Prof. Dr. habil. Dimitrios Zikos thinks a little like Indiana Jones. The latter advises his students: “To become a good archaeologist, you have to get out of the library!”* Because in books – or nowadays also on Google – theoretical knowledge is all that’s on offer. Any kind of critical inquiry can only take place when the facts are placed in relation to the real world. And for that to happen, students have to go on a journey of discovery. Dimitris supports his students in this journey in the course “Microeconomics for Development”, for which he received the 2022 Good Teaching Award. 

Dimitris’ teaching concept is based on flexibility. You could say that he goes on his own voyage of discovery whenever he teaches, fostering the soft skills of his students in addition to their professional competencies. “Ninety percent of the participants come from the Global South and have different cultural backgrounds. They have frequently grown up with the idea that you shouldn’t contradict. They get a different perspective here at HTW Berlin,” says Dimitris. As a result, critical thinking and the creation of space for students’ own passions and ideas form the cornerstones of his teaching. In fact, he only gets stuck into the actual course planning after the first lecture, as students are allowed to vote on which specific academic elements should make up the final grade from a series of given elective subjects. According to Dimitris, the small activities, which often have a playful character, are particularly popular.

These activities or methods develop over time and in close consultation with the students. During the pandemic, for instance, he started using Kahoot as a feedback tool for his teaching. The students really enjoyed this tool, and expressed a desire to use it more often. So Dimitris started experimenting and now uses it to playfully test reading assignments, among other things. “Micro in the news”, which has become one of the core components of his lectures, also began as a voluntary experiment designed to bring variety to the course. The professor explains how the method works: “Students look for a current news story and relate it to key concepts in microeconomics. In a five-minute presentation, they clarify various question words and thus open up a group discussion.” 

Discussion or interaction as the basis for experiential learning is an essential feature of Dimitris’ teaching. Because one of the most important insights the professor seeks to convey is that several views on a single topic invariably exist. This is achieved in a playful manner, e.g. through a role play in which students take the position of economic advisers who analyse the same microeconomic problem in the fictitious country of “Hatewia” from different perspectives. Experiences from practice are integrated through guest lectures and video contributions, for instance. 

The professor believes that these techniques are particularly conducive to learning when the teaching environment remains a neutral one: “Students need to feel that they are not being condemned or judged, but instead encouraged. Only then do they step out of their comfort zone and try things out, and a safe atmosphere for learning and discussion can be created.” 

However, so much flexibility and freedom also requires Dimitris to make considerable efforts. He has to deal with the unexpected, is sometimes forced to reschedule and every now and then he questions himself, doubting whether he has taken the right path. “The Good Teaching Award came at just the right time,” says Dimitris. “I had just been thinking about whether the concept was actually working, and the award was a great confirmation of this and motivated me to carry on.” If he had more time, he would design all his lectures in this way.

But is good teaching only a question of the right concept? As for himself, Dimitris says: “Research is my job, teaching my joy!” In the end, this joy and passion for his subject are perhaps the decisive sparks that enthuse his students, igniting their passions.

*Source: Marshall, F., Stewart, D. L. (producers) & Spielberg, S. (director). (2008). Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [film]. USA: Paramount Pictures.