fields of knowledge.

One outcome of the project is the development of frameworks that will subsequently be utilized by other expert teams to design and standardize bridging courses for other subject areas leveraging the same pedagogical concept. The introduction and implementation of a new standard is an important task of the competence team.

Project Goals

Dissemination of knowledge and reflection on scientific approaches

The moderated e-learning courses aim to enhance the teaching quality by

Elevating students’ skills in academic research up to the required standard
Ensure that research method courses in the Master programs can focus on deepening methodological skills.
Improve the overall quality of Master’s theses

Within the process of writing their Master’s theses, students can access the research methods e-learning courses of the City of Vienna Competence Team Bridging courses in research skills & methods and recapitulate their knowledge and apply it to their research questions. The moderated e-learning courses guide students to construct and reflect on their own knowledge. They are further supported by a comprehensive feedback system based on learning analytics data.