Samtale med studieleder Sara Mosberg Iversen, Medievidenskab, Institut for Institut for Design, Medier og Uddannelsesvidenskab, SDU.

One Wednesday morning a month, the teaching group of media studies meets from 9:30-12 to discuss teaching. According to head of studies Sara Mosberg Iversen, it has 'always' been that way. Or at least as long as she can remember, that is from before 2010. It is just stated as 'a matter of course', and all permanent members of the teaching group participate. Postdocs and PhD students, who are teaching at the programme, are also invited. So once a month, 12-14 colleagues gather to discuss teaching-related topics.

A typical meeting is structured around the following points: announcements, free themes, and coordination of various kinds. Announcements include e.g., to introduce new people to the group, celebrations of new publications, and brief orientations from the board of studies and other governing bodies.

Examples of recently discussed free themes are: the case method in teaching, the teacher as discussion leader, first-year didactics, AI, guidance and group work. Announcements to the students are also discussed at the meetings, e.g. what is a good problem statement for assignments in media studies; academic assignments in media studies – 10 good advices; the rationale behind the fact that, so far, media studies do not want to introduce formal attendance requirements for the students, but why, nevertheless, it is absolutely crucial that the students attend and participate actively in classes. The teaching group has also discussed: Who is media science? What is the core identity of the program and the research tradition in which it is embodied? How to ensure that the students can be proud of their programme? Finally, the meetings also cover discussion of any major changes in teaching and programme structure and other significant changes.

The discussions in the teaching group are sometimes based on presentations from outside or jointly read articles, and there is always enough to talk about, says Sara Mosberg Iversen.

The head of studies is responsible for the meetings and the content of the meetings. The meetings are planned 5-6 months in advance, and the topics are determined based on input from everyone in the teacher group and based on what the head of studies from her position can foresee, will be relevant to talk about. It is important that the discussions are experienced as relevant. And it is important that 'we accomplish something' at the meetings. However, it is also important to keep certain topics out of the meetings. The meetings must in no way overlap with e.g. study board meetings, planning meetings for courses, or personal interviews. There are other forums for that.

When asked what the purpose of the meetings is, Sara Mosberg Iversen emphasizes that the main purpose is to create a forum where people talk about teaching, inspire each other, learn from each other, and find 'the common basis and the common starting point', so that, when appropriate, joint announcements can be made to the students and sometimes also to the management team. It is important for Sara Mosberg Iversen to emphasize that the freedom of method of the individual teacher is never questioned, just as agreement in the group of teachers is not a goal in itself.

Sara Mosberg Iversen estimates that the effect of the meetings i.a. is that there are fewer conflicts and greater well-being in the teaching group. There is a clear feeling that the group develops - and does so together - both through inspiration and peer training. And the meetings contribute to the feeling of sharing views, decisions, reasons, and announcements in a number of areas. That you are not alone with your teaching.

According to Sara Mosberg Iversen, it is not so easy to explain why the tradition of meetings about teaching has grown so strong – in a situation where it has 'always been like this' – but it is presumably important that not too many meetings are held; that the meetings must be experienced as meaningful and that you achieve something with the meetings; and finally, the meetings require a certain element of management regarding the choice of topics and implementation.