iBRIDGE: Video-based bridge course to the Master's program in Geophysics as an Open Educational Resource (OER)
International prospective students can prepare for a master's degree in geophysics at KIT with instructional videos in English. The bridge course was created as part of the iBRIDGE project as a cooperation between the Geophysical Institute (GPI) and the Center for Media Learning (ZML). A digital pool of teaching materials was also set up for geophysics lecturers.
The bridge course is aimed at students who are transferring to the Master's degree program in Geophysics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT ) with a Bachelor's degree in physics, mathematics or a subject from the field of geosciences.
The course is completed before the start of the lectures in the Master's program and consists of three digital modules made up of 50 instructional videos in English, specialist texts and test tasks. The content covers the main topics of the Bachelor's degree program in Geophysics with the two modules "Seismological Fundamentals" and "Applied Seismology". The following video gives a brief insight into the teaching videos of the module "Seismological Fundamentals".
Students can select the content of the bridge course individually according to their previous knowledge. During the course of the project, a moderated forum also supported the selection of content and provided space for questions.
In collaboration with lecturers from geophysical institutes at other German universities, a collection of digital teaching and learning materials was also created, including lecture notes, illustrations, interactive exercises and online teaching materials, which can be used for online modules and other courses in the future.
This collection is intended to initiate a long-term network of geophysics courses in Germany. In addition, a selection of the teaching videos has also been made available via public channels such as YouTube. This increases the visibility of the "minor subject" of geophysics among the general public.
The Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts supported the project from the "Small Subjects" structural fund in Baden-Württemberg with around 247,000 euros from 2016 to the end of 2018.
State initiative "Small subjects"
This initiative of the state of Baden-Württemberg promotes measures that secure and sustainably strengthen the academic expertise of "small subjects" in the long term. "Small subjects" are degree programs with only a few chairs. In Germany, 16 degree courses in geophysics are offered. Among them is the course at KIT under the direction of Prof. Andreas Rietbrock and Prof. Thomas Bohlen. (Student advisor: Dr. Ellen Gottschämmer)
The project team
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| Andreas Barth Author and lecturer |
Sarah Holstein Didactic design |
Lean Schöneberger Didactic Design & video production |
David Lohner Video Production & graphic design |
OER repository Baden-Württemberg: https://kit.oerbw.de/
Contact person
Sarah Holstein
Phone: +49 721 608-48219
E-mail: sarah.holstein∂kit.edu
Further links
- Press release from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts
- Geophysical Institute (GPI)
- Press release of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
