"I'll be back!" - Minister of Education Conrad Clemens visits Dresden University School

"This is a prelude. I'll be back!" said Minister of Education Conrad Clemens as he said goodbye to Dresden University School. One of many schools on his tour through Saxony, but definitely a very special one!

While the Year 10 students worked up a sweat during the "special performance assessment" (BLF - Besonderen Leistungsfeststellung) and the Year 7 and 8 mastered the Saxon competency tests, Headmistress Maxi Heß presented the innovative school concept: individual learning paths, projects instead of subjects, feedback instead of grades and joint learning in mixed-age and mixed-performance groups from the start of school to graduation.

The minister found the school and learning management software, which makes all of this possible, particularly exciting. It is used to plan and document individual learning paths and facilitate communication between pupils, parents and learning support staff. Each data point also flows into the "data treasure" of the real-world laboratory in order to gain an even better understanding of how learning succeeds. TU Dresden's ForUS research unit supports the project by evaluating and collecting additional data. This way, educational research and the university school team work together to continuously develop the school.

The pupils from the Uranus group also provided exciting insights: they showed how they use their logbook to plan their learning day and record their progress already in years 1 to 3. In the container building of the primary school, Conrad Clemens also had the opportunity to experience how the tied full day is organized in tandem by teachers and educators.

The subsequent discussion with the extended school management team, representatives of the student and parents' councils, as well as state parents' representative Ronald Lindecke, focused on the opportunities and challenges of being Saxony's first public community school from Year 1 to (soon) the Abitur. The Saxony State Office for Schools and Education (LaSuB) and the Dresden Education Authority also spoke to the group about what has already been achieved - and what is still to come.

Principal Maxi Heß invites Conrad Clemens to think ahead together: "We are happy to share our experiences on learning formats, future-oriented education and data-supported school development. We look forward to your next visit to the real-world laboratory for the school of the future in Saxony!"

About the University School Dresden

The Dresden University School is a joint project of the state capital Dresden and the TUD Dresden University of Technology. It is a public and free community school run by the city, where innovative forms of teaching and learning are tested under scientific supervision. In addition, it is a training school for future teachers and, in the future, a further education school for teachers. The school trial is being scientifically supported by the ForUS research center at TU Dresden.

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

You can find insights into the research project and everyday school life on various social media channels under @unischuleTUD: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. News from the University School Dresden project can be found regularly in the TU Dresden GSW newsletter