Didactics of Mechanical Engineering Technology: Inclusion-Oriented Case Studies

 

Content

Students work on real-world diverse studies in mechanical engineering technology occupational fields with the following potential content areas of focus:

• Procedures to assess and describe learning requirements taking into account the diversity of students
• Didactic goals of different educational programs at the vocational school as a basis for external differentiation
• Terms in the context of diversity and inclusion and understanding these terms from the perspective of the mechanical engineering technology vocational specialization
• Diversity of students as a rule in vocational education in the occupational field of mechanical engineering technology, and inclusion as the target condition to appropriately handle this diversity
• Examples of good practice of inclusive teaching in the occupational field of mechanical engineering technology
• Measures of internal differentiation and design of inclusive lessons
• Advantages and disadvantages of different learning requirements and strategies to take them into account in heterogeneous learning groups
• Options for assessment for diverse performance
• Use of (multidisciplinary) collaboration with different stakeholders and networks of multi-professional teams to shape a school of diversity
• Different value systems within the learning groups against the background of culture-specific education
• Diversity as an opportunity and stimulus for developing an appreciative, positive attitude towards diversity and a basic attitude encompassing inclusion

Objective

The students

• are able to obtain a comprehensive overview of the initial learning situation of learning groups at vocational schools, also by means of suitable diagnostic procedures
• substantiate the didactic guiding principle of inclusion and can define support objectives on the basis of the individual initial learning situation
• can develop, apply, and evaluate didactic concepts to achieve individual support goals
• can make, implement, and evaluate methodological decisions for differentiated teaching in the vocational specialization of mechanical engineering technology
• are able to develop individual counseling offers in the educational program and for professional careers, as well as to cooperate with professional partners when there are problematic psychosocial situations
• can concretize the educational mission for different learning groups of the vocational school with a focus on diversity and furthermore reflect on the limits of their own pedagogical competence on the basis of professional theories
• are able to develop evaluation and assessment concepts to achieve individual support goals in the occupational field of mechanical engineering technology and to differentiate based on performance.

Teaching and Learning Method

The aim of the seminar is to perceive the current challenges of teachers at a vocational school and to analyze these challenges against a theoretical background to be able to work out possible solutions for their future work as teachers. Pre-service teachers have access to digital learning materials on theory and on challenges to be dealt with at vocational schools. Face-to-face sessions foster a critical discourse in the group about the theoretical approaches and deal with practical challenges to support knowledge and skill acquisition.

The examination consists of a presentation based on a written paper and is an integral part of the seminar. Pre-service teachers present their results on the opportunity to deal with a problem in depth and to engage in critical-constructive discourse with their fellow pre-service teachers.