Universität Siegen

The Chair of Technology Didactics at Vocational Schools was established as an endowed professorship at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Siegen in 2013 and made permanent in 2018. The aim is to secure an independent teacher training programme for industrial-technical vocational schools in South Westphalia in the long term.  The TVD implements a training concept which enables students to solve problems holistically, from the acquisition of technical content to the necessary work process analyses and the development of lessons with internal differentiation. In line with the novice-expert paradigm, an individualised sequence of project tasks is developed with each student. These are accompanied by in-depth and research seminars. The TVD participates in national research initiatives for the structural and content-related development of teacher training for the vocational education system.

The core concern and essential study content of the TVD is the project-based development of holistic, design-open learning situations with current reference to industrial-technical specialist work. This involves a paradigm shift away from the assessment of individual learning outcomes towards the continuous assessment of design competence. The TVD is from 2021 the national research centre for the COMET project, a measurement method for vocational education and training (VET) to assess vocational design competence.

The University of Siegen, TVD Chair, is the lead organisation of the Young Smart Cities project. It is responsible for the overall management of the project with the support of the AEM Foundation. It is responsible for teacher training in STEM and Problem Based Learning. It is involved in the implementation of the case studies and edits the Young Smart Cities platform magazine.