Active teaching and learning in GI sciences: lessons learned from the BSc. course Open Urban Data Governance

A new active teaching and learning approach has been implemented in the BSc course Open Urban Data Governance.. This course is part of the minor Spatial Computing for Digital Twinning in the Bachelor of Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences at the Faculty of Architecture and The Built Environment, TU Delft, and offered TU wide as an elective. At the start of the course the students were tasked to collect and analyse noise level data, and to reflect on this process. In the second (main) assignment they had to develop an urban challenge to be answered with geo-data. Also here a reflection was required including an assessment of the FAIRness of the data. Both students and teachers highly appreciated the new approach. Through applying active teaching and learning we created an example of the theory on students’ activities. This approach also links students’ real world experiences to the content of the course, which allows them to put theory into context. Teachers especially appreciated the interaction with the students, the depth of the discussions, and were impressed by the steep learning curve of the students. Students enjoyed the freedom to operate, the frequent feedback sessions and the application of theory into practice. For the next year the lectures will take into account that ‘minor’ students do prepare well for their classes.