D.he school closings during the corona pandemic have revealed that most German schools are insufficiently prepared for digital teaching and learning processes. As a rule, analog tasks were transferred to the Internet, which does not yet improve learning and understanding. The mere use of digital media is not yet progress. Only recently did the authors of the education report therefore point out that the potential of digital media for supporting educational processes from early childhood through to continuing education is seldom exhausted.
The strategy paper of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) “Education in the digital world” was published five years ago and is out of date. Therefore, the President of the KMK, Brandenburg’s Minister of Education Britta Ernst (SPD), asked the Standing Scientific Commission of the KMK (StäwiKo) to issue a statement on concrete requirements for successful educational processes using digital aids.
This Thursday, just in time for the start of the KMK, the StäwiKo presented a 32-page paper with specific requirements. So far, only a quarter of the teachers surveyed use digital media in their lessons every day, and only four percent report using them on a daily basis. Not only is there a lack of digital equipment, but also the professionalisation of teachers, who are mostly critical of digital media.
The scientists recommend the KMK to expand its digital skills in six steps:
1) Define, operationalize and review educational goals and competencies under digital conditions
This means, on the one hand, subject-specific digital skills, for example ethical and language-theoretical considerations for communication in social networks, but also the design of blog posts with mathematically and scientifically based statements. On the other hand, the students should acquire information and computer-related skills, the structure of which is the task of all subjects and which cannot be left to one subject of computer science alone. This includes searching, processing, storing, problem-solving, producing, presenting and reflecting. All of this is what the pupils should be able to do with the completion of the lower secondary level. These skills could also be ascertained in comparative studies.
In October last year, the Science Council recommended that the federal states introduce IT education in schools quickly and expand the subject of IT. So far, however, computer science has only been compulsory in all grades in very few countries.
The StäwiKo wants the use of digital tools in the state regulations on class work and central final exams to be mandatory.
2) Promote the competence development of the learner through digitally supported processes
All previous studies show that the use of tablets in the classroom does not have any influence on the learning success of students. A meta-analysis of 1055 individual studies has shown that digital learning offers have the greatest effect when they support and do not replace lessons designed by teachers. “Digital learning offers that are cognitively activating achieve higher effect sizes than offers that only present content,” state the members of the StäwiKo. The decisions for certain media are always to be made depending on questions of objective and content.
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