Mixing nationalities and learning styles boosts PhD student engagement
A transnational PhD course on aging societies achieved unusually high student motivation by blending diverse scientific traditions, nationalities, and non-traditional learning methods. The finding suggests universities can improve retention and satisfaction by deliberately designing programs around emotional connection and collaborative learning rather than traditional lecture formats.
Originaltitel: Pedagogical reflections from a transnational PhD course in ageing
<p>This article is based on an interdisciplinary PhD course on ageing societies. The course brought together researchers, practitioners, and PhD students representing diverse welfare regimes and scientific traditions. It departed from the assumption that learning is a process involving both cognitive, emotional, and social dimensions. It was inspired by three collaborative learning theories and contained a number of non-traditional learning activities.</p><p>The students’ motivation during the course was exceptionally high, and as teachers and organisers we became interested if this could be understood through the theory of resonance pedagogy.</p><p>The article presents parts of the course documentation. Activities and students’ responses are described and discussed in relation to the pedagogical inspirations. Rosa’s resonance pedagogy is used as a theoretical framework in a final synthesising discussion.</p><p>Diversity in scientific orientations, national backgrounds, learning activities, and using collaborative pedagogical thinking can support a learning environment with potentials for resonance.</p>