DRESDEN. School closings and alternating classes are still a heavy burden. This not only applies to children, parents and teachers, but also to students in the teaching profession. At the TU Dresden, many of them signaled a need for support because they could not start their school internships regularly and fear that they would not be able to obtain their degree within the standard period of study. There is now a solution for this: The Chair of Educational Science with a focus on Inclusive Education and the group of equal opportunities officers have created an offer for future teachers and employees of the TU Dresden with the project “Homeschooling Scouts”, from which all sides benefit. A guest contribution by Maria Völzer.
At the beginning of March 2021, the start of the block internship was actually part of the curriculum for numerous students studying teaching subjects. However, due to the ongoing school closings in the secondary schools and the very different conditions for distance learning, many students at TU Dresden could not get started this semester.
Anke Langner, professor of educational science with a focus on inclusive education, reacted quickly to the concerns of the prospective teachers. The homeschooling scouts project was also launched together with the equal opportunities officers to offer employees in the humanities and social sciences (GSW) support in everyday pandemic life.
Since March 8th, students have been able to do their internship directly with pupils, independently of a school. For the students, the project enables practical experience even under the current conditions – and above all within the standard period of study. For the children and adolescents, on the other hand, it is a valuable support for learning at home.
Support offer for employees: inside everyday Corona
The needs of the interns were first assessed by the chair and the GSW department and the employees were invited to participate in the project. Around 70 future teachers with a wide range of subject combinations for elementary and high school expressed interest. The parents of around 100 pupils from the university reported a need for support in distance learning. “Colleagues from all areas of the university have reported back: teaching, research and administration,” said Anke Langner, pleased about the great interest. During a virtual parents’ information evening, she was able to coordinate the possibilities and expectations of the homeschooling scouts project with the parents.
The reported needs of school children for different grade levels and subjects are now the basis for the offers of the students. Math, English, German and physics are particularly popular in grades 5, 6, 7 and 9. At the beginning of March, virtual learning with the homeschooling scouts, for example in German, was started in cooperation between TU Dresden and Dresden University The courses “Main mistakes in orthography and grammar” “Writing good texts – strategies and tips” and “Productive handling of poetry: DIY ridiculous verses and abusive poems – creative dissing made easy.” In addition, support is provided for homeschooling tasks in schools and for individual students Exercise focus given.
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Learning management software from the Dresden University School is used
For data protection-compliant and secure online contact, the learning and school management software is used, which has been used at the Dresden University School since it was founded in August 2019 and is constantly being further developed – albeit in a specially set up minimal version. The homeschooling scouts can post their course offers here and communicate directly with the children by message. The pupils register for the courses, receive a timetable and, in addition to the news function, use the school portal as an interface to online conference tools. The necessary licenses were provided by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at TU Dresden. The data protection concept drawn up by the Dresden Institute for Data Protection and extensive experience with the teaching and learning management software are important prerequisites for using the software.
As an internship, the students now provide support in video conferences, the exchange of learning materials and communication in the portal as well as the independent preparation and follow-up of the lessons and the writing of a reflection in an internship report. The students are not only concerned with the question of whether an internship is possible: “I’m thinking of postponing my block internship. I started my teacher training with the idea of standing in front of a class, and that’s exactly what I would like to try out during this internship phase. But if many are moving now, maybe next year there won’t be enough places in the schools for everyone? I don’t know yet how I will decide, ”doubts future history teacher Anne.
Corona internship, the second!
It is clear that not only the teacher training course at the TU Dresden need a replacement for the school internship. An expansion of the support offer for learning at home for parents and children who have no connection to the TU Dresden and students from other universities would be conceivable and desirable. However, there is currently a lack of human resources for this. The project is organized and managed by the Chair of Educational Science with a focus on Inclusive Education – in addition to regular teaching and research activities and the very intensive support of school development at the Dresden University School – and the GSW Equal Opportunities Officer. Data protection and the digital infrastructure are also not immediately and easily available for scaling for a larger target group.
Students and parents were faced with similar problems as early as March 2020. At that time, after the nationwide #WIRvsVIRUS hackathon of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the student-run Corona-School internship exchange was created. Here students and pupils are placed online for voluntary 1-to-1 support in distance learning and support each other in the process.
The homeschooling scouts project at TU Dresden also enables work in small groups and, in addition to practical experience, offers students academic support and recognition as a study achievement.
At the same time, the homeschooling scouts project is of course an offer in times of low planning security. On March 4th, the opening of all Saxon schools, including the secondary schools, was announced in an alternating model. The homeschooling scouts’ courses were initially planned and carried out for the week starting March 8th. After the Easter break, everyone involved will react as flexibly as possible to the latest developments.
The Dresden University School
Information on the research project at TU Dresden: https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/unischule
Information about the Dresden University School: http://universitaetsschule.org
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