- Get a helping hand for your own lessons for an entire school year
- Discover new teaching opportunities in a team
- Exchange thoughts on teaching, give and receive feedback
- Share experiences with the next generation of teachers
- Get new input from students of Teacher Education
The Lehr:werkstatt is the answer to two major demands in the field of school and teacher education: It allows the students to have more practical experience and to interact more closely with each individual pupil. The students support lessons in a variety of ways: They enable more differentiated teaching in large and heterogeneous classes, bring in new methods and materials from university research, take over lessons, and are contact persons for your pupils. Last but not least, working together closely in a tandem offers the opportunity for a personal exchange on didactic and educational questions as well as for mutual feedback.
Teachers from secondary schools (Gymnasium), vocational schools and comprehensive schools as well as from state-recognized private schools (with a secondary school branch) in Mannheim and the surrounding area can apply for the Lehr:werkstatt 2023/
Your Lehr:werkstatt year
| September | The introductory workshop for all tandems takes place shortly after the start of the school year. First block internship phase at the start of the school year (1 week) The students are at school every day as full-time support and get to know the daily life in school intimately. With specific observation assignments, the students participate in classes and get a feeling for the class constellation, individual strengths, and the content that is taught. The students are already welcome to take over parts of lessons, teach in a team, or they could jump in at the deep end and directly teach a full lesson. |
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| September to December | During this internship phase, students are regularly at their school for ten weeks, but not on a daily basis (4–5 hours/ The first competence workshop will also be offered during this period. |
| January | Second block internship phase after the winter break (2 weeks) The second block phase is ideal for sitting in on other teachers’ classes and designing lessons or whole teaching units. In addition, this period is ideal for intensifying your team teaching and trying out new elements. |
| February to June | Same as in the fall semester, another ten-week internship phase follows the intensive block phase in the spring semester. Since the students are already much more experienced by now, new tasks can be explored. Everything is imaginable, from the co-creation and correction of exams to the offering of an own after school club (AG). The second and third competence workshops will also be offered during this period. |
| June | Now that there are only a few weeks left until the end of the school year, it is time for an exit interview, in the form of a longer feedback meeting. During this session, the year and the overall cooperation should be looked back at and potentially be connected to an assessment of suitability. |
Please note: All agreements in tandem should be flexible, individual, and suitable for both tandem partners. They can differ depending on the situation at the school, the timetable of the mentor as well as university-related and other obligations of the student. In particular, the exact periods for both 10-week internship phases can be freely agreed on by the tandem. The block internship phases should generally be completed within the specified periods.
The added value of the Lehr:werkstatt compared to conventional internships is shown by the fact that the students are not only involved in the teaching process, but also in organizational tasks, parental work, extracurricular activities, work in departmental student committees, etc. For the “Lehrmentor:innen”, e.g. teachers, there are many incentives for critical reflection and for the further development of one's own teaching due to inquiries and discussions (which are usually not conducted so openly, frequently and intensively in conventional internships). The innovative and well-thought-out workshops within the framework of the Lehr:werkstatt also contribute to this. The relationship of trust with the teacher enables the student to set a course for their career that would not be conceivable in the context of conventional internships. Anyone who has completed a Lehr:werkstatt knows for sure whether teaching is the right professional decision for them.
I am involved in the Lehr:werkstatt because I would have liked to have had such practical school experiences, when I was a student. I am involved in the Lehr:werkstatt because not only the students benefit enormously, but the pupils also receive more individual support through the team teaching. The added value of the Lehr:werkstatt (for me) is particularly evident in the slogan “Mehr Lehrkraft pro Schüler” (more teaching capacity per student), which was used to advertise this innovative internship. The added value of the Lehr:werkstatt (for me) is also shown by the fact that I experienced that through their participation students gained motivation in continuing their studies successfully with a lot of energy. In contrast, some were also able to experience for themselves that they had misjudged the requirements of the profession and then decided to change their program of study. In my opinion, the Lehr:werkstatt is different compared to other projects/
internships because of the close cooperation between teachers and students as equals. Both sides benefit enormously and can learn from each other.
The Lehr:werkstatt offers our teachers of tomorrow an excellent opportunity to experience school practice under realistic conditions and to be able to reflect on their career choice. The students receive intensive and differentiated support from motivated and experienced teachers on site. The matching process contributes enormously to an effective cooperation. Thus, we are able to convey a positive image of school to young people and to give them a potentially lifelong joy of this profession. As a principal, I am very pleased about the young teachers who bring new ideas and a breath of fresh air to the schools. These impulses make everyday school life more lively and contribute to the individual support of our pupils. I hope to be able to support the Lehr:werkstatt for a long time with my teachers and my school.
After 30 years of teaching, the Lehr:werkstatt gives me the opportunity to rethink my usual lessons with future colleagues, try out new things, and question the old. This makes it easier for me to connect with the current generations of pupils, and the teacher can share old experiences and gain new ones. It's a pity that this didn't exist before.
The Lehr:werkstatt inspires!
Credit: Lehr:werkstatt
The Lehr:werkstatt project is now offered at nine different locations in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The central coordination office for the Lehr:werkstatt-Netzwerk in Baden-Württemberg is in Tübingen.
The locations in Baden-Württemberg (Tübingen, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Mannheim and Stuttgart-Ludwigsburg) also cooperate with the four Bavarian locations (Augsburg, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Passau and Würzburg) and together they form the Lehr:werkstatt-Netzwerkverbund. The project is supported by Lehr:Werkstatt e.V.
The Lehr:werkstatt in Baden-Württemberg is conducted in cooperation with the Amanda and Erich NEUMAYER STIFTUNG and its partners.