Face-to-face meeting at the University of Erfurt
Between planning, projects and plant knowledge
The eTeach Network Thuringia met at the end of October for one of its regular face-to-face meetings, this time at the University of Erfurt.
To kick things off, the Senate Hall on the 10th floor offered an impressive view as far as Weimar. In this inspiring atmosphere Prof. Dr. Julia KnopVice President for Studies and Teaching at the University of Erfurt, opened the meeting with warm words and thanks for the network's ongoing commitment to the further development of digitally supported university teaching in Thuringia.
Work then began in the eTeach working groups: In addition to planning the completion of the products for 2026, the focus was also on resource planning and collaboration. At the same time, the Communications working group filmed interviews with network members, which will be featured in a short presentation of the eTeach network on the website and social media channels in the future.
New ways of cognitive activation - the KOSI project
In the afternoon Dr. Nadine Böhme the project formerly funded by a digi-Fellowship "KOSI - New ways to teach and learn cognitive activation" before. The starting point was the realization that around 80 percent of questions in lessons are pure knowledge questions, while only around 20 percent stimulate thinking. The aim of the project was therefore to support trainee teachers in gearing lessons more towards thought processes - among other things with the help of discussion techniques according to Thiele (1981), which follow up, accentuate, explain and justify, problematize, draw conclusions and summarize promote.
The result of the project was a self-learning unit in Moodle in which teachers can try out new ways of cognitive activation in practice using dialog simulations.
A place for media education practice: the eduroom
The route then led to the Workshop for media education (eduroom), presented by Maren Würfel and Thorsten Ziegler. The room is a central location at the University of Erfurt for the promotion of media skills and media education expertise. Workshops, courses and consultations are held here; technology can also be borrowed and students can try out their own projects.
The program of events ranges from prompting workshops with our prompting station and stop-motion introductions to offers on communication strategies against disinformation and discrimination.
Learning between the herb snail and the compost heap
A special item on the program was the Introduction to the subject of school gardening, managed by Simone Buss. The eTeach team stood in the middle of the university's school garden - surrounded by a herb snail, a gnarled apple tree and leafy beds in which the last yellow cherry tomatoes were still ripening. Ms. Buss vividly explained how the school garden functions as a learning space and drew a visual comparison: "A garden is like a digestive tract - everything is a cycle and is utilized in a natural way."
Students not only learn about sowing, fertilizing, harvesting and winter cultivation, but also about ecological cycles and sustainable educational practices.
To round off the day Wiebke Degler the group on a Wild herbs tour across the campus. Inconspicuous plants along the way were rediscovered - along with their history and healing properties.
Conclusion: Diversity as a strength
The face-to-face meeting at the University of Erfurt offered a successful mix of exchange, insights and inspiration. Between strategic work, didactic impulses and shared nature experiences, it was once again evident:
The eTeach Network Thuringia thrives on the diversity of its members and on thinking about teaching together.
