Completed Research Projects

The Chair for Research on Teaching and Learning is involved in the re-design of the teacher education program at Friedrich Schiller University Jena. It is responsible for the development of innovative practice elements. Recent research findings emphasize the relevance of implementing practical modules in teacher education programs. As part of the second funding phase of the “Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung” (project: PROFJL2), the Learning to Teach-Lab Science (LTL:S) is funded by the BMBF and established by the professorship.

Press release regarding the opening of the LTL:S on June 1, 2022.

The new research project “Digital Learning Communities for consistent Learning Support” (“Digitale Lerngemeinschaften zur kohärenten Lernbegleitung“) (DiLe) started in March 2020 as part of the nationwide program “Quality Offensive Teacher Education“ („Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung“). The project aims to promote the cooperation between mentor teachers of school-based internships and university lecturers. With the help of a digital learning management system mentor teachers at school and university members form professional learning communities to improve the consistency of teacher education in its theoretical foundation and practical implementation.

The European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) offers highly selective grants to international research groups exploring new areas of knowledge and cutting-edge research. Thereby, the Learning to Teach Lab: Science (LTL:S) is part of the Emerging Field Group “STEM Teachers’ Capacity to Teach Self-Regulated Learning: Effectiveness of Extended Reality.” The international collaboration, spanning five countries, is exploring the potential of Virtual Reality (VR) environments to promote self-regulated learning and motivation of preservice teachers in the context of STEM problems.

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In this research project we collaborate with different universities in Germany (Kassel, Potsdam) and Austria (PHDL) to develop and validate new instruments to measure the quality of teacher professional development. In Study 1) we developed a scale to measure teacher motivation and (perceived) quality aspects of teacher professional development. In a pilot study, we conducted a survey with 400 Austrian teachers of all secondary subjects. In Study 2) we developed a observation tool and questionnaire to measure process quality of professional development (IMPRESS).

The project "train the trainers" is about the sustainable improvement of university and school-based learning support during the clinical internship semester - and thus also about the qualification of mentor teachers. Since the start of the ProfJL project, 53 teachers have received further training in the areas of teaching diagnostics, consultation in pre- and post lesson conferences and co-construction in four cohorts (2015-2020). An advanced training curriculum is to support the  graduates in passing on the contents they have learned to their colleagues.

The research project is a collaboration between the Chair for Research for Teaching and Learning and the Thuringian Institute for Teacher Professional Development. The research project investigates a teacher professional development program for facilitators. The program consists of a video-based reflection circle, in which the facilitators reflect the quality of their trainings with regard to the observation tool from the IMPRESS project.