Millions in Funding for Chemnitz Teacher Training

Chemnitz University of Technology was successful in its application to fund a project in the realm of ‘Digital Learning Environments at Primary Schools’, as a part of the Bund-Länder Programme

The Chemnitz University of Technology project “Digital Learning Environments in Primary Schools” (DigiLeG) has been awarded with around 2.4 million euro in funding over the next four years. The university had successfully established this project for the digitisation of primary school training within the framework of the “Quality Initiative Teacher Training” programme, which is a part of the Federal Ministry for Education Research (BMBF) and the Saxon State Ministry for Science and the Arts (SMWK). A final application is now the last, purely formal, step before the funds get released.

“I am very pleased with this successful campaign, and I congratulate everyone involved. Receiving this funding is a clear indication of the high performance and achievement of our teacher training here at Chemnitz University of Technology,” said Prof. Dr. Gerd Strohmeier, President of Chemnitz University of Technology.

“Within the scope of the DigiLeG project, we have laid an essential foundation for the development of digital education at primary schools in Saxony. New ideas resonate out from Chemnitz into the region, where digital learning environments will be a central component in primary school teaching,” said Prof. Dr. Maximilian Eibl, Vice President for Teaching and International Affairs at Chemnitz University of Technology.

Laying the foundations for digitised primary school education

The goal of the “DigiLeG” project is to support Saxon primary schools in digitisation efforts. Managing the project is Prof. Dr. Leena Kristina Bröll, Chair of the Professorship for Primary School Pedagogy (GSD) in the area of Sachunterricht (primary sciences and social studies) at Chemnitz University of Technology. Also involved in the project are Prof. Dr. Birgit Brandt, Chair of the Professorship for Primary School Pedagogy in the area of mathematics, Prof. Dr. Meike Breuer, Chair of the Professorship of Sport and Exercise Pedagogy, Jun. Prof. Dr. Henriette Dausend, Chair of the Junior Professorship for Primary School Pedagogy in the area of English, Jun. Prof. Dr. Minkyung Kim, Chair of the Junior Professorship for Primary School Pedagogy in the area of Children and Philosophy, and Prof. Dr. Michael Krelle, Chair of the Professorship for Primary School Pedagogy in the area of German.

A concrete step towards the implementation of the project is the creation of a freely-accessible, internet-based database that contains examples of best practices. Students from Chemnitz University of Technology will be specifically involved here, because as future teachers they are perfectly situated to make foundational contributions to the establishment of digital learning environments across the Saxon primary school landscape.

The Center for Teacher Education (ZLB) of Chemnitz University of Technology provides the ideal conditions for this, since numerous digital media are already utilised for teaching there. However, as the effectiveness of these media is not guaranteed, the “DigiLeG” project also strives to provide students with opportunities to understand the uses and limitations of digital technology. A significant part of this is the effective introduction of digital tools in the classroom. Within the scope of “DigiLeG”, knowledge that already exists in the ZLB and pre-existing experiences with digital media will be combined in a didactically and methodically meaningful way, and utilised in corresponding lessons.

For more information, please contact Prof. Dr. Leena Kristina Bröll, Chair of the Professorship for Primary School Pedagogy in the area of Sachunterricht at Chemnitz University of Technology. Telephone +49 371 531 30591, E-mail leena.broell@zlb.tu-chemnitz.de.

(Author: Matthias Fejes, Translation: Jeffrey Karnitz)

Mario Steinebach
29.05.2019

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