Prof. Borowski, you always emphasize how important the subject-specific training of student teachers is. Why?
Because we train teachers who need to understand their own subject to be able to teach it in line with the core curriculum. They learn this in subject didactics, which we have more clearly aligned with practice in the study regulations. By the way, we are in the upper range nationwide for the percentage of subject didactics!
Talking about practical relevance. How can students gain teaching experience at an early stage?
The teacher training program includes a total of five school internships, ranging from shadowing in the first year of study to a practical semester at the end of the program. These internships build on each other, are interlinked with the courses, and are thoroughly prepared and evaluated. Qualified mentors at the internship schools play a crucial role in this process. There is also a network of campus schools.
What are these campus schools?
These are schools where we collaborate with students to conduct research on specific educational topics. Our aim is to make teacher training programs not only career-oriented but also research-based, i.e. closely linked to educational science.
Why is it important for the student teachers to actively do research?
In doing so, they will understand a research methodology that they will later have to teach their students, especially in senior high school to prepare them for academic work at a university. They should also be able to understand the latest educational science findings and put them into practice – ideally, throughout their entire professional life.
What role can the university school that is planned for Potsdam play in this context?
It will be extremely important for knowledge transfer. From inclusive and digital education to learning support, new methods can be tested and then implemented in other schools. It will serve as a beacon project for combining theory and practice, and it is definitely not an elite initiative! Instead, it stands as a best-practice example of schooling that integrates everyone.
Also a place for continued education?
Of course, but not the only one. Together with the Brandenburg State Institute for Schools and Teacher Training, we want to establish completely new structures for continued education. It is not enough to attend an event once a year. Instead, we need cycles with several dates so that teachers have the opportunity to try out and reflect on what they have learned. The University of Potsdam has set standards nationwide with its qualification program for refugee teachers.
What will happen next?
We will use these valuable experiences and try to develop an International Teachers Program to generally qualify more teachers from abroad for the German school system. Against the backdrop of increasing migration, it is also becoming increasingly important for German students to acquire intercultural and language skills.
Such as?
In international student exchanges or within our European University Alliance EDUC. A special feature, however, is that Potsdam student teachers can complete their internship semester abroad. We cooperate with 16 partner schools worldwide, from Indonesia to Ghana and Colombia. The aim is also to gain an understanding of global developments.
Since this semester, the University of Potsdam has also been training teachers for vocational schools. Why?
In order to help meet the extremely high demand in the country. The master’s degree program qualifies teachers for the professional fields of technology and business. It is noteworthy that a teaching-related bachelor’s degree is not needed here. If they meet the respective subject requirements, the program is therefore open to students with a bachelor’s degree in a technical field, for example in engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, or economics.
A master’s degree in Digital Education is also new…
For many years, the university has been researching how digital media can be structurally integrated into school lessons. This, of course, is integrated into teacher training. The “lernen:digital” joint project led by Potsdam has given this development a further boost. The new master‘s degree program aims to produce experts who are urgently needed for the digital transformation in the field of education.
Andreas Borowski is Professor of the Didactics of Physics and Director of the Center for Teacher Training and Education Research at the University of Potsdam.
This text (in german language) was published in the university magazine Portal - Zwei 2024 „Europa“ (PDF).