Digital media for university teacher training

Campus news

3/2/2018

The Technical University of Munich (TUM) has succeeded in the second round of the quality campaign for teacher training “Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung”. Today the selection committee recommended that the German federal and state governments provide a subsidy of approximately 5.5 million Euros for TUM projects that can benefit teacher training curricula throughout Germany. For example, TUM is launching a public Web portal for digital media used in training and is testing a model in which the teacher training phase is integrated with the Master's degree program. Teacher training is given a very high priority at TUM.

Seminar in teaching studies — Video analyses of teachers' behavior in front of the class are an important part of the studies at TUM School of Education. (Image: A. Eckert / TUM)

The TUM School of Education program “Teach@TUM”, which since 2015 has received 5.4 million Euros in the first support phase, can now be continued until 2023. It has two objectives: Designing teacher training curricula according to scientific findings, and the optimum combination of specialized scientific knowledge, specialized didactics, educational science and elementary and secondary school practice in the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Digital media for teacher training:

Digital media offer (future) teachers many advantages, not only in schools, but also in training and continuing education. The teacher training Web portal “Toolbox Lehrerbildung” offers them videos free of charge which illustrate situations from elementary and secondary school practice, interactive visualizations of subject matter and assignments for gauging their learning progress. The “Toolbox”, which is currently in the test phase, is to be implemented in teacher training starting at the middle of this year.

Making educational research transparent:

It's difficult to gain a clear picture of the large number of studies on school instruction. Accordingly TUM has therefore launched an online platform that summarizes the current state of educational research in transparent and easily comprehensible form. The lesson resource “Clearing House Unterricht” answers specific questions that arise in everyday school activities.

Master's and teacher training phase in a single curriculum:

A Master's degree model including the teacher training phase is unique in Germany. The advantage: Teaching topics which were in the past distributed across the various training phases are now better aligned with one another – in part in the study seminar (teacher training phase), and in part at TUM (Master's). Launched in 2016, the degree program “Berufliche Bildung Integriert” combines career and training. Aimed at those changing careers from engineering fields, it is thus intended to remedy the shortage of young staff at vocational schools.

STEM meets business economics:

Since its founding in 2009 the TUM School of Education has developed new teacher training curricula that better combine specialized scientific knowledge, specialized didactics and educational science with one another and orient them more closely to the practical skills needed in schools. According to this principle, the curricula are to be expanded to include new content integrating business economics with the STEM subjects.

Faculty for Teacher Training and Educational Research

“At TUM teacher training curricula is controlled centrally by the TUM School of Education, ensuring the ongoing synchronization of educational progress across all faculties involved,” says TUM president Prof. Wolfgang A. Herrmann. “This means students can be certain that they are always being taught according to the latest methods and that they will continue to receive training when working as teachers.”