Recap 2024 | University of Tübingen

Preface

Dear readers,

We are closely following the current coalition negotiations and are hopeful for positive developments in the field of digital education. Over the past year, we at the Tübingen Center for Digital Education (TüCeDE) have actively contributed to shaping this transformation.

At TüCeDE, our mission is to pool and make visible the diverse research expertise in digital education at the Tübingen location – and to systematically advance transfer and professionalization activities. We work in an interdisciplinary, international, and networked manner –in close cooperation with educational practice.

A particular highlight was the launch of our new duo platform, where teachers and teacher educators can find and engage with the latest scientific studies in the field of digital education. Our networking events – such as the AI Symposium in cooperation with the ZSL, or the event Different Perspectives – Reaching the Goal Together – were also a great success in bringing research and practice together.

This year, we have deliberately chosen a digital annual report in the form of a newsletter – not only for reasons of sustainability, but also to reflect our own commitment to digital transformation. We invite you to look back with us on the past year and to gain insights into the various areas of work, projects, and people who make all this possible.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Vector Foundation for its support.

We hope you enjoy reading!

Your editorial team

Our Team - Ingoing/ Outgoing

Former team members

Salome Wagner

Until May 2024, I coordinated the research area Transfer and Professional Development as a postdoc at TüCeDE with a focus on the area of transfer. Since June 2024, I have been working at the DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education in Frankfurt am Main in the Education Information Center at the interface of educational research, science management and research data infrastructure. As part of my new position, I coordinate the German Network of Educational Research Data (Verbund Forschungsdaten Bildung; VerbundFDB). In cooperation with DIPF, GESIS | Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences and the Institute for Quality Development in Education (IQB), we offer here many services, workshops and advice for educational researchers on all aspects of research data management - from planning a project, ethical issues in research and informed consent to data archiving and re-use of data. I also support research projects regarding their research data management, coordinate the DIPF-internal exchange to support sharing and re-using data and conduct my own (meta-)research on topics such as Open Science, FAIR Data, sharing and re-using data and evaluating the services of the VerbundFDB. I am always happy to receive inquiries or potential cooperation opportunities from the context of TüCeDE.

Website Salome Wagner

We are the new ones!

My Name: Sören Drabesch
My Role: KI-Makerspace and Bundeswettbewerb KI
At TüCeDE since: June 2024
My Background: PhD in Environmental sciences
My previous job: Researcher in Environmental sciences
A typical work day in 3 words: Coordinating, Communicating, Evaluating
Smalltalk topic: New restaurants or cafés in town
I can´t work without: a digital organized post-it chaos and a cup of tea

My Name: Thérése Eder
My Role: Head of the Transfer and Professionalisation department
At TüCeDE since: September 2024
My Background: Psychology
My previous job: PhD student and post-doc at the Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien
A typical work day in 3 words: trial and error
Smalltalk topic: Weather ;) and if you want to go a little deeper: Children, music, garden, feminism
I can´t work without: my colleagues

My Name: Eric Eichkorn
My Role: Broker in the MINT competence centre of the learning:digital competence network
At TüCeDE since: August 2024
My Background: Grammar school teacher
My previous job: Trainee teacher
A typical work day in 3 words: reading, writing, speaking
Smalltalk topic: I'm flexible on that
I can´t work without: Laptop and a coffee or two

My Name: Pauline Frick
My Role: Research assistant
At TüCeDE since: January 2025
My Background: Psychologist
My previous job: Research assistant and PhD student at the Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien (IWM)
Smalltalk topic: Everything about sports, especially "fringe sports", board games
I can´t work without: Nice colleagues and tea

My Name: Luisa Luiz
My Role: Management TüCeDE
At TüCeDE since: November 2024
My Background: Certified pedagogue, bank clerk
My previous job: Office of the TüSE
A typical work day in 3 words: Writing, speaking, lauging
Smalltalk topic: Sports and training plans
I can´t work without: “Lunch at 12” in the PhD Büro

My Name: Detmar Meurers
My Role: TüCeDe Co-Director
At TüCeDE since: the beginning of TüCeDe
My Background: I studied linguistics, psychology and computer science and have enjoyed combining the three ever since
My previous job: After eight years (from 2001 to 2008) as assistant and associate professor at The Ohio State University, I came to Tübingen in 2008
A typical work day in 3 words: meeting, email, meeting
Smalltalk topic: swimming, biking, education
I can´t work without: laptop

Updates of projects from the last year

MINT-ProNeD - Well positioned for the final project phase

The second project year of the MINT-ProNeD joint project is coming to an end - we can look back on many milestones and highlights achieved in collaboration with our partners and cooperation partners!

Networked all round: In MINT-ProNeD, nine teacher training universities from Baden-Württemberg, Bayern and Rheinland-Pfalz, three research institutes and the respective state institutes for teacher training are working on innovative professionalisation offers for the design of adaptive digital-supported STEM lessons in cross-location and interdisciplinary networks. In addition to traditional professional development programs, the offerings also include multiplier training and the co-constructive development of teaching concepts and technology applications in professional teaching communities. The joint project is part of the STEM competence center within the nationwide lernen:digital competence network. There is also close cooperation with the sister project KuMuS-ProNeD.

Developed to meet needs: MINT-ProNeD connects schools and teachers with scientists in order to jointly break new ground in the development of adaptive, digitally-supported teaching concepts. Innovative, adaptive teaching concepts with digital media are created in co-constructive Professional Learning Communities, such as the prototype of an adaptive VR application to illustrate molecular geometries for chemistry lessons - a collaboration between teachers from the vocational school centre in Hechingen, the Future Innovation Hub network and chemistry didactics at the Tübingen site. All piloted programs are bundled on the project website www.mint-proned.de, which also provides insights into the activities of our STEM ProNeD community. The programs at the project locations are developed and implemented in close cooperation with the state institutes for teacher training.

On site and in the middle: The project locations regularly use (supra)regional conferences and events to present their offerings and engage in dialogue with teachers and those involved in teacher training, such as the AI symposium in Tübingen, the Heidelberg Informatics Teachers' Day (HILT) and the Teacher Training Day at the University of Konstanz. In spring 2024, the network organised a special programme with contributions and a market of opportunities at the iMedia of the Rheinland-Pfalz Educational Institute in Ingelheim. At a total of 14 stands from the project locations, iMedia participants were able to familiarise themselves with and try out various adaptive deployment scenarios and technological applications for STEM lessons. The joint project was involved in the nationwide symposium of the lernen:digital competence network with symposia, presentations and interactive stands. We are looking forward to our network's appearance at Didacta in Stuttgart in 2025!

One particular highlight is the ongoing development of a cross-location, online-based ‘Learning Nugget for adaptive, digitally-supported STEM lessons’. The learning module, which is being developed in collaboration with the network spokespersons of the Continuing Education Network as well as the specialised didactics of the Tübingen sub-project and the DIE, will offer interactive exercises and explanatory videos at different levels. It will be made available as OER and can be used as preparation for all MINT-ProNeD training programs.

MINT-ProNeD at the Tübingen site: The sub-project of the University of Tübingen is anchored in the TüCeDE work area ‘Transfer and Professionalisation’ as well as in the didactics of chemistry, physics and mathematics, the AI Makerspace and the HIB. An interdisciplinary basic learning module for adaptive, digitally-supported teaching was successfully piloted by the three didactics departments in June and has been carried out again in autumn 2024 in cooperation with the ZSL regional office in Tübingen. Further subject-specific training courses will be offered from spring 2025. At the same time, Professional Learning Communities (PLGs) began their work in the subjects of maths, chemistry and physics. In addition, a multiplier training course on ‘Teaching and learning with and about AI’ was created at the AI Makerspace, which was held for the first time at the beginning of 2025 and can be adapted for different target groups. The sub-project of the Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien (IWM) celebrated another milestone on 30 September 2024: the launch of the online portal ‘Schule-mal-digital’. The platform provides teachers with in-depth information on designing digitally-supported educational programmes and is intended to be a central point of contact for the digital transformation in schools.

Looking ahead - sustainable resources for the future: We are entering the final project phase of MINT-ProNeD with a great momentum. The focus in 2025 will be on sustainably securing the professionalisation offerings developed. These will be converted into Open Educational Resources (OER) so that they will be permanently available to teachers, multipliers and state institutes even after the end of the project. The OER offerings will be made available via the ZOERR in the MINT-ProNeD collection and via the ComPleTT and Mundo platforms. In this way, we are creating a long-term basis to support the digital transformation of STEM teaching in the long term.

duo Homepage

Our new online portal duo (digital and open) was launched in December 2024. On the portal, we provide scientifically-tested and tried-and-tested materials for the education community and teacher training. The information and materials are freely accessible to teachers and teacher trainers and are intended to help explain, enable and exemplify effective teaching with and about digital media. The materials include digitally-supported teaching concepts from various subjects, explanatory videos, further training courses on digitalisation-related topics and compact reports on teaching with and about digital technologies. The research results from a meta-analysis, for example, are clearly and comprehensibly presented in the compact reports.

In addition, we provide further information on the implementation for teaching and the quality of the respective research results so that the information can be expertly applied in everyday school life.

To ensure that the appropriate materials can be found quickly and easily, duo offers several filter options such as material type, subject or education system.

Duo was developed by the Transfer and Professionalisation department in collaboration with the Software Development department within the lernen:digital project and can be accessed here: https://duo.tuecede.de/. In the near future, further materials will be made available on an ongoing basis.

PhD Project as interviews

Actually, you are supposed to see a video here. To display this content (source: www.youtube-nocookie.com), please click the "Accept" button below. Please note that by viewing the video, data might be transmitted to third parties or cookies may be stored.

For further information see our privacy policy.

Interview with Co-Director of TüCeDE, Prof. Dr. Detmar Meurers

Listen

Podcast to read

not available

Projects of our members

Christoph Bareiter

My research and teaching focuses on the ethnographic analysis of digital everyday cultures, combining the perspectives of empirical cultural studies with those of digital anthropology. The aim of my work is to ethnographically illuminate the transformations of everyday practices and experiences in daily life characterised by digitality (e.g. due to social media, digital image technologies, computer games, machine learning) and thus make contributions to pressing socio-political debates.

One current research project is the ‘Hybrid Epistemic Practices’ project, which is investigating the transformative potential of generative AI within the qualitative social sciences and humanities at the University of Tübingen. From an ethnographic perspective, it asks how students and academic staff become early adopters of generative AI, how they integrate this technology into hybrid epistemic practices and how this changes academic coexistence. The aim is to create a basis for debates around critical AI competences and to help students, researchers and academic stakeholders make more nuanced decisions in the context of generative AI.

Jessica Heesen

Prof. Dr. Jessica Heesen is a Board Member of the International Centre for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities and head of its research focus on media ethics, philosophy of technology and AI. Her work focuses on the cultural and ethical implications of digitalisation and the use of AI systems in particular. Among other things, she researches the impact of digital technologies on the lives of children and young people. This includes the question of children's legal and ethical rights in terms of privacy, security and social and cultural participation in digital communication. She is also a member of the scientific support group of the BMBF Privacy Platform and co-leader of the ‘Law and Ethics’ working group of the BMBF Learning Systems Platform.

Two of her current research projects are focussing in particular on the perspective of children. One - the DiversPrivat project (funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF) - is researching how children and other vulnerable groups can be empowered to protect their privacy.

The other project, ‘Safety for Children in the Digital World’ (SIKID), funded as part of the BMBF's safety research program, presented a series of project results at the end of 2024. These include an ethical guide to research with children, child rights analyses of new regulatory requirements and a compass for improving the safety of children online. The results can be accessed here: https://uni-tuebingen.de/de/217161

Jasmin Moser

Jasmin Moser first completed a B.Sc. in Nano-Science at the University of Tübingen and then studied physics and chemistry to become a secondary school teacher. After her traineeship, Jasmin Moser joined the MINT-ProNeD project, where she has since been working in physics didactics on issues relating to the use of digital media in schools.

Her work in the project includes the design and implementation of teacher training courses on adaptive STEM teaching. In collaboration with the subject didactics departments for chemistry and mathematics, Jasmin Moser has developed an online training program that enables STEM teachers to learn the basics of adaptive teaching and strategies for using the newly-acquired methods in the classroom with and without digital aids. Another focus of her work is the joint development of lessons in collaboration with teachers from the field. This centers on the development and testing of digital teaching materials for physics lessons that contain automatic assistance and feedback for learners.

Highlights 2024

2nd AI Symposium on 21 June 2024 - A look into the future of teaching and learning with artificial intelligence

After a successful start in 2023, the 2nd AI Symposium was once again held in summer 2024 as a joint event organised by TüCeDE with the ZSL Regional Office Tübingen, the IWM, the KI Makerspace and the Tübingen Regional Council and focused on the question of how pupils can not only understand AI, but also actively use it in their learning process. Only if teachers and learners develop a deep understanding of AI can these technologies be used meaningfully and purposefully in the classroom. Particular attention was paid to the opportunities and challenges that AI brings for lesson design. Before the keynote speeches and project presentations on applications in a school context, there was important input on the legal framework and data protection.

Networking and exchange

The AI symposium was primarily aimed at subject advisors in lesson development and teacher training as well as seminar teachers from Tübingen and the surrounding area. The event not only offered valuable insights into scientific approaches to the integration of AI in the classroom, but also provided a platform for dialog between science and practice.
A special item on the programme was the ‘Market of Opportunities’, where innovative projects on the topic of ‘Teaching and learning with and about AI’ were presented and dealt with the practical application of AI in a school context. Among other things, the joint project MINT-ProNeD presented its programmes and training courses at the Tübingen site and showed (prospective) teachers in a practical way how innovative technologies can be used to promote the design of adaptive and process-oriented STEM lessons.
The exchange offered the opportunity to make valuable contacts and learn more about the didactic applications of digital technologies. The successful series of events will be continued in 2025 with a 3rd AI Symposium.

DiA:Net Conference: Different Perspectives – United Toward a Common Goal!

The joint conference of the DiA:Net project and the Center for School Quality and Teacher Education (ZSL) on July 12, 2024, vividly demonstrated the importance of collaboration between theory and practice for a future-ready education system. For the project, it marked a significant milestone in the effort to shape an innovative and equitable school landscape – founded on cooperation and mutual understanding.
Educational science and practice experts came together to explore new approaches for a modern school environment. Under the theme "Different Perspectives – United Toward a Common Goal!" the focus was on innovative solutions to current educational challenges.

Bridging Theory and Practice

Educational science and educational practice pursue similar overarching goals: for example, fostering students' potential, strengthening approaches to diversity, and effectively integrating digital media into teaching. Despite these shared aims, the two professions often operate from differing perspectives.

The conference provided a platform for exchange: researchers, teachers, and representatives of educational policy engaged in intensive discussions about ways to more closely link theory and practice. In addition to inspiring lectures, hands-on workshops offered participants insights into good practice examples and practical ideas for advancing subject-specific teaching.

DiA:Net – A Joint Project by TüCeDE and the Tübingen School of Education (TüSE)

The DiA:Net project (Digital Media in Adaptive Teaching) builds on the previous project DiA:GO (Digital Media in Adaptive Teaching for the Upper Secondary Level of Integrated Schools). It aims to train teachers in the use of digital media and to establish adaptive media-didactic concepts. The project is funded by the Vector Foundation and the Robert Bosch Foundation. By initiating a network, the project seeks to establish cross-school learning communities that promote innovative teaching development processes.

The focus lies on adaptive teaching processes to address student diversity productively and enhance teaching quality. In collaboration with teachers, adaptive teaching units are developed, scientifically supported, and made freely available as Open Educational Resources (OER).

In its current phase, the project is working with additional regional integrated schools and secondary schools. A comprehensive training series for all teachers in Baden-Württemberg aims to disseminate the project's insights and experiences widely. For more information about the training series titled Addressing Diversity Through Adaptive Teaching With Digital Media, visit https://lfbo.kultus-bw.de/lfb/termine/QPELK. Late registrations are warmly welcomed!

Review of the SIG 6 & 7 conference of EARLI in Tübingen

From 21 to 23 August 2024, the joint conference of the Special Interest Groups (SIG) 6 and 7 of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) took place in Tübingen. Under the title Instructional Design and Technology-Enhanced Learning: Current States and Future Perspectives, more than 200 experts from international teaching and learning research gathered to discuss current developments and future perspectives in the field of instructional design and technology-enhanced learning. The conference set a new record with 232 participants and 180 submitted papers. The program offered two keynote speeches, two invited symposia as well as numerous lecture sessions, poster presentations and technical demos. At the mentoring lunch, 48 early-career researchers took the opportunity to discuss their scientific careers and paths with experienced researchers. In addition, social events took place such as the table tennis tournament and a trip on a Stocherkahn on the Neckar, followed by a joint conference dinner.

During the conference dinner, Prof. Dr Alexander Renkl (University of Freiburg) was honored with the SIG 6 and 7 Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to research in the field of learning and instructional design and for his long-standing support of the SIG community.

Unfortunately, Prof. Dr Jeroen van Merriënboer (Maastricht University) could not be honored in person, although it was also intended that he receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Jeroen, who passed away in November 2023, leaves behind a great legacy in the scientific community.

Report on the second Digital Education Day on 4 December 2024

The second Digital Education Day took place on 4 December 2024 in cooperation with the Leibnitz Institute for Knowledge Media (IWM), the LEAD Graduate School and Research Network and the Tübingen School of Education. The conference focussed on the various perspectives and approaches in the field of digital education and digital education research. The aim was to facilitate an interdisciplinary dialogue and highlight the diversity of existing research projects.

The event began with a keynote speech by Andreas Lachner and Wieland Brendel on the interface between artificial intelligence (AI) and education and the challenge of uniting AI and educational science in a common focus.

The keynote speech was followed by short impulses in the form of pitches from various areas of (practical) educational research. These formats enabled participants to gain quick and concise insights into current projects and developments. The variety of topics was reflected in the contributions: from digital tools and platforms to innovative teaching and learning methods to the challenges of implementing digital education formats in practice. The breadth of topics covered by the research projects of the Tübingen institutes was particularly impressive and illustrated how different the approaches to digital education are.

The pitches were followed by an opportunity for discussion and dialogue. In the ‘Meet the Pitch Presenters’ section, not only were the projects presented discussed in greater depth, but new networks and synergies were formed. The participants, consisting of researchers, teachers, students and practitioners, then discussed challenges in everyday education and how digital media could help solve them in a World Café format.

Digital Education Day 2024 was a successful event that made an important contribution to the discussion and further development of digital education. The diverse perspectives and approaches made it clear how broad and multifaceted research on digital education issues is and how closely theory and practice must be interwoven in order to develop successful digital education models. The event enabled participants not only to gain new insights, but also to promote greater collaboration and networking in digital education research.

Lernen:Digital Conference

In autumn 2024, the conference organised by the lernen:digital competence network took place in Potsdam under the motto ‘Shaping digital transformation for schools and teacher training’. The three-day conference focussed on the exchange between science and practice. Researchers from the Tübingen Centre for Digital Education (TüCeDE) were represented in numerous symposia, workshops and marketplace stands.

During the first two days, the focus was on research. TüCeDE researchers presented project and research results on the conception of professionalisation offers for teachers and the establishment of school networks, as well as on the development of short reports for the new TüCeDE portal DUO (https://duo.tuecede.de/). In addition, results from a systematic review on the use of freely available teaching materials (OER) by teachers and a research-based concept for the development of critical-reflective AI skills in teacher training programmes were presented. On the third day of the conference, the marketplace of opportunities and numerous workshops focussed on the exchange between lernen:digital projects and the state institutes, at which parts of the MINT-ProNeD joint project, which is based at TüCeDE and elsewhere, were also represented with several stands.

The wide-ranging opportunities for networking, workshops and interesting discussions with academics and practitioners at the conference provided plenty of impetus for future research and science transfer at TüCeDE.

Save the Dates

2025

July 11 KI Fachtag

Focus: Media and democracy education in the age of AI and new media.
An event organized by ZSL Regional Office Tübingen, IWM, TüCeDE, KI Makerspace and the Regierungspräsidium Tübingen
(Event is in German)

2025

December 2 Digital Education Day

Third Digital Education Day jointly organized by IWM, LEAD, TüCeDE and TüSE.

Preface

Our Team - Ingoing/ Outgoing

Former team members

Salome Wagner

We are the new ones!

Updates of projects from the last year

MINT-ProNeD - Well positioned for the final project phase

duo Homepage

PhD Project as interviews

External content

Interview with Co-Director of TüCeDE, Prof. Dr. Detmar Meurers

Interview with Co-Director Detmar Meurers

Listen

Podcast to read

Projects of our members

Christoph Bareiter

Jessica Heesen

Jasmin Moser

Highlights 2024

2nd AI Symposium on 21 June 2024 - A look into the future of teaching and learning with artificial intelligence

Networking and exchange

DiA:Net Conference: Different Perspectives – United Toward a Common Goal!

Bridging Theory and Practice

DiA:Net – A Joint Project by TüCeDE and the Tübingen School of Education (TüSE)

Review of the SIG 6 & 7 conference of EARLI in Tübingen

Report on the second Digital Education Day on 4 December 2024

Lernen:Digital Conference

Save the Dates

2025

July 11 KI Fachtag

2025

December 2 Digital Education Day

External content

Interview with Co-Director Detmar Meurers

Listen

Podcast to read

2025

July 11 KI Fachtag

2025

December 2 Digital Education Day

Privacy settings