Learning to teach, teaching to learn
Students as tutors and coaches
How can students be meaningfully involved in teaching – and benefit from it themselves? In this practice-oriented session, lecturers from four different courses and projects share how they engage students as tutors and coaches: supporting peers in project-based learning, accompanying groups on field trips, or facilitating collaboration and reflection. A key focus will be on how student tutors are prepared, trained, and supported through peer exchange. Join us to explore practical insights and fresh ideas for integrating students into your own teaching practice.
Support for Tutor and Coaches Training at UTL
Development and teaching of tutor training
Innovation project from D-MAVT
Mark Zander (D-MAVT) and Kerrin Weiss (UTL PBLabs) present the D-MAVT innovation project. The Innovation Project is a mandatory, project-based course in the third semester of the MAVT bachelor’s program. Around 600 students work in teams of 5 to solve complex problems and develop technical solutions. They are supported by student coaches, who meet them weekly, fostering effective collaboration, a structured approach and support the application of development methods. The coaches receive thorough training in a dedicated course that includes peer visits and one-on-one coaching.
Ghislain Fourny (D-INFK) shares insights on why managing a team of teaching assistants is a unique challenge: while operating in a professional environment, TAs are still in the process of learning. This dual role has profound implications – before being a manager, a lecturer must act as a mentor, a teacher-of-teachers, and a role model. The talk will address several key aspects of this role, including the risk of micromanagement, when and when not to delegate decisions, supporting TAs in their development, mentoring head TAs, the role and limitations of written documentation, encouraging proactive behavior, managing workload, applying adaptive leadership, time management, and most importantly, setting an example for future academic leaders.
Zurich in sections
Laurent Stalder and Conrad Kersting (D-ARCH) presents “Zurich in Section”, a foundational project in which over 300 first-year architecture students annually survey and draw parts of the city to create a collective sectional drawing. Guided by tutors, students explore architecture through hands-on fieldwork, research, and peer learning. The project fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, develops key observational and representational skills, and strengthens teamwork through large-scale coordination – culminating in a monumental 1:100 section of the entire city.
Close Enough to Matter – How Near-Peer TAs Transform Lab Learning
In our project-based physics lab course P+, student teams are mentored by teaching assistants who are just one or two years ahead – alumni of the course themselves. These near-peer TAs bring fresh perspectives on learning challenges and foster a supportive, motivating environment. While they help students grow in confidence and ownership of their projects, they themselves benefit profoundly: they dive deeper into the physics content and develop essential teaching skills. We observe that their enthusiastic engagement often inspires student teams to such high levels of motivation that senior TAs – who oversee several groups – occasionally step in to help maintain balance. Student feedback confirms that this layered supervision structure strengthens both learning and teaching, creating a vibrant, collaborative lab culture where everyone grows.
