Joatan Preis Dutra :: Teaching
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Teaching University teaching, students' outcomes and module evaluations.

Lecturer Experience (2012 - ongoing)


Bauhaus Universitaete Weimar

Bauhaus-University Weimar
Germany
2012-2016

University of Derby

University of Derby
United Kingdom
2017-2018

De Montfort University Leicester

De Montfort University Leicester
United Kingdom
2018-present


I have teaching experience for the undergraduate level at De Montfort University Leicester / Media Production Programme, and the University of Derby / College of Arts, Humanities and Education.
Also, I do have postgraduate level teaching experience at the Bauhaus-University / Chair of Interface Design.

In both countries, the UK and Germany, I developed the concept and content from short to long terms modules, applied for students from different programmes and backgrounds, such as

  • Media Production
  • Communication Arts
  • Media Art and Design
  • Social Media Innovation and Production
  • Journalism / Sport Journalism / Magazine
  • Media Architecture
  • Media Management
  • Computer Sciences (HCI)
In the classroom, dealing with undergraduate and postgraduate with such diverse profiles, I calibrate the desired performances, based on adequate learning outcomes, on the flow. It is a challenging task but doing so, and I learned how to deal with diverse groups and how to make all the students to be engaged in the learning process.

Another challenge I frequently face in the classroom is to deal with an area of expertise that is continually changing. Teaching skills related to creative industries and digital media require constant improvement. I believe that it is essential to prepare the students for job scenarios that do not exist yet. The key to a successful education in these sectors is to provide the students with adaptable skills and ensure that they know how to use their abilities to perform different tasks.

In the modules I taught, I aimed to implement this teaching philosophy allied with a student-centred approach. The classes covered digital and cross-media concepts, how visual media are present in society, combined with how to design for different media and screens, along with the definitions of what is media, what is digital, UX, graphical information design and interface design considerations, plus academic writing.

Inside the classroom, I use technology to improve engagement, where the students played an active role in class. These modules also had a practical part where the learners developed material based on the learning outcomes, varying from social media imagery to app prototypes, according to the module subject. I believe it is essential to provide tangible outcomes that the students can include in their portfolio.

The students were involved in theoretical and practical activities, with the learning-by-doing approach. Overall, the modules I developed have a similar structure: preparatory lectures for the development of practical exercises, direct guidance of students, individual and group tutorials, and presentations of the results. Finally, writing a short scientific paper related to the themes developed in the classroom.

By transposing the students' creative ideas into tangible products, the results came with a colourful variety of ideas. Taking the modules developed during my time at the Bauhaus-University Weimar as an example, it is possible to see exciting results such as historical games, touristic music guides, sounding map, heritage locations, to mention a few samples, as illustrated below:



Teaching Feedback

I would like to emphasize that the students' evaluation regarding the modules are mandatory and held anonymously. Each given module received a very positive feedback from the students.

Some testimonials extracted from the evaluations:

  • everything is very well organized - everything is really clear to understand - and teacher's presentation is really good
  • we dealt with a new and somewhat unexplored topic - we got to work with people from different backgrounds - we saw really cool ideas for apps interacting with the city
  • well-thought and well-planned curriculum. great references for essay production and presentations. Clear class presentation
  • The professor teaches this class in a very lively way. I really like his presentation every time!
  • this course is very helpful and I learned many things under the supervision of this lectures
  • reasonable course timing; nice, friendly teacher; adequate contents let me realize lots of knowledge I have never learned before. Thank you so much!