Since October 2020, a structuring and evaluation commission composed of renowned education specialists and experienced practitioners have been monitoring and supporting the University School Dresden pilot project (see below). The commission is led by Prof. Martin Heinrich (Bielefeld University, head of the unit responsible for researching the Oberstufen-Kolleg pilot school project in North Rhine-Westphalia).

In the first two years, the evaluation reports primarily took stock of the existing structures (focus of the 2020 evaluation report). This serves as a basis to organize future work through further elucidation of the research approach and the neuralgic conceptualization of the theory-praxis ratio for experimental and university schools (focus of the 2021 research report). Based on the research insights gained at the University School Dresden, the commission will work together with the academic leadership and administrators at the school to set further subject-related priorities.

In the first online meeting, Prof. Anke Langner briefly explained the school’s concept and the cornerstones of the pursued research methodology. Following a discussion about urgent organizational issues, the conversation turned to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated measures on the pilot project. In the following, you can find a concise overview of the 2020 findings of the structuring and evaluation commission (download below – source: 2020 Commission Report by the External Structuring and Evaluation Commission for the University School Dresden Pilot Project, unpublished document available in German).

The commission’s report concentrated on the following six core topics:

Full-day school
The commission recommends a reassessment of how the local authority and the university can support a full-day schooling concept. The commission’s recommendation is based on its appraisal that a full school day is paramount to the development, testing and evaluation of an integrated concept such as the University School.

Expansion of the pilot project (upper secondary)
The commission recommends expanding the pilot project to include preparation for school-leaving exams that can lead to university (gymnasiale Reformoberstufe)as an opportunity to refine their profile on a national level in the context of greater flexibility in upper secondary school (Oberstufe). The Oberstufen-Kolleg in Bielefeld can be used as a blueprint for this expansion phase.

Digitalization and infrastructure
In response to the strong conceptual direction of the University School, the commission recommends intensified use of IT resources with the help and support of various partners. This includes mandatory digital organization of the system administration.

The school building requires engagement on the part of university, city and state
“There is a consensus that concept and physical space must ‘match,’ though it is important to note that the space must be adapted to the pedagogic methods and not vice versa.”
The commission refers to the necessity of avoiding long-term construction and renovation phases and interim solutions for the school building, as these entail repeated rethinking of the school’s concept – an unnecessarily burdensome interruption for a pilot school project and its transfer effect.

Innovative teacher training
Innovation in teacher training should be promoted through strategic interdisciplinary partnerships between the Center for Teacher Education and Educational Research (ZLSB), the faculties and the academic leadership at the University School. The heads of the commission offer consultation for the necessary conceptual and organizational considerations.

Promoting and profiling research
The commission has created four subdivisions for strategically structured research at the University School Dresden:

• Research coordination, data management and public relations (can and must only be financed by a supplement to the TUD budget in the long term)
• Research from and on the school’s development, teacher training and the teaching methodologies (plausible model for integrating seconded teachers)
• Basic research and R&D (third-party funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research – BMBF)
• Transfer to advanced teacher training (could be financed by the Saxon Office for School and Education / State Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs)

A structure of subdivisions like this one would ensure the commission the basic conditions and funding it needs to qualitatively evaluate University School research in the long term. To guarantee long-term research funding in this form requires binding structures and agreements on the part of everyone involved.

On-site inspections are in the pipeline to supplement the annual structuring and evaluation commission meetings. The next meeting is scheduled for fall 2021.

Members of the structuring and evaluation commission of the University School Dresden pilot project
Overview of the commission (with brief CVs – in German)

• Prof. Isabell van Ackeren (Vice-Rector for Teaching and Learning – University of Duisburg-Essen)
• Prof. emeritus Herbert Altrichter (former Director of the Linz School of Education)
• Prof. Barbara Asbrand (Goethe University Frankfurt / Academic Supervisor at the Helene-Lange-Schule, Wiesbaden)
• Carmen Bietz (Principal at the Helene-Lange-Schule Wiesbaden / pilot school project in Hesse)
• Dr. Nicola Großebrahm (Center for Teacher Training (ZLB) University of Duisburg-Essen)
• Prof. Martin Heinrich (Bielefeld University, Head of the Unit responsible for Researching the Oberstufen-Kolleg school project piloted by Bielefeld University)
• Dr. Gabriele Klewin (Deputy Head of the Oberstufen-Kolleg – Bielefeld University)
• Prof. Barbara Koch (University of Kassel / academic supervision of pilot school projects in Hesse)
• Prof. Marlis Krainz-Dürr (Rector of the Pädagogische Hochschule Kärnten)
• Prof. Ulrike Lichtinger (Vice-Rector of Education Research & Development at the Pädagogische Hochschule Vorarlberg)
• Prof. Matthias Martens (University of Cologne / associated with the University School of Cologne)
• Prof. Katharina Soukup-Altrichter (Vice-Rector of Teaching and Research at the Pädagogische Hochschule Oberösterreich/University of Education Upper Austria)
• Dr. Lilian Streblow (Head of Quality Development & Research Support, Bielefeld School of Education)
• Prof. Annette Textor (Head of the Academic Unit of the Laborschule Bielefeld)
• Prof. Matthias Trautmann (Regional Siegen Network for School Development / SiNet)
• Stefanie Vogelsaenger (Special Education Teacher, School Development Consultant & Member of School Administration)
• Wolfgang Vogelsaenger (former School Administrator, School Prize & University School, Deutsche Schulakademie Berlin)

Downloads:

• Brief overview of the 2020 findings of the structuring and evaluation commission for the University School Dresden pilot project (PDF in German)
• Overview of the commission members (with short CVs, PDF in German)

University School Dresden – collaborative pilot project headed off by TU Dresden and the City of Dresden

The University School Dresden is a joint project of the City of Dresden and Technische Universität. It is a free, public primary and secondary school funded by the city, where innovative teaching and learning formats are tested under academic supervision. Furthermore, it serves as a training school at TU Dresden for current and future teachers.

Read more about TU Dresden’s research project: https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/unischule
Read more about the University School Dresden: http://universitaetsschule.org

Media inquiries
Maria Völzer
+49 351 463-39917