Oct 26, 2026
Transfer from the school trial: ALSO, let's go! Alternative teaching internship enters its third round in eastern Saxony
In learning journals, students record learning goals for the day and reflect on their learning process. The learning journal is used at the USD to promote self-regulated learning, which becomes increasingly important as students advance through the grades
After fall break, about 50 student teachers from TU Dresden will begin their semester-long teaching practicum at seven schools in eastern Saxony. As part of the ALSO project—Alternative Teaching Practicum at Selected Schools in Eastern Saxony— they will work as a team to support their fifth-grade class every week on a joint learning day until the end of the school year. This format allows students to integrate theory and practice early and intensively during their teacher training. At the participating schools, which are affected by a high number of canceled classes, the future teachers support students in their learning, particularly in the subjects of German, English, and math.
New: Subject-Specific Instruction in the Semester-Long B Internship
In the 2026–27 school year, students who have already completed an ALSO A practicum focusing on classroom management will also be able to take the B practicum concurrently with their semester coursework. They are part of the ALSO classroom team and, over the course of the school year, but teach their first subject-specific lessons in a different class. The schools in the municipalities of Malschwitz and Seifhennersdorf are building on the experience from the previous school year, while Görlitz, Löbau, and Neusalza-Spremberg are welcoming prospective teachers already for the third time. New this fall is the Oppach location in Upper Lusatia with an elementary school.
In the 2026–27 school year, six municipalities in the eastern Saxon districts of Görlitz and Bautzen will participate in the Alternative Teaching Internship (ALSO) project.
Lack of planning certainty leads to lower participation numbers
The project team attributes the decline in student numbers and participating schools to organizational difficulties. At the start of the summer semester in April 2026—the time when teacher education students typically begin planning their upcoming practicum phases—negotiations with the State of Saxony regarding funding for the 2026–27 school year had not yet been finalized. Consequently, the ALSO team was not yet able to begin promoting the project.
Growing into the Teaching Profession with Support
At TU Dresden, the participating students are supported and guided through various formats by the ALSO project team with its initiator, Prof. Dr. Anke Langner. They reflect on their practical experience during coaching sessions via video conference and in in-person meetings immediately following their assignments in their 5th-grade classes with project staff member Katja Kuritz. As a seconded faculty member at the Chair of Education / Inclusive Education (EWIB), she plays a key role in shaping the new practicum format at TU Dresden. The coaching sessions are supplemented by a student peer-to-peer format known as collegial case consultation (KFB).
A new format is also possible for the course assessment: Students themselves provide personal insights into their internships through podcasts. Here, they demonstrate impressively deep reflections on their practical experiences. A selection of the ALSO podcasts can be found in the project publications.
Transfer from the Dresden University School Pilot Program
The development and initial testing of the semester-long school practicum at the Dresden University School since 2022 was made possible by the school’s status as a pilot program. Since the 2024–25 school year, participating students and schools in rural areas have benefited from the transfer of the experiences gathered within the school trial of the City of Dresden and TU Dresden. ALSO is scientifically supported and further developed by the Chair of Education / Inclusive Education (EWIB).
About the University School Dresden
Dresden University School is a joint project of the state capital of 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 academic 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.
Information on the research project at TU Dresden: https: //tu-dresden.de/gsw/unischule
Information on the Dresden University School: http://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 GSW newsletter.
Starting in the 2024–25 school year, student teachers at TU Dresden will be able to gain ongoing experience in schools through the project ALSO — Alternative Teaching Practicum, reflect on these experiences under guidance, and connect them to theories from their university education. This is made possible by a revised practicum format and close collaboration between TU Dresden and the partner schools— beginning as early as the first year of study but also in later semesters.
During the semester-long school practicum, students are supported by the Chair of Education / Inclusive Education (EWIB). During their placement, which begins after the fall break and continues throughout the remainder of the school year, students work in teams of four to jointly design a learning day each week for their 5th-grade class. In the A-Internship, the focus is on building a pedagogical relationship, structuring the learning day, and analyzing and reflecting on teaching-and-learning processes; while the B internship focuses on implementing subject-specific teaching and learning approaches using innovative teaching and learning formats, as tested and researched in the Dresden University School pilot project.
- ALSO-project page of the Chair of Education / Inclusive Education
- ALSO-Media Review
- News of the University School Research Unit (ForUS)
- zur Einschreibung im OPAL-Kurs "ALSO - Alternatives Lehramtspraktikum Ostsachsen"
- General information about the practical training phases (school-based practical studies) on the ZLSB website