Dr. rer. nat. Jessica Petereit
Dr. Michael Peetz
TeachSynergy
Project description
"Improvement of teaching quality in resource-limited countries under the UN SDGs" was launched in mid-2023 and renamed to TeachSynergy in 2024.
The aim of the project is to translate the teaching and learning labs which have already been successfully tested at the University of Oldenburg and adapt them for resource-limited countries. This is closely linked to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, which declared in its Agenda 2030 to establish and improve sustainability goals worldwide.
As part of a project trip, the compiled and translated materials were successfully tested in a three-day workshop with a total of 19 teachers at Aberdare Primary School in Cape Town, South Africa. This included not only conducting experiments, but also evaluating the materials themselves. In keeping with the spirit of the project, the materials, regulations and units from the fields of chemistry and computer science that we are familiar with and have tested in Germany were tested under conditions of restricted resources. The feedback from the participating teachers and organizers was not only positive, but also included the desire for further materials and workshops on other subjects (such as biology, Sachunterricht or mathematics). Another important aim of the trip was to visit schools in the region to check the feasibility of the materials, taking into account the resources available. These visits showed, on the one hand, the widely differing distribution of resources and, on the other, the great need for our teaching and learning materials. The feedback from the teachers at the workshop also confirmed this, showing great interest in more materials for low-cost experiments and the desire to implement these in their classes.
In the coming year, the project plans to expand further by translating more teaching-learning labs and testing them in corresponding countries. The website for this is still under construction but will be filled with more information throughout the year.