University Science Education
The research group of University Science Education carries out research concerning key issues related to teaching and learning in university-science programmes, but the members of the group have experience with research at other educational levels as well. Some of the research carried out by the group is related to educational development projects at the University of Copenhagen.
The group’s research focuses on the interactions between students, staff, curricula and the teaching and learning cultures at university. This has been studied in relation to the following themes, in particular:
- Student transition and student retention through the university programmes. The research has studied the encounter between the students and the organization of the curriculum and the teaching, and how this affects the students’ participation and their construction of disciplinary identities
- Laboratory teaching and learning processes in labs, lab teaching as epistemic practice, the question of which competences could be developed in lab teaching as well as the progression in the students’ development of competences
- Interdisciplinary education and teaching – particularly in higher education context, but also at other educational levels. The focus is on the translation from interdisciplinary research to interdisciplinary teaching and curricula
- The integration of research in teaching with a particular focus on students’ and teachers’ experiences, and the conditions affecting how research-based education takes form.
Two new themes to be addressed are research into PhD supervision and into wicked problems and how they should be addressed in higher-education curricula and teaching.
The research group has extended experience with qualitative methodologies (e.g., ethnographic fieldwork and different kinds of qualitative interviews), with longitudinal studies and with combinations of quantitative and qualitative methods (mixed-methods approaches).
All Danish universities have one or more units for academic and educational development (AD and ED). These units are organised in different ways, and not all of them are involved in research. Some universities have one unit covering the entire university (e.g., University of Southern Denmark (SDU)), while others have separate units for different faculties (e.g., University of Copenhagen). Some units have AD and ED units integrated with it-learning centres. Some universities are currently (Spring 2020) reorganising their units.
Apart from research and development in relation to the units for AD and ED, research on teaching and learning are carried out by researchers at the universities in individual departments.
Links for the units at Danish universities:
Aalborg University:
- AaU Learning Lab:
- Center for Digitally Supported Learning: https://www.en.cdul.aau.dk
- E-Learning Lab - Center for User Driven Innovation, Learning and Design: https://www.communication.aau.dk/research/knowledge_groups/e-learning-lab
- The Aalborg Centre for Problem Based Learning in Engineering Science and Sustainability: https://www.ucpbl.net
Aarhus University:
-Centre for Educational Development (CED): https://ced.au.dk/en/
-Centre for Higher Education Futures: https://dpu.au.dk/en/research/research-units/higher-education-futures/
DTU:
- LearningLab DTU: https://learninglab.dtu.dk/english
ITU (IT-university of Copenhagen ):
- Learning support is a part of their administrative unit Research & Learning
RUC (Roskilde University):
- Centre for Research on Problem-oriented Project Learning: https://ruc.dk/en/research-centre/centre-research-problemoriented-project-learning
- Unit of Academic Development (EAE): https://ruc.dk/en/academic-development
University of Southern Denmark:
- SDU Centre for Teaching and Learning: https://www.sdu.dk/en/om_sdu/institutter_centre/c_unipaedagogik
University of Copenhagen:
- IND (Department of Science Education): https://www.ind.ku.dk/english/
- IT learning centre: https://itlc.science.ku.dk/english/
- PCS (The Teaching and Learning Unit of Social Sciences): https://samf.ku.dk/pcs/english/
- TEACH Teaching Centre Humanities: https://humanities.ku.dk/about/administration/all2/teach/
- COBL (Centre for Online and Blended Learning): https://cobl.ku.dk
DUN is a network for teachers, developers, researchers and administrative staff at the universities with an interest in teaching and learning in higher education. The network facilitates a number of special-interest groups, it organises an annual conference and publishes a journal (The Danish Journal of Higher Education (DUT)) with two annual issues. Most of the activities and articles are in Danish, but some of the conference sessions and some of the articles in the journal are in English, just as some of the SIGs have English as their working language.
- A brief introduction to DUN in English: https://dun-net.dk/dun-in-english/
- DUN’s website in Danish: https://dun-net.dk
- A list of the SIGs: https://dun-net.dk/siger-specielle-interesse-grupper/
- The Danish Journal of Higher Education (DUT): https://dun-net.dk/dut-dansk-universitetspaed-tidsskrift/
- DUN is a member of the International Consortium for Educational Development (ICED) (http://icedonline.net)
Members of the research group:
| Name | Title | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frederik Voetmann Christiansen | Associate Professor | ||
| Hendra Yusup Agustian | Assistant Professor - Tenure Track | +4535334470 | |
| Henriette Tolstrup Holmegaard | Professor | +4535320386 | |
| Jan Sølberg | Associate Professor | ||
| Katia Bill Nielsen | Postdoc | +4535326581 | |
| Katrine Ellemose Lindvig | Assistant Professor - Tenure Track | +4535320371 | |
| Lars Ulriksen | Professor | +4535320338 | |
| Marie Larsen Ryberg | Assistant Professor | +4535332377 | |
| Rie Hjørnegaard Malm | Assistant Professor | +4535323391 |
The following are affiliated with the group:
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Lotte Ebsen Sjøstedt | Specialist Consultant |
| Morten Levinsky Thorsboe | PhD student at Roskilde University |
| Francesco De Zuani Cassina | Visiting PhD student from the University of Bologna, spring 2024 |
| Vera Spangler | Visiting PhD student from the University of Bologna, spring 2024 |
Contact
Professor Lars Ulriksen, Chair, ulriksen@ind.ku.dk
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