Teaching Philosophy
Academic Standards and Teaching Philosophy
Academic Traditions in Oxford have evolved over centuries, since the establishment of the University in the Middle Ages, and have played an important role in ensuring Oxford’s contemporary reputation for scientific excellence. At the heart of this history of excellence lies the Oxford Tutorial: study sessions where students regularly meet with their tutors, individually or in small groups, to critically dissect a specific topic assigned by the tutor. The success of a tutorial depends in very large measure on the preparation of individual students, who are expected to read extensively and to draft an essay on each assigned topic.
This teaching format is dialectic and ‘Socratic’, facilitating open-ended discussion rather than static acquisition of knowledge: it enables students to actively shape the exchange on the basis of their preparatory work, and tutors are able to provide highly targeted and personalised feedback on the basis of student essays and focused conversations during the tutorial itself. Students also develop crucial critical and analytical skills, a sense of initiative and intellectual leadership, and have the opportunity to sharpen their argumentative and rhetorical techniques in writing, conversation, and more structured presentations. Most importantly, the tutorial format also helps students to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and preferred learning style(s), allowing them to develop strategic skills for lifelong learning.
Teaching Format
The Lincoln College Summer Academy Programme builds on the model of the Oxford tutorial, adapting it to the more diverse, international, and transdisciplinary horizon of its students, and adjusting it to the format of a shorter summer programme. All of our tutors have extensive teaching experience within the University and/or its Colleges, and will ensure that academic standards remain high across all courses taught on the programme, organised and overseen by the Programme Director, Dr. Marco Nievergelt “Director’s Welcome”.
You will meet with your tutor on a daily basis, for a series of interactive 2-hour seminars in small groups (max. 8 students), followed by 3 hours of guided learning in small groups to prepare for your next meeting. During week 1 you will discover a range of relevant concepts, methods, and approaches to your chosen topic, while during week 2 you will develop a research project of your own, either individually or in small groups of 2 or 3. This will allow you to understand your own, personal learning style, develop your writing-, critical-, and argumentative skills, while also contributing to in-class discussions with fellow students from closely related disciplines, broadening your intellectual, academic, and personal horizons.
For further details on the academic planning and for a sample timetable, see
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Contemporary Relevance: Tradition and Innovation
High academic standards and traditions play a central role in all of our International Programmes at Lincoln, but our aim is to apply academic rigour to some of the most burning and critical contemporary issues. We live in times of accelerated scientific and technological progress, but are also facing increasing geopolitical instability and profound transformations in how we work, trade, communicate, argue, decide, and socialise in a highly interconnected and globalised society. All of our International Programmes at Lincoln are designed to address and understand such deep changes, and to equip our students with relevant tools to respond to an increasing pluralistic and unpredictable world. We do this by examining a number of key challenges and opportunities from a variety of perspectives, helping our student to situate their own subject-specific expertise in a wider awareness of societal and contextual challenges.
Topics, not Disciplines: the Benefits of a Thematic Approach
We believe that rigorous critical analysis, lateral thinking, and an informed international outlook are absolutely essential ingredients to build new, resilient, and sustainable forms of leadership around the world. Our courses are designed to respond to the increasing importance of such transversal skills in an age where academic excellence and technical, subject-specific knowledge are no longer sufficient to tackle the vast array of interconnected global challenges. Most of our courses on the Summer Academy Programme focus on innovative developments and discoveries in specific areas, often with an interdisciplinary appeal, while addressing the broader socio-economic, ethical, psychological, ecological, and philosophical implications of such new developments. The Summer Academy Programmes have therefore been designed specifically to look beyond a narrow and discipline-specific approach, and aim to help students from around the world to think beyond their chosen discipline and familiar and established methodologies. Instead of selecting subjects, you will be focusing on critical themes and topics of strategic importance that are relevant to a wider range of disciplines beyond your own and to humanity at large. The Summer Academy Programme will thus ideally complement your core studies by introducing you to a multi-disciplinary perspective.
