Martin, Germany
To be honest, the German education system can be quite frustrating at times. Because of the federal structure, all sixteen German states, or more precisely the ministries or administrations of education, can decide for themselves what curricula should be followed, what kind of (final) assessment should be used, what types of school can be attended and how long one should stay in primary school. Metaphorically speaking, the German education system is a very heavy and slow-moving ship, and the process of change takes a long time.
In recent years, however, there has been a paradigm shift. Many schools in different states have become so-called ‘model schools’, i.e. they are moving away from traditional teaching (especially the input-oriented style) and establishing a new learning culture. This new culture means giving our learners the opportunity to acquire the skills, attitudes and values they need to be self-determined and responsible in order to cope with an increasingly confusing world. You may have heard of the acronym VUCA. It describes what we can expect from our future world: volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. As you can see, there are many challenges ahead for our learners, and we need to equip them to act responsibly in a democratic society. This new learning culture also places a strong emphasis on the 21st century skills (four ‘C’s): communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. In the classroom, we want our learners to use these skills, so we as teachers need to change our teaching style to a more individualised, open and formative learning environment. By the way, not only is the culture of learning changing, but so is our traditional assessment. More and more schools are moving away from traditional forms such as class tests to more communicative and interactive project work where the four ‘C’s are intentionally applied.
As a lecturer at two universities in two different German states, as a teacher, as a member of the school management and as a teacher trainer, it is great to see these changes from different perspectives and how they develop on different levels – from the university to schools to workshops for teachers.
