I manage to catch him on Zoom when he has just landed for a research stay in Japan. When I ask him what it is about his teaching style that elicits such enthusiasm, Magnus Lundgren is initially embarrassed, but then attempts a self-analysis.
“I place a lot of emphasis on interactivity, and I may have succeeded in making it work well, so that it becomes a forward movement toward a collective search for answers and so that—over time, at least—everyone feels that they dare to contribute to this,” says Magnus Lundgren.
At the same time, Magnus Lundgren believes that these tricks, these ways of encouraging everyone to participate, must exist within the framework of a clear structure: what expectations he, as a teacher, has of what the students should achieve and how they should behave in the classroom.
“For example, I have a policy that they should not look at screens in class but focus entirely on the lecture. Otherwise, every little distraction shifts their focus elsewhere."
”In recent semesters, I have also been fortunate enough to teach subjects that I am very interested in and have researched myself. I think my enthusiasm shines through and perhaps rubs off on them."
“Quite a lot of educational literature.”
Magnus Lundgren has not yet had time to spend all of the prize money. But he has bought a lot of educational literature to 'sharpen his knife further', as well as more general political science literature.
"Simply to expand my knowledge in certain areas."
In addition, he has been able to cover some of the smaller costs associated with his research stay in Japan. In a way, the prize has contributed to a different kind of cultivation, an encounter with a different academic culture and other students. Magnus Lundgren believes that this promotes his role as a teacher in several ways.
“I gain international experience in a culture I have not been in before. I believe this makes it easier to interact with international students at GU; the more international experience a teacher has of different cultures and different academic environments, the easier it is to welcome students, especially exchange students who already have experience of other academic contexts.”
Good to have different ways of rewarding educational development
Magnus Lundgren thinks it is good that universities have teaching awards that can help draw attention to the field of education, which otherwise often carries little weight in terms of merit.
“That’s why it’s good that there are different ways to reward those who try to go the extra mile,” says Magnus Lundgren.
“A university should have several different systems, different incentives, for good teaching, quite simply.”
Technological developments pose a challenge
Magnus Lundgren believes that technological developments involving AI are a challenge that everyone will need to address. And when it comes to 'cultivating oneself as a teacher', as he puts it, that is where 'the knives need to be sharpened'.
We must ask ourselves what this development means for the type of teaching we have had and where we are headed. What skills do we want to promote, and in what way? What does this mean for different forms of examination? Many of the classic forms—home exams, essays, and others—may not be entirely meaningless, but they must in any case take on a completely different role.
""If there are extra resources for pedagogy within GU, I think that is where they should be allocated. So that we can keep up with developments and perhaps even be a little ahead of the curve."
