Professionaliz­ation in the Alternative Teaching Internship (ALSO)

Table of contents

1. 1. 1. Introductory event - structure and suggestions for the first days of learning
      2. School visit - orientation before the first day of learning
      3. Accompanying seminar - individual advice related to the school
      4. On-site support from (senior) mentors
      5. Collegial case consultation (KFB) - strengthening each otherin challenging situations
      6. Support for mentors
      7. Advice for ALSO schools and exchange of experience

Students are supervised by the Chair of Education / Inclusive Education (EWIB) during the semester-long school internship. The aim here is to reflect intensively on the experiences from the practical days and to find solutions to educational challenges together - always mirroring the theory taught in the teacher training course.
There are also various exchange and reflection formats for other stakeholders in the schools.

Introductory event - structure and suggestions for the first days of learning

When enrolling, students choose the day of the placement (Wednesday, Thursday or Friday) and the placement school (15 schools in the 2025/26 school year, mainly in East Saxony). The introductory event explains the structure of the new format, the services to be provided and the organizational issues, e.g. employment contracts for the remunerated assignments after the compulsory part has been completed, as well as life hacks for the internship.

Classroom management and learning to learn are the focus of the alternative teaching internship (semester-accompanying block internship A). Students learn about methods for individual learning support that are already being used successfully at Dresden University School. They familiarize themselves with learning materials from the constantly growing pool of materials and work together to prepare the first day of learning for a successful start.

School visit - orientation before the first day of learning

Before the start of the internship, the class teams (usually 4 students for a 5th grade at a secondary school) visit their future place of work. They get to know their future colleagues, the school and the city, and can familiarize themselves with the journey and the accommodation on offer before they start their semester-long school internship after the autumn vacations.

Accompanying seminar - individual advice related to the school

In the accompanying seminar, the school class teams meet every two weeks for coaching with the TU Dresden lecturers. The meeting usually takes place via video conference. This means it can be easily integrated into everyday study life.

Current content of the joint learning days, challenges and successful approaches are discussed. Above all, the relationship between the theory learned at the university and the experience gained on the practical days is jointly established in this context.

On-site support from (senior) mentors

At the ALSO schools, the so-called (senior) mentors, former teachers at the same school, support the students with practical and organizational questions. In this way, the students learn about traditional solutions and administrative approaches to everyday problems. The experienced teachers are also available to discuss pedagogical issues and observations.

There is a training event for the (senior) mentors. Here, the former teachers familiarize themselves with the framework conditions, objectives and their role in the new internship format. More information can be found further down on this page.

Collegial case consultation (KFB) - strengthening each otherin challenging situations

The KFB is an exchange and reflection format for teaching staff. It is offered by the ELF - Educational Science Teaching and Research Workshop at TU Dresden.

If ALSO students are faced with challenging situations in their lessons, they can receive support in this context, among other things.
In small group counseling sessions, they can discuss pedagogical problems from their lectures, seminars, excursions, internships in a confidential setting and in a protected atmosphere.

Collegial case consultation offers:

• Exchange at eye level: students share their experiences and benefit from the perspectives and advice of their colleagues/ fellow students.
• Practical solutions: The future teachers bring in concrete cases from their everyday school life, such as repeatedly challenging behavior from students, and develop practice-oriented solutions in peer-to-peer discussions.
• Professional development: Early on in their studies, teachers in training reflect on their professional profile and learn to share their experiences and concerns.

This is how it works:

• Bringing in a case: In consultation with the group, participants present a case from their teacher training internship.
• Joint analysis: The group analyzes the case presented in various phases, interprets the situation and develops perspectives.

The advantages:

• Valuable impulses and new perspectives through collegial exchange
• Promotion of your own professional and personal development

Support for mentors

Together with the State Office for Schools and Education (LaSuB)  in Bautzen, the project team invites the (senior) mentors to attend mentor training. The event prepares (former) teachers in a targeted manner to professionally accompany student teachers in the newly designed internship during the semester. In addition to reflecting on their own role as a mentor and developing strategies for constructive support, participants receive comprehensive information on the structure, procedure and objectives of the internship structure. This clear orientation framework enables both mentors and students to receive continuous and transparent support during the internship.

The mentor training is a support service offered by the project staff at the Chair of Education / Inclusive Education (EWIB), who also supervise the students on the ALSO internship. Over the course of the school year, they offer regular virtual meetings, which can be attended by the mentors depending on the need for exchange and coordination.

Advice for ALSO schools and exchange of experience

The project manager and project staff regularly visit the participating schools and conduct joint reflection sessions with the students, for example. These visits always include exchange meetings on current challenges and milestones achieved at the respective location with the school management.

At an ALSO project meeting in January 2026 at the Dresden University School , representatives of the participating schools were able to share their experiences and formulate development proposals for the project team. During a school tour, they got to know the original location of the semester-accompanying school internship and gained insights into the didactic concept for individual learning paths in cooperative settings in the higher grades as well as its implementation.