About the trainings

Training for First-time University Teachers is a project which started within epsNet (European Political Science Network). Its aim has been to help junior university teachers of political science and related disciplines to improve their teaching practice.

Today, more organizations are involved coordinating trainings at national levels and also trainings of doctoral students from two neigbor countries, e. g. doktorat.at, Slovak PhD. Students' Association, University in Vienna and Comenius University in Bratislava.

Trainings are focused on several key problems beginning teachers struggle with.

• Teacher's mission: What is the purpose of teaching?
• Course structure: How to elaborate a good structure of a course?
• Motivation of students: How to make students more active?
• Critical thinking: How to make students to think critically?
• Argumentation: How to reach a scholar level of the discussion during the lesson?
• Essay writing: How to teach students to write a good essay?
• Originality: Which unusual activities could make a course more interesting and could bring extra knowledge and experience to the students?
• Synergy: How to create an atmosphere of cooperation where all the participants enrich each others' knowledge??
• Respect: How to receive acceptation as a teacher?
• Supervision: How to effectively supervise bachelor and master theses?
• Plagiarism: How to avoid plagiarism and other forms of cheating?
• Practical illustration to theory: What brings theory to a closer understanding for students?

Other issues related to teaching have been discussed as well. Download the leaflet about the epsNet training.