Practical school studies

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Practical school studies

The practical school studies serve as an introduction to teaching activities. They relate to pedagogical and subject-related as well as didactical, socio-cultural and methodological issues of industrial-technical teaching.

The  1.SPS, which you complete in the bachelor's phase during the lecture-free period, offers the possibility to apply the competences acquired in the university in a practical phase. 

The  2nd SPS, which are part of the Master's program, focus on deepening the subject didactic competencies and thus offer the opportunity to independently plan and implement industrial-technical lessons. These SPS are completed during the semester. 

Goals of the SPS

In doing so, students will learn to...

  • to initiate the role change from former students to future teachers with the support of mentors and pedagogical staff of the University of Kassel.
  • to relate educational science and subject didactic findings to classroom reality.
  • to make a well-founded assessment of the possibilities and limits of teacher action with regard to their own individual personality. From this, they should initiate the first developmental steps towards a (self-)conscious teacher personality.

Finally, in accompanying university events, the students reflect on the experiences they have gained in the schools. Here, reference is also made to scientific theories and findings. In this way, theory and practice are closely linked and made mutually useful.

Practical School Studies I and II - Vocational Education

Practical School Studies I - Business Education

Organization and Procedure

The practical school studies I are part of the core studies and are in this sense not to be regarded as a subject didactic event, but have primarily the task to give the students a first insight into the school system. In addition, they are intended to initiate the role change from student to teacher.

In order to enable students to take these steps, the course is designed to be very comprehensive and is composed of a preparatory seminar, a block practicum, and a follow-up seminar. The follow-up seminar is conducted in large parts as an accompanying seminar during the block internship in order to ensure the temporal proximity to the internship.

Semester

Lecture period:
2 SWS Preparatory seminar:

  • Preparation of the block internship
  • the students organize independently an internship place

Lecture-free period:
2 SWS Follow-up seminar:
The follow-up seminar is held as an accompanying seminar in blocks close in time to the block internship.

5 weeks block internship:

  • Observations at the schools
  • Documentation of lesson observations
  • 2 teaching experiments

Weekly 4-hour seminar sessions to accompany the internship: Block day for follow-up.

Unlike other disciplines, vocational education students are responsible for organizing their own internship placement during the preparatory seminar. All district vocational schools located in the northern and eastern part of Hesse can be selected. In case of questions regarding the choice of school, these can be clarified in detail with the internship supervisor during the preparatory seminar.

Registration via HISPOS is necessary before attending the internship. If too many interested students register for SPS I Vocational Education in one semester, we may still be able to provide spots in one of our colleagues' seminars in the area of business education if students register in advance. Since SPS I is part of the core curriculum and not subject-specific, this is entirely possible.

Contents of the SPS I

The School Practical Studies I are part of the core studies and are in this sense not to be regarded as a subject-specific didactic course, but have primarily the task to give the students a first insight into the school system. They are also intended to initiate the change of role from student to teacher. The objectives and contents of SPS I can be found in the Module Examination Regulations . Specifically, the following content will be addressed during SPS I:

Contents of the preparatory seminar

  • The students create a self-concept, i.e. they deal with the teacher role. This may focus on the following questions:
    • How do I see myself as a future teacher?
    • What is society's view of the teaching profession?
    • What expectations are attached to the job description and which parts of society have which specific expectations?
    • Is it possible and necessary to meet the expectations of others in the teaching profession?
    • Why is it so important to deal so intensively with the role of the teacher in the course of the teacher's image?
  • Students will address the topic of classroom observation. The following questions are open for discussion: 
    • What is the purpose of classroom observation?
    • What does observation mean from a scientific point of view?
    • Which observation criteria exist at all?
    • Which ones are useful and purposeful for lesson observation in SPS I?
    • How can lesson observations be documented?
  • The students plan lessons and deal with different topics in this context:
    • Reading curricula and correctly identifying competencies and content. 
    • Formulating competencies.
    • Selecting content and organizing the temporal course.
    • Selecting methods and critically reflecting on them.
    • Developing learning situations (especially for dual training occupations).
    • Think through possibilities of individualization and use them where possible.
  • An attempt is made to plan and carry out an excursion in each run. This can lead to different locations and is selected together with the students, as far as this is possible.

Contents of the Block Internship

Over a period of five weeks, students are given the opportunity to observe and independently conduct classes at the internship schools.

There are only a few obligatory requirements for the organization of the internship: Students spend at least four teaching hours per day in class at the internship school and they conduct a total of two teaching experiments of 45 minutes each.

Beyond that, there is a lot of freedom in how the internship can be used. Those who feel confident can do some substitute teaching in cooperation with the school and local colleagues. Students can take part in conferences, further education, excursions or other events of school life and are welcome to help shape this after consultation with the school's mentors and the internship supervisor at the University of Kassel.

The students should gain as deep an insight as possible into the everyday life of teachers. This usually does not succeed if the students do not get involved with the entire school life and the daily routine in the teachers' office beyond the hopsitations.

In addition, the students choose a main pedagogical topic for the time of the block internship that they will later work on in the final report. To do this, students need to keep their eyes open for the topic beforehand during the internship, and are welcome to interview teachers or conduct surveys in the classroom. The choice of topics can be as diverse as the students and the internship schools.

Contents of the accompanying or follow-up seminar

The follow-up seminar, which formally takes place only in the lecture period after the block internship, is usually already started in 4-hour blocks parallel to the block internship. This has the advantage that questions about the internship, problems at the internship schools, or even very specific questions about the design of the teaching experiments can be clarified personally with the internship supervisors and in the seminar group.

In particular, the parallel organization of the accompanying seminar offers the great advantage that all impressions from the internship are still fresh and can be discussed very promptly and with the seminar group. This offers the opportunity, which is so rare in the course of studies, to directly link practice and theory. On the one hand, the experience is still very close and, on the other hand, one can discuss various issues of everyday school life in a distanced and theory-based manner in the seminar group.

The content of the accompanying seminar will focus on the following topics:

  • Discussion of the topics brought in by the students from the everyday life of their internship
  • Design of lesson plans
  • Selection of suitable pedagogical topics
  • Form and content of the final report

Evaluation of the SPS I

Course Credits:

  • Submission of a self-concept formulated in writing.
  • Submission of a self-prepared observation sheet

Internship Completion:

  • 100 hours of block internship, at least 4 hours / day at the internship school, proof through observation logs and internship certificate from the school management
  • Execution of two teaching experiments of 45 minutes each and joint reflection with the internship supervisor.

Examination performance:

  •  Timely submission of a complete SPS report

Contacts to possible SPS I internship schools

In the following locations in northern and eastern Hesse, you will find internship schools that have the status of a district vocational school and offer the vocational fields of metal, automotive and/or electrical engineering, in addition to various other vocational fields. 

  • Alsfeld
  • Bad Arolsen
  • Bad Hersfeld
  • Bad Wildungen
  • Bebra
  • Eschwege
  • Frankenberg
  • Fritzlar
  • Fulda
  • Hofgeismar
  • Homberg
  • Hünfeld
  • Kirchhain
  • Korbach
  • Lauterbach
  • Melsungen
  • Schlüchtern
  • Schwalmstadt
  • Witzenhausen
  • Wolfhagen

This list does not claim to be complete.

Database of vocational schools in Hesse: You can find the database of vocational schools in Hesse on the Hessian education server. There you have access to different ways of contacting the schools. You will find brief information on occupational fields, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers or websites of the schools. You can also use various filters when searching for schools:

dms-schule.bildung.hessen.de/suchen/suche_schul_bs_db.html

Practical School Studies 1 (Bachelor)

The subject examination regulations for business education require the completion of practical school studies as module 10 in the educational and social science core studies. To fulfill this compulsory module, there are currently 2 different options, which will be described below. 

1. SPS 1 Internship Normal Form

The internship in the normal form includes seminar and internship periods. These times are not to be arranged chronologically. For a better understanding the following representation should serve.

 

Seminar time

UNI approx. 40 hours

Internship time

School approx. 100 hours

Description

The seminar time is divided into a seminar during the semester as well as a preparation and follow-up seminar and accompanying seminars during the internship phase (4 SWS).

The school internship is completed at a vocational school in the city or district of Kassel. Selection of a school location is made via the course catalog. 

Contents

 

The first practical school studies are to be understood as an orientation internship and should open up the possibility of being able to reflect competently on the intended professional career.

 

In the preparatory, follow-up and accompanying seminars, important topics concerning the profession of a teacher are dealt with.

 

The preparation of a self-concept is seen as a central starting point for further professional development. Here, students describe the reasons for their career decision and reflect on what they have already achieved or still have to achieve on their way. For this purpose, they work out important details of the teaching profession and reflect on them. 

 

During the internship phase, initial observations and practical experiences can be presented and reflected upon in the accompanying events.

 

Seminar participation is obligatory and cannot be replaced by other achievements. Active participation is required.

 

At the end of SPS 1, a clear decision for or against the further professional career as a teacher should be made.

 

In the internship phase (5 weeks before the Easter or fall vacations in Hesse), students gradually become acquainted with school operations with the help of contact persons at the internship schools and grasp the school location in its many areas. 

 

They are instructed in how to carry out their first teaching experiments. To do this, they first accompany experienced colleagues into the classroom (observation) and make professionally justified lesson observations. Here, smaller parts of the lessons can already be taken over.

 

Based on the preparation in the seminar time and with the help of the colleagues on site, the students create their own lesson plans and carry out these lessons independently and reflect on their own performance with the help of the pedagogical assistant of the University of Kassel and, if necessary, the teacher of the internship school. The pedagogical assistant advises the student.

 

The students assess their own competencies, identify deficits  and describe necessary learning contents of their further course of studies.

 

The findings from the internship are presented and processed in an internship report.

 

2 SPS 1 Internship Cooperation Form 

The internship in the cooperation form includes seminar, cooperation and internship periods. These times are not to be arranged chronologically. For a better understanding the following representation shall serve.

 

Seminar time

UNI approx. 40 hours

Cooperation time

ca. 40 hours

Internship time

School approx. 60 hours

Description

The seminar time is divided into block seminars for the preparation of the cooperation and internship time as well as weekly accompanying seminars during the cooperation phase and a follow-up / evaluation event (4 SWS).

During the cooperation period, the students participate in the introductory phase of the Studienseminar Kassel for teachers in the preparatory service (LiV). This time is accompanied by a pedagogical assistant and the subject leaders of the Studienseminar Kassel.

The school internship is completed in the cooperation school. It is not possible to choose another school.

Contents

 

For the contents of the seminar time in cooperation form, the explanations for the seminar time of the internship in normal form apply.

 

In addition to this, emphasis is placed on the topic of giving and accepting feedback, since the students in the cooperation phase are to record the group processes in their teaching team by observing the work and teaching processes, evaluate them and bring them back to the working group in the form of constructive feedback. 

 

This is to make the structure of planning and teaching processes transparent and to show which thoughts initiate and accompany the planning and implementation of lessons. In this way, students as well as pre-service teachers (LiV) should learn to reflect on work processes. The goal is to maintain positive, competent behavior patterns and to reflect and change critical behavior patterns.

 

The cooperation period begins with a joint kick-off event (in May or November), the goal of which is for the students and the teachers in the preparatory service (LiV) to get to know each other and form teams.

 

The school partners are organized by the Studienseminar Kassel and are predetermined. There is no selection process.

 

Afterwards, the cooperation teams plan lessons together, carry them out and reflect on them with the support of a subject leader of the Studienseminar or a pedagogical staff member of the University of Kassel in a subsequent weekly debriefing on Thursdays on 5-6 dates.

 

The main task of the students is to give useful feedback. They can later use the findings from this phase for their own internship time by using them for their own planning and teaching processes.

 

For the contents of the internship time in cooperation form, the explanations for the internship time of the internship in normal form apply.

 

In addition to this, the following applies: during the internship period, students remain at their internship school from the cooperative period and subsequently complete a school internship there.

 

Opportunities:

 

-             weekly attendance time and block form. 

-             block form

 

These forms vary by location throughout the year. It is up to the pedagogical staff to decide which form is offered. It cannot be freely chosen. The most favorable variant for the students is selected in each case.

 

 

 

After the completion of the internship, a final meeting is held, which is used to evaluate the seminar and internship time (normal form) or the seminar, cooperation and internship time (cooperation form). On this occasion, open questions can be clarified. In addition, the formal and content-related criteria for the internship report are discussed and a binding deadline (usually 4 weeks after the last event) for submission is agreed upon.

The submission takes place by the deadline both in digital form as a pdf file and in bound form.

You will receive more detailed explanations from the responsible pedagogical staff member.

Organization and procedure

The School Practical Studies IIa are part of the Master's program and are designed as a subject-didactically oriented seminar with a semester-long school internship. In addition to the SPS IIa, which is carried out in the vocational subject area, the SPS IIb, which is organized by the departments of the respective general education subjects, must also be completed as part of the Master's program.

The School Practical Studies IIa as a subject didactic seminar focus in particular on the design of lessons from the perspective of the didactics of technology. The main focus is on observing technology lessons in the context of observation, conducting lessons oneself and critically reflecting on one's own actions with a view to the demands of scientifically based technology didactics.

In contrast to the School Practical Studies I, the internship is designed to accompany the semester. While the SPS I aims to provide an initial overview of school, the School Practical Studies IIa have a different goal: The students are given the opportunity to observe and help shape a developing teaching process in a class with a teacher over a longer period of time.

The selection of the internship school is made by the students themselves, if possible. For this purpose, an appointment is made each semester before the start of the lecture period, at which the schools can introduce themselves on site. For this purpose, registration in advance via HiSPos is essential. The selection of the internship school by the students is then usually made according to their own chosen professional focus, e.g. metal technology industry, metal technology trade, vehicle technology professions, training professions in electrical engineering, full-time school for electrical engineering, etc.

Students are responsible for organizing their own internship. The internship can currently only be carried out at a vocational school in Kassel.

Lecture period

2 SWS accompanying seminar:

  • Preparation and supervision of the internship
  • Advice for the students for their own teaching design
  • various topics according to the module regulations and in consultation with the students

2 teaching hours / week internship:

  • semester-long school internship
  • Hospitations
  • Planning and co-designing lessons

Contents of SPS IIa

As in SPS I, SPS IIa begins with an examination of the student's own self-concept. This will be reconsidered and initially fixed. In addition, right at the beginning there is an assessment of one's own competencies as a teacher, which have certainly developed further since the last internship. Based on this assessment, all students set concrete goals for SPS IIa. 

Unlike School Practicum I, the practicum is designed to be semester-long. While the SPS I is about providing a first all-round view of school, the Schulpraktische Studien IIa have a different goal: The students get the opportunity to observe and help shape a developing teaching process in a class, with a teacher over a longer time frame.

In addition to the main content described above, the seminar tries to pay special attention to the content suggested by the students. In most cases, these result from the analysis of the students' own competencies.

Topics that have been dealt with repeatedly in terms of content in the past years were, for example

  • legal issues, e.g. school form regulations, design of professions according to §66 BBiG, etc.
  • Writing lesson plans
  • Methods in technology teaching
  • Planning of long-term learning arrangements in technology lessons
  • Preparation of a learning field
  • Integration of pre-prepared materials into the lessons, critical examination of the teaching materials, possibilities of optimization and integration

Assessment of SPS IIa

Course Credits:

  • Submission of a self-concept formulated in writing.
  • Submission of a self-prepared observation sheet.

Practicum implementation:

  • 2 lessons per week in a class, observing with a teacher over the entire period of the lecture period and helping to design the lessons, proof through observation logs and internship certificate from the school management
  • Carrying out two teaching experiments of 45 minutes each and joint reflection with the internship supervisor.

Examination performance:

  • Timely submission of a complete SPS report

Contacts to possible internship schools of SPSIIa

The School Practical Studies IIa are currently only carried out at vocational schools in Kassel. Corresponding technical subjects are offered in Kassel by the schools of the Vocational School Center II and the state vocational school of the Berufsbildungswerk.

Max Eyth School
Oskar-von-Miller School

State school in the vocational training center:

Homepage vocational school
Homepage vocational training center Bathildisheim