SKETCH
Visualization is a key competence that supports students in various tasks in their studies. As part of the ETS project SKETCH, the CLS is developing a blended learning visualization training that will be integrated into various offerings at the university.
Visualizing: A Tool with Many Aplications
Whether in analog or digital form, visualizations are a valuable tool for structuring knowledge, highlighting important information, and sharing and discussing ideas with others. Studies from educational psychology show that visualizations make content easier to remember by increasing the depth of processing and improving the conditions for retrieving learned information.
Visualizations in the form of diagrams and charts also have their place in scientific work and as such should be part of academic training.
Training for Students at RWTH
Despite the great importance that visualizations have both for individual learning processes and as a medium of communication, they are hardly considered in most curricula, if at all. Hurdles such as the belief that they cannot draw or the increased time required keep many students from exploring and using visualization techniques. Therefore, the Center for Teaching and Learning Services, or CLS, is developing a course that teaches both practical skills and basic knowledge about visualizations and their uses.
In a first step, content and exercises will be implemented and evaluated in a classroom-only training. This training is offered under the title "Visual Thinking for Students" as part of the ExAcT student training. If you are interested, you can search the database of student trainings to check for upcoming offers.
In the next step, selected elements of the training will be further developed into tutorial videos and self-learning materials.
About the Project
The SKETCH project is funded from October 2022 to September 2023 within the Exploratory Teaching Space, ETS for short, of RWTH (ETS 504). More information about the funding and other projects can be found on the Exploratory Teaching Space website.
Contact
We are always happy to receive interest in the project, questions and ideas for collaboration. Feel free to contact Laura Platte and Malte Persike at CLS.