The ongoing debate on the digitalisation and the Digital Pact is a major challenge for the educational system. While some schools feel overwhelmed by the high expectations with regard to new possibilities for learning and teaching and parents are often sceptical, enthusiasts feel that the digital transformation process is not going fast enough. There are currently only a few teachers who can imagine teaching online - some of their students, however, start coordinating their homework via social media as early as primary school. How can teachers meet these conflicting expectations?

Upon initiative of the two Vice-Rectors Prof. Hans Georg Krauthäuser (TU Dresden) and Prof. Thomas Hofsäss (Leipzig University), TU Dresden and Leipzig University have launched the large-scale research project ‘Teaching using digital media in Saxony - UndiMeS’ (Unterrichten mit digitalen Medien in Sachsen – UndiMeS). In this project, researchers will develop novel approaches to teacher training and continuing education in the digital age. One the one hand, the project aims at strengthening the media-related competencies of teachers who are already working in the profession through an online-supported qualification programme. On the other hand, it aims specifically at empowering future teachers - initially for the subjects of mathematics and computer science - to responsibly exploit the potential of digital media in the classroom in order to foster the digitalisation of teaching. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is providing a total of around 5.5 million EUR over a period of three years. Through this project, the Federal Government seeks to establish a reference project the results of which can be transferred into practice nationwide.

Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer had strongly supported the joint project: 

“The digital pact between the Federal and State governments is a great opportunity for our schools. Now, we need to substantialise it. With the new joint project, Saxony is one of the first Federal States that starts to support its prospective and experienced teachers systematically and with the assistance of science to realise a digitalised teaching practice. My thanks go to the many smart minds who support this project and drive it forward. This will benefit everyone - not least the students in our Free State of Saxony.”

“Digitally supported learning methods and corresponding media skills as an educational task play an increasingly important role for schools”, says project leader Prof. Thomas Köhler, head of the Media Centre at TU Dresden and Chair of Educational Technology. “We need a paradigm shift. In theory, research has addressed the field well, but without sufficiently transferring the results into teaching practice. Through the project ‘Teaching using digital media in Saxony’ we want to close this gap and develop concrete concepts for the continuing education of teachers of all school types.”

The TU Dresden sub-project focuses on the digital literacy of teachers: What should they be proficient in and how can the necessary competencies be acquired? How can digital media be integrated into teacher training? How can digital technology be firmly anchored in teaching practice? Ideally, teachers should be able to expand their own competencies while taking into account their individual personal limits.

At Leipzig University, researchers in mathematics and computer science didactics are developing sample scenarios for digitalised teaching. These are evaluated together with subject teachers, and the prototypes tested in schools.

“The fact that digitalisation offers completely new possibilities for teaching that is tailored to the needs of the learners should not really surprise anyone. In many cases, however, this approach is still failing because given the extent of new possibilities, teachers feel overwhelmed in their daily work. Not everything that is possible is also good. To develop and provide guidance - especially for future teachers - is the great challenge of current subject didactics“, says Prof. Silvia Schöneburg-Lehnert, Professor for Didactics of Mathematics and sub-project leader at Leipzig University.

In collaboration with her colleague, JProf. Sven Hofmann from the Institute of Computer Science at Leipzig University, this shortage will be remedied by didactically sound sample scenarios that have been tested in schools. This will enable the next generation of teachers to decide which content should be taught most efficiently with what teaching methods and what digital media in order to achieve the greatest possible learning success for the students.

Joint project ‘Teaching using digital media in Saxony - UndiMeS’

Partners
TU Dresden – Media Centre and Faculty of Education; Prof. Thomas Köhler (Head of project)

Leipzig University – Chair of Didactics of Mathematics and Chair of Didactics of Computer Science; Prof. Silvia Schöneburg-Lehnert (Head of project Leipzig University) and JProf. Sven Hofmann

Project term
15^th November 2019 to 31^st December 2022

Funding
circa 5.5 million EUR

Information for journalists
Prof. Thomas Köhler (TU Dresden)
Tel.: +49 351 463-35301

Prof. Silvia Schöneburg-Lehnert (Universität Leipzig)
Tel.: +49 341 97-32160