In general, this course aims at practicing students' application of concepts acquired in the course of their studies to teaching. The focus is on 'texts' in a broad sense: texts and textuality in written (fictional as well as non-fictional) text types and genres; but also visual and media 'texts', which could include - depending on students' interests - questions of story-telling, narrative, genre, film language, digital/new media, translation and transformation between different media, or other aspects of 'textuality.'
Importantly, such approaches to texts will be embedded in the broader question 'why': Why do we want to, and need to, teach such aspects of textuality? What are their practical, social, political implications? Why and how can, or should, we link texts and textuality to the everyday world of experience of our learners in order to work towards a broader set of 'fachdidaktische' objectives? What overall purpose do we have in mind, as teachers, and as individuals? Or in the words of a student, “Is there something bigger?”
In order to address answer such questions, the course includes a look at these frameworks:
- Formal and informal frameworks of learning
- Curriculum analysis
- Different categories and levels of aims and objectives
- Exemplary analysis of different 'competences'
- Top-down and bottom-up approaches to planning
- Literacy and critical media literacy
Students will be able to choose a variety of examples of their own to put theory to practice in team and individual work on different aspects of texts and how those can be transferred to a school context. In the proseminar format, students will also practice academic research and (spoken and written) presentation skills: In addition to classroom discussions and shared readings, grading will be based on a team presentation, in which students analyze and compare a set of textbook materials of their own choice as to the competence focus, objectives and methods; and of an individual term paper (Hausarbeit), in which students select a 'text' and/or set of textual competences and design a teaching sequence based on these, analyzing and explaining the objectives they want their learners to reach with this sequence.
Readings and other materials will be provided as handouts or electronically. |
