“Why do politicians only talk to other grown-ups about digital education in the news?” wonders Tjark, a 6^th-grader at the University School Dresden. “We’re experts on homeschooling, too.” This is why he started the project “Education of the Future” with his fellow students, Lene and Florian. In their quest for answers, the group will interview various experts in April, including experts from the world of politics. Anja Karliczek, Federal Minister of Education and Research in Germany, is one of their interview partners. Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer; the Rector of TU Dresden, Prof. Ursula M. Staudinger; Dr. Eva-Maria Stange, former Minister for Higher Education, Research, and the Arts in Saxony; and Prof. Hans Müller-Steinhagen, President of Dresden International University, have also agreed to an interview with the school students.

Inquiry-based learning for German, social studies and media literacy

Project-based learning at the University School Dresden follows the principle of inquiry-based learning. In this process, the three budding journalists develop their research questions using their own interests as a starting point, i.e. based on their lived experiences, in order to find answers. During the course of their research, they decided to interview experts. The project combines content from Saxony’s German, social studies and media literacy curriculum. The project entails exploring journalistic interviews and reports and transferring this knowledge to real-world situations. The students also learn about conducting interviews and during the preparatory research phase, they explore the world of mass media. Finally, they are also responsible for technical aspects of the project – recording, editing and post-production. During the whole project, the students receive support from learning facilitators at the University School Dresden and other experts from the school community.

Students making their voices heard

By conducting these interviews, Helene, Florian and Tjark not only want to answer their research questions, but also help shape the social discourse regarding the future of education. They want to understand the ideas of education experts and give voice to their own perspective as school children instead of letting school administrators, parents and teachers speak for them. During the interviews, they have the chance to have their seat at the table.

Beyond personalized learning, the creation of content for the University School Dresden’s YouTube channel and articles for the student newspaper "UNIzine", the project contributes to the development of new educational formats at the University School Dresden. Learning facilitators and researchers will use the results of the students’ research to discuss the organizational process at the University School Dresden – the school of the future.

About the University School 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

You can gain a glimpse into daily school life and the research project on social media at @unischuleTUD. Follow the links to see the University School accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.