The aim of the Oldenburg teacher training programme is to train teachers for current and future challenges in schools that are not yet foreseeable and cannot be planned for. This requires prospective teachers to have an open, flexible attitude that enables them to react adaptively to changing school conditions by balancing a pedagogical approach to pupils on the one hand and a sound professionalism on the other in order to achieve teaching practice that is both appropriate to the target group and at the same time relevant. To this end, they can draw on a wide range of skills, knowledge and methods.

These include

• that students have both subject-specific and practical expertise;
• that they distinguish between specialised, didactic and educational science perspectives in order to systematically relate them to each other;
• that they continuously adapt teaching processes and didactic structures to the learning requirements and needs of the students by means of their own reflective diagnostics - in accordance with their reflective and research-based attitude and professionalism as a teacher;
• that they critically reflect on educational processes and processes of school and lesson development in order to realise cooperative and interdisciplinary school activities;
• that prospective teachers, aware of the necessary social transformations and global responsibility, use their teaching to empower children and young people to cope with current and future tasks in a sustainable way;
• that they are able to take on pedagogical responsibility in school practice in order to support pupils in a way that is equitable and in line with their needs and potential
• and that they are sensitive to diversity and the heterogeneous requirements of pupils in order to utilise these professionally as potential for inclusive school life.

All teaching-related degree programmes are divided into specialised subjects, didactics and educational sciences. In order to ensure the greatest possible proximity to the subject, the individual subject didactics at the UOL are decentralised in the respective subjects of School I to V. In the study curricula of all teaching-related degree programmes, the training components from specialised sciences, didactics and educational sciences are to be interlinked in a structured and spiral-curricular manner.

In their teaching and research, specialised disciplines, didactics and educational sciences place particular emphasis on a professional attitude and skills development in teacher training. The aim is to prepare student teachers for the diverse tasks they will face at school so that they can help shape the educational policy challenges of a changing society with their teaching development.

In the tradition of teacher training in Oldenburg, all teaching-related degree programmes are characterised by a close integration of theory and practice. At the UOL, there is a broad spectrum of specific, practice-orientated courses for interlinking theory and practice, which are specifically prepared and followed up and accompanied by integration into the courses. Theoretical content is related to its implementation in school practice in a structured way and practical teaching activities are specifically reflected on in a theory-based manner.

This enables student teachers to gain practical school experience in various learning contexts throughout their degree programme and to build and expand their knowledge and skills cumulatively. In doing so, they familiarise themselves with the professional field of school from the perspective of a teacher and review their academic appointment and career choice.

The central elements of this are the school internships in the Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes, which are mandatory practical elements for obtaining a teaching degree.

In particular, the Oldenburg teacher training programme has teaching-learning rooms(OLELA) in numerous subjects. These are typically places where student teachers teach small groups of pupils in short learning sequences that they have previously developed in university courses under supervision. The implementation is then critically reflected upon and the methodological and didactic structure of the unit is adapted. Research projects for Bachelor's and Master's theses can also be carried out in the OLELA. The teaching-learning rooms supplement the school placements to be completed as part of the degree programme with a further form of linking subject-specific and didactic theory with practical learning and teaching experience. OLELA are increasingly being anchored in the curricula of teaching degree programmes in the subjects.

In order to demonstrate the realisation and special features of the theory-practice spaces in teacher training in Oldenburg, the concept paper "Theory-practice references in Oldenburg teacher training", which can be downloaded from this page, was created as part of the BMBF project "Biography-oriented and cross-phase teacher training in Oldenburg" (OLE+) funded by the quality offensive for teacher training.

Teacher training in Oldenburg is organised across all phases and is particularly integrated into the training region through co-operation with schools and study seminars in selected modules. Compulsory internships at regional schools of all school types in the training region are anchored in the dual-subject Bachelor's programme with a teacher training focus and in the Master of Education programmes.

At the UOL, the systematic interlinking of the training phases is promoted in particular by the fact that people from the teaching profession or the study seminars are involved in the university courses. This particularly promotes the connectivity of the Master of Education degree programmes with the traineeship.

The UOL also has other co-operation formats in the area of theory-practice interlinking, which continuously influence the further development of teaching. These include, in particular, specific conference and event formats, cross-phase fields of work, committee formats and projects.

Our study curricula, counselling and support services promote the personal, biographical and professional development of student teachers.

The teacher training programme at the UOL promotes the development of a professional attitude for lifelong learning. Freedom of choice in the curricula enables individual focal points for in-depth examination of professional competences and content.

Institutionally anchored support services and counselling on topics specific to the teaching profession are offered; self-organised study projects enable independent and autonomous planning, use and reflection of learning opportunities.

Particular emphasis is placed on the development of reflection, discourse and judgement skills based on subject-specific, didactic and educational science competencies. This includes sensitising prospective teachers to the processes of their own professional development and to changes in schools and teaching. We see the promotion of personal development and personal responsibility as important components for professional teacher training and for later responsibility in the academic appointment as a teacher.

Research-related modules are compulsory in degree programmes related to teaching. Research-based learning is integrated into specific practical school modules and research methodology modules and anchored in the curriculum. Modules with specific formats (e.g. in teaching-learning spaces) provide the framework for research-based professional learning. Self-organised study projects (e.g. for final theses) enable students to plan, design and carry out learning and research processes independently and on their own responsibility.

Teacher training in Oldenburg is characterised by a wide range of interdisciplinary research activities specifically related to teacher training. Our university has a 20-year tradition of structured support for young talent in teacher training, in which interdisciplinary, cross-subject and cross-faculty doctoral programmes have been carried out jointly by didactics and educational sciences. We thus offer graduates the opportunity to gain further academic qualifications in teacher training.

We consider active engagement with current social and educational policy issues to be central to responsible behaviour in later academic appointments. Current societal challenges are not only reflected in the curricula in accordance with the legal training requirements. In line with the specialisations in the specialised sciences, didactics and educational sciences, selected social and, in particular, educational policy topics are also addressed in greater depth in various modules.

Social and educational policy issues require an interdisciplinary approach, which characterises teacher training in Oldenburg thanks to a culture of interdisciplinary and inter-faculty cooperation that has grown over decades.

This has given rise to cooperative networks that integrate and utilise the methods and ways of thinking of the various disciplines. This has resulted in improved understanding across disciplinary boundaries.

The UOL supports social and educational transformation processes from the perspective of reflective scientific monitoring. The aim is to impart a reflective attitude and strategies to graduates of Oldenburg's teaching degree programmes so that they can actively shape school and teaching development processes themselves in the future teaching profession against the background of continuous social and, in particular, educational policy changes.

A key goal in the internationalisation of teacher training is for student teachers from all types of schools to acquire intercultural skills by studying abroad or completing an internship in order to sharpen their awareness of current global and socially relevant issues and challenges.

All teaching-related degree programmes open up a mobility window for stays abroad. This means that one semester of study or at least one of the compulsory school internships can be completed abroad. The UOL offers counselling formats and specific information events (e.g. "Teaching abroad - school internship abroad") for stays abroad as part of the teacher training programme. Many of our university lecturers supervise qualification work in combination with stays abroad and/or co-operations with international partners.