Motivation
A central problem in modern higher education is the strong focus on tangible, exam-centered results. Lecturers see that students often become obsessed with details or grades instead of focusing on the bigger picture. Additionally, students report that there is little room for personal reflection and that they would like to work on challenges that affect them. How can we create an educational system that provides more space for personal development of students?
Hypothesis
Edita aims to create a transdisciplinary learning community where students can develop personally and professionally by learning from each other, helping each other reflect, and being exposed to different perspectives. The emphasis is on the process rather than specific learning objectives. By supporting students in their own process of personal and professional development, they will be better prepared for the future.
Desired solution
Learning activities within the learning community include discussions, workshops, peer support/feedback, and organizing small events to create links around the campus and beyond. In addition to these learning activities, students from different faculties will collaborate on societal problems related to learning and education. They will come up with a project, refine it in the community, and work on it with experts in the field from companies and government businesses.
Plan of action
Edita starts the project by finding suitable community hosts and motivated community members from the programs of artificial intelligence, psychology, pedagogics and communication sciences, co-constructing a framework for the learning community, and setting up educational support structures for the community hosts. In the second period, a kick-off event will be organized where various learning activities will be experimented with and tested to see what works well. During periods three and four, Edita will launch the learning community on a wider scale, involving more students from different disciplines, formalizes community guidelines and best practices, and organizes regular community activities. To evaluate the progress, an inventory of expectations and wishes will be made within the community. Following this, the learning community will be evaluated through a panel discussion with all stakeholders.