Yes Denmark, here we are!
After a lot of intense e-mail contact we got a GO and we, Nina Spithorst and Meta jaarsma, both from the SBRM education, and Paula Karsten (educationalist ESR), could leave for VIA/TEKO Design & Business University College in Herning, Denmark, in the beginning of February 2013. For several years SBRM students, having Fashion as a specialisation minor, are going on exchange to TEKO and vice versa TEKO students join the bachelor phase of Retail Management.
Why choose to visit TEKO?
Also in Denmark employees who are able to handle work- and problem situations in real life in a professional manner are needed. This was a reason for TEKO to search for a way to renew its educational system. After TEKO, staff member Hanna Tharup visited Stenden and got to learn
all about problme based learning (or simply PBL) method. The management of TEKO approved the idea for a PBL renewal project and Stenden was later invited to share its expertise on PBL.
After a short preparation period with the core team of TEKO, teachers Nina, Meta and Paula arrived to Denmark to facilitate the implementation of PBL.
What did we do?
Talked to management and staff teams, explained the reasoning behind PBL, coached staff, rewrote the curriculum of the first modules, designed new tests, informed first year students, supported teachers with PBL sessions, observed student groups, helped to set up an evaluation, etc. And all this was paired with a healthy of dose of flexibility, commitment, endurance, long days of working enthusiastically and the necessary input of our expertise.