Double success in the Telekom Foundation's university competition: The University of Oldenburg is the only university to score points in two subject areas. The funding makes it possible to develop and test new approaches to STEM teacher training.
In the Telekom Foundation's university competition for better teacher training in the STEM subjects of Mathematics, Computing Science, Natural Sciences and Technology, the University of Oldenburg was the only university to come out on top in two subject areas. It received 200,000 euros each for the areas of "Teaching and learning laboratories" and "Development in heterogeneous learning groups". A total of 63 proposals were submitted to the jury of STEM experts, with nine universities receiving funding. In addition to Oldenburg, these are the Technical University of Berlin and the universities of Bremen, Gießen, Kiel, Koblenz-Landau, Lüneburg, Münster and Tübingen.
From 2014, the universities will be working in three nationwide networks on key issues relating to STEM teacher training. The foundation is investing a total of four million euros in this programme. "The double success in the Telekom Foundation's university programme impressively demonstrates that Oldenburg's research enjoys a first-class reputation in the field of teacher training. The jury considers the Oldenburg concepts to be coherent, innovative and sustainable," says Prof Dr Gunilla Budde, Vice President for Teaching and Learning at the University of Oldenburg and also responsible for research projects in teacher training. The funding makes it possible to develop and test new approaches to STEM teacher training.
The "Teaching-Learning Labs Development Network", in which the University of Oldenburg is involved, is coordinated by Freie Universität and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Other project partners are the universities of Kiel, Münster and Koblenz-Landau. The network is dedicated to the question of how universities can further develop their student laboratories into teaching-learning laboratories and embed them in the curriculum of teacher training programmes in such a way that future teachers can already gain experience in practical teaching during their studies. The spokesperson for the Oldenburg applicants for this part of the project is physics didactics expert Prof Dr Michael Komorek. In recent years, scientists at the University of Oldenburg have gained a wide range of insights into teaching and learning research through the OLELA network - which includes CHEMOL, technical education and Computing Science programmes, the Green School, the Sensory School and the physiXS and Wadden Sea student laboratories - which they are now contributing to the development network, emphasises Komorek.
In the second network, coordinated by the Technical University of Dortmund, Oldenburg scientists are conducting research into the diagnosis and promotion of heterogeneous learning groups together with experts from the Universities of Bremen and Gießen. According to mathematics didactics expert and spokesperson for the Oldenburg applicants, Prof. Dr Astrid Fischer, the aim is to analyse how STEM teacher candidates can be prepared for dealing with an increasingly diverse student body - also with regard to issues of inclusion. The focus is on the important processes of diagnosing and supporting learning processes.
