Taking breaks
© JoDDiD
What this episode is about:
You have probably already noticed that we are always a bit resistant to the idea that didactics is something similar - or even the same - as methodology. In our view, didactics is much more than that. Didactics is about all the basic questions of teaching, yet you will find no or very few instructions on classic teaching methods in our evening school. In our piece WHY DIDACTICS IS NOT METHODOLOGY AND METHODS ARE NOT EVERYTHING, many classical methods are briefly addressed. But we believe there are enough instructions for the classics. That's why our focus in this collection of methods is a little different. Weirder. More unusual. On methodological challenges that are often overshadowed. With this in mind, we want to take a look at breaks.
Every educational program has breaks. So they are not that new and special. Rather, they are so self-evident that they are often overlooked in planning. Yet we all know from our own experience that breaks are important. We only go to some events because of the breaks, because we can meet certain people, exchange ideas, find out news or want to be seen.
Before we start:
This episode of Evening School, like most, is about 30 minutes long. It is question-led and encourages you to rethink your own repertoire of methods.
The central question is:
It's strange: although everyone appreciates breaks, so far there are no break tactics. No specific instructions on how to organize them. We want to change that now. In this piece, we want to look at what makes a good break and what this has to do with the educational events around it. But see for yourself.
Who am I listening to?
The author and speaker in this episode is Prof. Dr. Anja Besand, Director of the John Dewey Research Centre and Chair of Didactics of Civic Education at Dresden University of Technology. You can find out more about her here.
In-depth literature
Authors' group for subject didactics (2016): Wie begründe ich Methoden?, in: What is good political education, Schwalbach/ Ts., pp. 132-142.
Besand, Anja (2022): Von Zielgruppen zu Formaten und Räumen. oder: Warum wir in der politischen Bildung nicht so sehr auf Zielgruppen fixiert sein sollen, in: Außerschulische Bildung. Zeitschrift der politischen Jugend- und Erwachsenenbildung 3/2022, available online here.
Friedrich, Uwe (2017): Die schönsten Pausen der Musikgeschichte, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, available online here.
Self-assessment tasks
Question 1:
Against the background of the quality criteria presented in the piece, develop an intermission concept for an educational event of your choice. Briefly outline the event, your break concept and explain why you have focused on certain criteria.
Question 2:
How would you describe the relationship between didactics and methodology and in what way do didactic issues go beyond methodological issues?
Question 3:
Describe the best break you have witnessed in an educational event so far and explain why this break was so important to you.
Question 4:
The evening school's Pause machen play lists eight criteria to help make breaks more productive for civic education. Can you think of any others? Introduce them briefly and explain why these points are also important for political education or democratic work.