Prof. Angelika Lampert has received the PAULA teaching award (Award for Excellent University Teaching assigned by Aachen's medical students) in the category Best Lecture on 15.07.2022 during the Patho-Fete. In the laudatory speech, the good structure of her lecture, her competence and motivation and the clinical relevance of her lectures were emphasised. The entertaining design, e.g. through own graphics or the interspersing of fun facts, was praised too.
The award is special, because the students themselves have the opportunity to nominate candidates in three categories for one year. Other prizes were awarded in the areas of Best Bedside Teaching and Exceptional Commitment.
Uniklinikintern interviewed Prof. Lampert afterwards:
How did you experience your own teaching? What was inspiring or what would you like to change?
Prof. Lampert: I have seen that the teaching in Aachen is interactive and refreshing. The students are interested and open to new approaches. I like that they enjoy puzzle games or real-time feedback (Mentimeter). Using such tools increases the students' motivation and helps to understand the sometimes complex interrelationships in physiology. To me teaching is not a one-way street. It also motivates me when I notice that the students are actively participating. Because of the continuous progress in medical research, the subject matter becomes more complex and extensive. For me as a teacher this is a challenge, because I have to adapt my lectures not only didactically - as described above - but also in terms of content each time and check the relevance. Inevitably, I must sort out content. Therefore I plan to make more optional content online available.
What characterises innovative teaching for you?
Prof. Lampert: At the beginning of the Corona pandemic, there was a sudden increase in the use of new teaching formats. The Faculty of Medicine was well prepared, as digital teaching formats were often used even before Corona. But Corona was certainly an incentive for us teachers to try out new things, listen to the students and let them participate. In general, technological developments today offer many opportunities for innovative teaching. But this only works through active trial and error. The teaching in the Aachen Modellstudiengang offers many possibilities. I really like that the students try out new technical formats together with me. We designed a combination of lecture and seminar online and combined this with direct knowledge control. Of course, the teaching content also needs to be constantly updated and checked for its relevance to the students. For me, innovative teaching involves both - adapting form and content.
What does the PAULA Award mean to you?
Prof. Lampert: Especially in the category "Best Lecture", which is about competence, structure, and hard facts - areas that were often perceived as classic male domains in the past - it is a special pleasure for me as a woman to receive this award. The PAULA award comes from the students themselves. I am incredibly proud of this award and very happy that I have reached the students with my teaching. That has always been my request. The feedback at the award ceremony and the laudation were very special for me. In the lectures you get little feedback - especially when teaching is digital. Sometimes I don't even see the faces during the online lectures when cameras are switched off. It's nice that my own enthusiasm for physiology has reached the students - despite or because of the technical possibilities.
