Tübingen Center for Digital Education

Research at TüCeDE

At TüCeDE, research is the central driver of innovation in education with and about technologies. It is theoretically grounded, critically reflective, and strongly oriented toward transfer into educational practice and broader society. Our projects bring together conceptual foundation and empirical research carried out in schools and classrooms.

Working in interdisciplinary teams – for example, psychologists, educational scientists, subject didactics experts, and software developers – we design practice-oriented prototypes. We systematically investigate their effectiveness, explore how these innovations can be meaningfully orchestrated in classroom settings, and examine the competencies teachers and students require to use them productively. 

Researchers at all career stages – from doctoral candidates to professors – collaborate closely within an open, collegial culture shaped by mutual respect. We view academic qualification as an integral part of our research mission. Through ongoing scholarly exchange, joint publications, and collaborative project structures, we foster both the development of individual research profiles and the sustainable advancement of our field. 

Current Projects

Development and Research of a Voice-Controlled Intelligent Learning Assistant for Gifted Children
Ethics and AI
AI-powered tutor for self-study sessions
Teachers' Competencies for Integrating Technology into the Classroom
Using AI for Grammar Learning
GenAI in Schools
VR in Language Learning
AI Dialogue Partner for Immersive Learning
Intelligent Tutoring Systems in the Classroom

Completed Projects

MINT ProNeD

MINT-ProNeD is a collaborative project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) aimed at advancing STEM teacher education. It brings together professional development, instructional design, and forward-looking innovations across three interdisciplinary networks. The goal is to provide teachers with long-term support in the reflective use of digital and digitally supported technologies—ranging from established tools to AI and immersive applications.

Click here to view the project.

Transfer Center lernen:digital

The Tübingen Center for Digital Education (TüCeDE) is part of the nationwide networking and transfer center “Center for Digitalization-Related Networking and Transfer in School Education” within the lernen:digital competence network. The goal is to consolidate and process research findings on the digital transformation of schools and teacher education and to transfer them sustainably into educational practice, with the Tübingen subproject focusing in particular on networking in the subjects of economics/economic education and chemistry.

Click here for the project.

Professionalization Through Resources

This dissertation project examines how digital resources can be effectively used to support the professional development of teachers and other stakeholders in the education sector. The focus is on the use of research-based information resources, support for working with open educational resources, and the effectiveness of teaching materials specifically designed to promote teachers’ professional development.

Click here for the project.

Learn to Program

This exploratory study examines cognitive processes and problem-solving strategies in computational thinking during block-based programming tasks. Using eye-tracking, the study analyzes how learners approach tasks, what strategies they employ, and how factors such as cognitive load, working memory, and fluid intelligence influence learning success.

Click here for the project.

DiA:Net

The DiA:Net project—Digital Media in Adaptive Teaching—helps educators use digital media effectively in adaptive teaching within heterogeneous learning groups. Through cross-school networks, adaptive lesson plans are developed in collaboration with teachers, supported by research, and made available as freely accessible OERs to improve the quality of teaching in the long term.

Click here for the project.


Latest Publications

Journal Articles

2025

Santagata, R., Fuentes Acevedo, P., Kimmerling, C., Pelayo, R., Pantano, A., & Tschönhens, F. (2025). Fostering expansive noticing practices through video-based professional development in college mathematics. ZDM – Mathematics Education, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-025-01744-6 

Backfisch, I., Scherer, R., Schneider, J., & Lachner, A. (2025). How valid, really? A meta-analysis of the validity evidence of Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) self-report assessments. Educational Research Review, 49, 100718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2025.100718

Boos, J., Eder, T., & Lachner, A. (2026). Perceived Utility Moderates Motivational Intervention Effects in Learning to Teach Responsibly with GenAI. Computers and Education Open. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2025.100324

Boos, J., Ziegs, T., Klügel, P., Heesen, J., Brendel, W., Backfisch, I., & Lachner, A. (accepted manuscript). Integrating critical-reflexive AI literacy in pre-service teacher education – A research-based concept for practice-oriented teacher training according to the 4C/ID model. Reihe ZfE-Edition. 

Boos, J., Wagner, S., Backfisch, I., Eder, T., & Lachner, A. (2025). Navigating AI Ethics: Pre-Service Teachers’ Reflexivity of Ethical Knowledge About Artificial Intelligence. In Rajala, A., Cortez, A., Hofmann, R., Jornet, A., Lotz-Sisitka, H., & Markauskaite, L. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 19th International Conference of the Learning Sciences - ICLS 2025 (pp. 2575-2577). International Society of the Learning Sciences.

Holz, H., Wendebourg, K., Pieronczyk, I., Bodnar, S., Meurers, D., & Parrisius, C. (2025). Design and User Preferences of Pedagogical Agents for an Intelligent Tutoring System for EFL. In International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 77–92). Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-93567-1_6 

Lachner, A., Russ, H., Hübner, N. et al. When Does Learning by Non-interactive Teaching Work? A Large-Scale Analysis of Learner Characteristics in a Classroom Setting. Educ Psychol Rev 37, 88 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10060-0 

Pili-Moss, D., Hamrick, P., Wendebourg, K., Schmidt, T., & Meurers, D. (2025). Implicit statistical learning and working memory predict EFL development and written task outcomes in adolescents. System, 131, 103656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2025.103656

Russ, H., Sibley, L., Flegr, S., Kuhn, J., Hoogerheide, V., Scheiter, K., & Lachner, A. (2025). Combining non-interactive teaching and drawing fosters conceptual knowledge but not monitoring accuracy from guided inquiry in science learning.Journal of Educational Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000971 

Russ, H., Sibley, L., Flegr, S., Kuhn, J., Hoogerheide, V., Scheiter, K., & Lachner, A. (2025). Does distributing non-interactive teaching contribute to learning? Students' academic self-concept and work ethic matter. Learning and Individual Differences, 120, 102687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2025.102687

Sibley, L., Fabian, A., Plicht, C., Pagano, L., Erhard, N., Wellert, L., Bohl, T., & Lachner, A. (2025). Adaptive teaching with technology enhances lasting learning. Learning and Instruction, 99, 102141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2025.102141

Schubatzky, T., Burde, J. P., Große-Heilmann, R., Lachner, A., Riese, J., & Weiler, D. (2025). From knowledge to intention: The role of TPACK and self-efficacy in technology integration. Computers and Education Open, 8, 100246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2025.100246

Schüler, A., & Frick, P. (2025). Unveiling passive cross-modal reactivation and validation processes in the processing of multimedia material. Learning and Instruction, Article 102117. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2025.102117

Wendebourg, K., Öttl, B., Meurers, D., & Kaup, B. (2025). Semantic information boosts the acquisition of a novel grammatical system in different presentation formats. Language and Cognition, 17, e30.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2023.47

more Publications

Book Chapters

2024

Glass, L., Dickinson, M., Brew, C., & Meurers, D. (Eds.). (2024). Language and computers (2nd ed.). Language Science Press. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12730906

2023

Backfisch, I., Franke, I., Lachner, A. (2023). "Das Opfer hat halt richtig Angst". Schüler*innenvorstellungen von Cybermobbing. http://dx.doi.org/10.15496/publikation-75401

Roelle, J., Lachner, A., Heitmann, S. (2023). Lernen: Theorien und Techniken. 1. Aufl. Stuttgart, Deutschland: utb GmbH. https://doi.org/10.36198/9783838558981

Ruiz, S., Rebuschat, P., & Meurers, D. (2023). Supporting individualized practice through intelligent CALL. In Y. Suzuki (Ed.). Practice and automatization in second language research (1. Aufl., pp. 119-143). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003414643-7 

Weiler, D., Burde, J., Große-Heilmann, R., Lachner, A., Riese, J., Schubatzky, T. (2023). Förderung von digitalisierungsbezogenen Kompetenzen von angehenden Physiklehrkräften mit dem SQD-Modell im Projekt DiKoLeP. In: Meier, M., Greefrath, G., Hammann, M., Wodzinski, R., Ziepprecht, K. [Hrsg.]. Lehr-Lern-Labore und Digitalisierung, 47–62. Edition Fachdidaktiken. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-40109-2_4

Proceedings

2025

Akef, S., Meurers, D., Mendes, A., & Rebuschat, P. (2025). Interpretable Machine Learning for Societal Language Identification: Modeling English and German Influences on Portuguese Heritage Language. In Proceedings of the 14th Workshop on Natural Language Processing for Computer Assisted Language Learning (pp. 50–62). https://aclanthology.org/2025.nlp4call-1.4.pdf 

Deininger, H., Parrisius, C., Lavelle-Hill, R., Meurers, D., Trautwein, U., Nagengast, B., & Kasneci, G. (2025). Who did what to succeed? Individual differences in which learning behaviors are linked to achievement. In Proceedings of the 15th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference (pp. 771–782). https://doi.org/10.1145/3706468.3706571

more Proceedings

Coordination Research


Sara Becker

Coordination of the research area Innovative Educational Technologies
sa.becker@uni-tuebingen.de


Pauline Frick 

Deputy Coordination of the research area Innovative Educational Technologies 
+49 7071-29-73617
pauline.frick@uni-tuebingen.de
 

Coordination Software Development


Stephen Bodnar

Coordination of the Software Development
+49 7071/29-77451    
stephen.bodnar@uni-tuebingen.de
 

Marc Halfmann

Coordination of the Software Development
+49 7071-979-301
marc.halfmann@uni-tuebingen.de