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Concept

The Concept Development in Germany:

Productive Learning at Georg-Schlesinger-Schule,

Berlin

August 2016 Published by: Institut für Produktives Lernen in Europa (IPLE) [email protected] www.iple.de Created in the frame of the Erasmus+ project PROVED www.iple.de/PROVED Limitation of liability for internal content The content of this brochure has been compiled with meticulous care and to the best of our knowledge. How-ever, we cannot assume any liability for the up-to-dateness, completeness or accuracy of any of the pages. Limitation of liability for external links Our brochure contains links to the websites of third parties (“external links”). As the content of these websites is not under our control, we cannot assume any liability for such external content. In all cases, the provider of information of the linked websites is liable for the content and accuracy of the information provided. At the point in time when the links were placed, no infringements of the law were recognisable to us. As soon as an infringement of the law becomes known to us, we will immediately remove the link in question. Copyright/OER-Licence The content published in this brochure is available under OER-Licence and Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Disclaimer The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

The Concept Development in Germany: Productive Learning at Georg-Schlesinger-Schule Berlin p. 1

Introduction The aim of the project PROVED (Productive Learning in Vocational Education) was the trans-fer of the principles of Productive Learning (PL) from the field of general education to the field of vocational education. Regarding this aim the main intellectual output of the project PROVED are five concepts, developed and implemented in five institutions of vocational ed-ucation in four countries (Finland, Germany, Greece, Lithuania). The concept development was supported by the Institute for Productive Learning in Europe (IPLE) by different activities (development of a framework conception and guiding questions, written feedbacks, school-based trainings, teacher training) and by the whole consortium (presentation and discussion of all concepts). The concept development was closely connected with the development of a Pedagogical Manual. This manual includes a collection of methods and instruments which support the teachers in their concrete pedagogical work with the students. All concepts were developed “in process” during the whole project period. The focus of the first year (“preparation phase”) was the introduction of PL, the adaption to the national and local conditions, the design of a first concept draft, the clarification of official permission, the information and preparation of enterprises, colleagues and students. In the second year (“implementation phase”) the partners tested their concept with students. In reflection of this experience they modified, changed or add parts of the concept. During the whole development process the interim results and at the end the final results were presented in the Partner Meetings and to the public. The feedback of partners but also of cooperating institutions was very important for the concept development. In general the five developed concepts are very different - showing the range of local framework conditions and the resulting possibilities. In Lithuania and Greece for example the “learning outside of school” is not well-known and it was a big challenge for the partners of these countries to realize the “learning in practice” as an important aspect of Productive Learning. The “difficult” political situation in Greece during the whole project time influ-enced the implementation of the concept and its development in the way of changing or not changing school-laws and possibilities of “legal realization”. In Germany and Finland the partners were able to connect on existing (dual) structures in the VET-system – one of the challenge here was to point out the differences between existing learning structures and the specific aspects of Productive Learning as the connection between the individual experiences and the school-learning.


All concepts are translated in the languages of the participating countries. This is the basis for suistainability and also for the added value of the concepts which were developed. The concept development in Germany – Productive Learning at Georg-Schlesinger-Schule, Berlin The following part will inform you about the concept development in Germany – Productive Learning at Georg-Schlesinger-Schule. The main focus will be the curriculum and methodol-ogy connected to the basic ideas of Productive Learning, but you will also find information about the framework conditions (current situation of the local educational and employment field), the participants, the cooperating partners and also about organization aspects at school. The partners of Georg-Schlesinger-Schule had the chance to realize their Productive Learn-ing concept in a suitable framework. In the field of “IBA” (integrated vocational orientation) the teachers tested the concept with one learning-group during the implementation phase. Compared with the first draft there were only a few changes necessary. The cooperation with the multiplier institution IPLE as the local supporting partner was very important and fruitful. More “school-based-trainings” as planned were realized and the concept develop-ment was realized very continuously. The partners were involved very hard in the pedagogi-cal work at school and it was hard to find time for the conception work.

Basis for other voca-tional institutions

Impulse for the VET system in general

Instruction for new colleagues Basis for a legal

implementation

Starting point for new PL projects Support for concept

development in general (guiding questions)

Documentation of successful implementa-

tion of PL in VET

Added value of the concepts


CONCEPT of

Productive Learning in Vocational Education

at Georg-Schlesinger-Schule, Berlin

July 2016

Developed by:

Barbara Krabbe, Susan Mehl, Martin Faroß (Georg-Schlesinger-Schule Berlin) in cooperation with: Michael Käselau (IPLE)


Table of Contents

page 0 Introduction 6 1 Preconditions 6 1.1 The educational system of the Federal Republic of Germany 6 1.2 Current situation of the VET 7 1.3 The comprehensive vocational college (OSZ) 9 1.4 Reasons for the participation in the PROVED project 10 2 Aims of Productive Learning (PL) 11 3 Target group 12 3.1 Assumed background of students 12 3.2 Assumed challenges 12 3.3 Anticipated make-up of the group 12 3.4 Securing voluntary nature of participation in PL 13 3.4 Example participants 1st Year 13 4 Participating teachers 13 5 Structural frame 14 5.1 Conceptional considerations of Productive Learning within IBA at GSS 14 6 Curriculum/Syllabus and methodology 15 6.1 Timetable for classes in IBA 16 6.2 ‘Orientation phase’/school days during trimesters 16 6.3 Plan for ‘orientation phase’ 17 6.4 Timetable 18 6.5. Curriculum for practical lessons in metal technology (Fachpraxis) within

PROVED 18

6.6. Practical work placements 19 6.7. Learning in “socially relevant situations” 21 6.8. Individual learning and learning in groups 21 6.9. Educational counselling 22 6.10. Assessment of performance 22 6.10.1 Evaluation of educational development in PL 23 6.10.2 Legal regulations in vocational preparation 24 7 Cooperation 24 7.1. Important cooperating partners 24 7.2. Cooperation within college 25 7.3. Team cooperation 25 7.4. Cooperation with partners of the PROVED-project 26 8 Summary and remarks on the implementation/realization 27 8.1 Productive Learning in vocational training in GSS 27 8.2 Conclusions for a possible continuation of PL in vocational preparation 29 8.3 Certificates, average final grades, training contracts 30


0 Introduction

The Georg-Schlesinger OSZ in Berlin is one of the eight partners in the ERASMUS+ project PROVED. Concerning the project targets the Georg-Schlesinger OSZ in Berlin realized a Pro-ductive Learning class in the school year 2015/2016. Therefore this conception is developed by the participants of the project at the Georg-Schlesinger OSZ in Berlin and will inform you about:

- Requirements of the project; - Considerations for the planned PL-class; - The aims we want to reach with the Productive Learning project; - Concrete steps and decisions for the realization of the project.

After giving an overview to the VET system in Germany and the current regional situation, we will describe our school and the importance of the project for the Georg-Schlesinger OSZ in Berlin regarding the process of vocational orientation and vocational qualification in the existing VET system of Germany. Following the project’s targets the conception is now realized in the implementation phase with a learning-group as in the conception mentioned. In this way a lot of important ele-ments of the developed conception could be tested and the experiences will be very useful for the future classes. The 8th chapter will give information about the first experiences in the implementation which was realized with a group of 21 pupils.

1 Preconditions 1.1 The educational system of the Federal Republic of Germany The following chart gives an Overview about the German system from preschool learning un-til Vocational education and University entrance. The PROVED-project is located in GRADE 10, Vocational Training:


See: Kultusministerkonferenz (Eds.): Basic Structure of the Education System in the Federal Republic

of Germany; www.kmk.org/fileadmin/Dateien/pdf/Dokumentation/engl-2015.pdf) 1.2 Current situation of VET


In comparison to, e.g. Greece, Germany’s youth unemployment rate is very low. Although many companies are in need of apprentices at the moment, they often do not find appropri-ate applicants among German school leavers, no matter whether they come up with a school certificate or are dropouts. The number of dropouts in Berlin is exceptionally high in compar-ison to the rest of Germany. “Berlin is the capital of school dropouts.” Approximately every eleventh pupil (9.3 per cent) does not finish school successfully according to the latest study “Chancenspiegel” 1 of the Bertelsmann foundation. The situation is not much better in Brandenburg. The average of all federal states of Germany, though, amounts to only about six per cent. Also at tests of per-formance, e.g. in mathematics, Berliners do badly and end up at the rear of statistics. All in all though, the number of school dropouts in Germany has receded. Due to the current situation illustrated by the quotation above the need for a better connec-tion between school, vocational orientation and the demands of employers and the job mar-ket is high. Requirement specifications of the job market and the general education must be way more intertwined. Productive Learning seems to be a promising base concept for that.”2

Source: www.huffingtonpost.de/2014/08/21/schule-zeugnis-arbeitsmarkt_n_5696903.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.de/2014/08/21/schule-zeugnis-arbeitsmarkt_n_5696903.html “Hence, the competency of school leavers to be trained is not well approved by companies. This relates especially to German and Mathematics as well as soft skills. The Bertelsmann

1 „Chancenspiegel“ a publication of Bertelsmann foundation, 11.12.14 2 „Chancenspiegel“ a publication of Bertelsmann foundation, 11.12.14


study has shown that the difficulty to find appropriate applicants for the vacant apprentice-ships has further increased and increasingly affects large enterprises. In 2013 80.000 appren-ticeships offered by companies of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) were not filled. Enterprises were able to take part in the online survey of the DIHK in spring and summer of that year. Nearly 13,000 enterprises participated in the survey.” (s.a.)

1.3 The comprehensive vocational college (OSZ) The Georg-Schlesinger-Schule is a comprehensive vocational college specializing in mechani-cal engineering and transport technology. The term „Comprehensive Vocational College“ is attached to the names of those schools which 1) enable students to undergo

comprehensive schooling and certification from basic second-ary school certificate to Abitur,

2) provide students enrolled in dual vocational education with theoretical basics of their re-spective vocations,

3) offer further academic courses for young professionals.


Vocational preparation is one backbone in the structure of an OSZ. Vocational preparation at Georg-Schlesinger-Schule is carried out within the „IBA-Project“ initiated by the Berlin Sen-ate and offers interchangeability between the different levels taught in this field. Students are prepared to take the exams for the basic or intermediate school certificates as well as to apply successfully for an apprenticeship in the area of mechanical engineering or transport technology. All students in these courses take part in two 4-week practical internships. The Georg-Schlesinger-vocational college (GSS) - in the district Berlin-Reinickendorf is one of 35 vocational colleges in Berlin. More than 100 employees – teachers, non-pedagogical per-sonnel at office, laboratories and workshops are realizing the organization of school-life, les-sons as well as qualified certificates. Georg-Schlesinger-vocational college (GSS) usually has more than 1800 students in 90 clas-ses. For lessons, leasure facilities and administration there is an area of more than 26.560 qm. The college is equipped with:

● more than 80 subject-related classrooms, ● technical and natural science laboratories, ● a workshop building with 190 places, ● pc-rooms, ● sportsground and gymnasium, ● canteen/cafeteria.

1.4 Reasons for the participation in the PROVED project As the above discussed statistics clearly show, the situation in the vocational training sector in Germany is by no means satisfactory. Companies are in desperate need for young profes-sionals to ensure the competitiveness of their enterprises and to replace a highly trained staff to be retired soon. School as it used to be does not meet entirely the requirements of companies with respect to the applicability of knowledge and competences. School subjects and practical applica-tions of their contents ought to be intertwined on a larger scale. Productive Learning offers ways to do so on the one hand. On the other hand, it supplies students with opportunities to find out about their strengths and interests and to relate these findings to a possible profes-sional option in their future lives. The learning situation in regular vocational preparation classes is not always beneficial for all students since a manifold range of interests and development stages respectively school his-tories is concentrated in the classroom and individual promotion is difficult.


2 Aims of Productive Learning From school year 2013/14 on until the end of school year 2016/17 the school project called “Integrated vocational preparation“(IBA) is being carried out at 14 Berlin-based comprehen-sive vocational colleges (OSZ). „The different offers within the transitional system from secondary school to vocational ed-ucation do not provide enough practical training in companies, do not prepare students effi-ciently enough for vocational training and do not consider existing professional abilities and competences. In the frame of IBA students are to be enabled to enter vocational education or employment in a direct way. Necessary competences for a successful transition into voca-tional education are mainly to be conveyed. For students who seem to fail on this aim em-ployment ought to be arranged. Within the bounds of the IBA-project the shares of company internships are increased and, by cooperating with job centers and juvenile counselling insti-tutions, are systematically used for students’ career planning. Moreover, the project is meant to show in how far students with and without certified special needs can be ade-quately promoted in common lessons of vocational education.“ (Ministry of education, Ber-lin “Senatsschreiben IBA-Schulversuch”, March 19, 2015) The pedagogical concept of Productive Learning (PL) is to be tested within the framework of the project „Integrated Vocational Preparation and Training (IBA)”. That means that the PROVED-project at Georg-Schlesinger-Schule is to implement the method of PL in the field of vocational education. PL is most viable in the field of vocational preparation, since students of these courses ought to focus on getting an apprenticeship next to gaining a secondary school certificate. Productive Learning is a method which is especially suited to realize the aims of IBA since the practical periods are much better and more intensively intertwined with work at school. The students have the opportunity to gain the school certificates BBR (basic secondary school certificate), eBBR (extended basic secondary school certificate) or MSA (intermediate secondary school certificate). School management and school authorities support the realization of the project within the legal framework of § 18 of the IBA law and, thus, according to the timetable of IBA. That means, that this educational offer/alternative is scheduled as a one-year course for the moment and can be realized with 56 weekly lessons. In accordance with the teacher/student ratio in the IBA courses there are altogether 56 weekly staff periods at our disposal. Teacher time for practical training can be used to carry out individual counselling.


3 Target group Experience shows that students who enroll in an IBA course are often sick and tired of school itself and as often show a lot more enthusiasm, interest and discipline at the internship placement. That is why we intend to integrate PL into the IBA project. 3.1 Assumed background of students The students often come from families with a certain distance or even reluctance to gaining education as well as from families in difficult social or/and economical life situations. Many students are descendants of first or second generation immigrants. Their behavior is often characterized by a strong reluctance towards school and by being numbed by bad marks/failures (apathy about bad marks). Some might as well have experi-enced overtaxed and exhausted teachers at their previous schools. This again results either in a display of behavioral problems or in the retreat into oneself/in surrender. Some require special pedagogical and psychological treatment/help. 3.2 Assumed challenges Students enrolling at our college are not predominantly interested in metal or transport technology but in our location in or close to their neighborhood. Others have been rejected at the college chosen in the first place and just look for any college still having free capaci-ties. Some students might have non-certified special needs. Nearly all students, though, are entirely disoriented with respect to their professional future. 3.3 Anticipated make-up of the group We intend to create a heterogeneous class in terms of aims, performance, gender and back-ground. Existing group dynamics which might display a certain causal connection with failure at previous schools will be critically questioned and, if necessary, stopped. Activities promoting the PL-class: The website of GSS has been extended by information about Productive Learning class in the new school year of 2015/16. Flyers about PL and more detailed information have been delivered at the day of open doors. Our partner IPLE has in-formed secondary schools with PL classes throughout Berlin about the introduction of PL at a vocational college. Procedure of admittance: Applications for IBA-classes have been sorted according to poten-tial PL-candidates. In the future these students will be informed about the PL option in a written way. On the day of registration at GSS personal counselling of students and their parents was carried out with the aim to point out the special quality of PL and to set off the search for a practical placement.


3.4 Securing voluntary nature of participation in PL Students have to apply personally for a place in the PL class in the first school week. They may change into a regular IBA-class in the course of the orientation period. The voluntary participation in PL can only partly be realized since the other IBA-classes need planning sta-bility and have only limited spare capacities. The teacher team is going to counsel students in the direction of continuing schooling in the chosen class. The ‘orientation phase’ helps also for the decision of participation. – see chapter 6.2. 3.5 Example participants 1st year:

Sex:4 females, 17 males Age: between 16 and 21 School certificates: 9 with MSA, 10 with (e) BBR, 2 without any certificate 5 Turkish background, 10 native Germans, 2 Lebanese background, 2 Polish back-

ground, 1 Ecuadorian

4 Participating teachers According to the anticipated number of 25 participants a minimum of four educators is con-sidered inevitable for the proper support of the students. However, a higher number of col-leagues might be involved due to the professional expertise needed for the vocational orien-tation towards the main professions trained at GSS. To ensure effective communication, short ways of decisions and a good relationship to the students a small team remains the ob-jective. Information events at our school have shown that only a small group of our teachers is will-ing to participate in concept development and testing. Thus, the final team has been estab-lished in advance and in accordance with interest and commitment. The pilot PL-class should be realized mainly in the professional fields of mechanical engineer-ing and transport technology because the GSS specializes in these fields and the involved pedagogues in the PROVED project are experts. In the concept development and implementation of PL are involved:

Barbara Krabbe, teacher for social sciences and metal technology, administration Susan Mehl, teacher for English, German and Spanish Martin Faroß, teacher for practical education in the metal workshop Joachim Strobel, teacher for practical education in the metal workshop


For the implementation phase another colleague, Elke Verter, teacher for Mathematics and Chemistry joins the team. As a support to carry out regular counselling at the practical work placement a new col-league, an educational counsellor, was introduced at the end of the first trimester/beginning of the second trimester. This colleague, though, is not involved in any classroom activities, but merely carries out individual consultations and offers support in finding practical place-ments and apprenticeships. Characteristics of the involved colleagues are their flexibility, interest in new developments and imagination. All of them are ready to teach interdisciplinary lessons. This is especially important for the individual teaching, counselling and learning environment. Teacher trainings and extended studying of respective literature are done to gain compe-tence in developing the concept for new school perspectives and to be able to correspond to new demands in connection with PL.

5 Structural frame School management supports the project. The timetable as well as all other regulations fully correspond with the legal guidelines of the IBA-project (given from the ministry of education Berlin (“vorläufige AV vom 19.03. 2015”)). 5.1 Conceptional considerations of PL within IBA at GSS

(also given information for school authority):

PL takes place within the framework of the IBA-project. A class with 25 students will be established. Participants are to do three different practical internships. The first third of practi-

cal learning takes place at the metal workshops of our school. The school year is divided in trimesters according to the internship placements. The ‘orientation phase’ lasts from August 31 to October 2, 2015, i.e. five weeks. First trimester: Oct. 5 – Oct. 2015; Nov. 2 – Dec. 18 2015 (9 weeks);

Second trimester: Jan. 4 – Jan. 29 2016; Feb. 8 – Mar. 18 2016 (9 weeks); Third trimester: Apr. 4 – Jul. 1 2016 (13 weeks).

For individual counselling practical teachers involved have a weekly deposit of one lesson per student at their disposal.


The ‘orientation phase’ serves the purpose of getting to know the PL method and the decision for or against continuing with PL. Close cooperation between teach-ers, students and parents is anticipated.

At the end of each trimester the students receive a report and compose an educa-tional essay.

Official school reports are handed out at the end of term and the end of the school year (certificate).

The students are at their practical work placement on two or three days of the week throughout the school year (apart from ‘orientation phase’).

Three days of practical training are recommended when the students themselves decide to rather go for a good eBBR or when it is becoming obvious that the MSA won’t be accomplished.

The practical work placement serves the orientation and decision for a future vo-cational training and must be found by the students themselves.

One school-day is reserved for studying German, English and Mathematics as a preparation for the final exams (two levels E and G).

A special practical learning task or project accompanies work and learning at the practical placement, which also includes and integrates the subjects German, Eng-lish, Mathematics and Social studies. Learning tasks for all these subjects, which are related to the current work placement, are integrated. The project will be worked upon in individual learning phases in the PL environment at GSS.

The regular timetable of the IBA-project is the basis of the PROVED project time-table.

The PL class will be taught by a small team of GSS teachers (max.4-5 teachers), and deputizing will be organized within that team.

6 Curriculum/Syllabus and methodology The school year is divided into trimesters according to the internship placements. The ‘orien-tation phase’ lasts from Aug. 31 to Oct. 2, 2015, i.e. five weeks. First trimester: Oct. 5 – Oct. 2015; Nov. 2 – Dec. 18 2015 (9 weeks) Second trimester: Jan. 4 – Jan. 29 2016; Feb. 8 – Mar. 18 2016 (9 weeks) Third trimester: Apr. 4 – Jul. 1 2016 (13 weeks) As mentioned above, the PROVED-project will be realized within the framework of the IBA-project. Thus, the timetable for IBA-classes is also the basis for the implementation of a PL-class at GSS.


6.1 Timetable for classes in IBA

Subjects Amount of lessons per year General subjects:

Economic and Social studies German Mathematics English Physical Education

Subjects related to vocation:

Introduction into metal technology Practical workshop training

Further compulsory topic (without grades):

Planning of vocational perspective Practical learning task/project

(400 - 640) 80 80 – 160 80 – 160 80 - 160 80 (480 - 760) 240 240 - 520 40 - 80 400- 720

Compulsory lessons 1200 6.2 ‘Orientation phase’ / school days during trimesters The five weeks of ‘orientation phase’ will mainly be used for “acclimatization” of students as well as for intensive personal counselling with respect to future perspectives both at GSS and further on. For example, during these counselling sessions students ought to find out where they would rather do their practical work placements in the second and third tri-mesters. It is especially important to intensify this in these weeks since both the IBA-timetable and the workload of the teachers involved do not provide enough space for week-ly personal counselling in the trimesters. The time spent at school during the ‘orientation phase’ ought to be similarly structured as in the trimesters. During the ‘orientation phase’ the students attend school on all five school days respectively visit learning environments outside school (but no practical placements yet). The IBA-project does not require a probationary period, thus the students decide about continuing PL during the ‘orientation phase’. Suggested contents of the ‘orientation phase are’:

intensive training in German, English and Mathematics, seminars (e.g. projects in Social studies) in “Haus Kreisau“, sports competitions,


projects in art, music, chess with exhibition/tournament, ‘city as school’: exploring the neighbourhood of GSS and developing questions and

ideas with a practical reference (preparation for practical learning task in trimesters), project “students teach students: come on, I show/teach you something!“, meeting other classes, e.g. dual vocational classes, Grammar school classes: getting

an idea about what choices there are, getting to know metal technology and the school workshops (Fachpraxis), company visits, application training, intensive counselling.

6.3 Plan for ‘orientation phase’

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 1st week

welcoming; (library); communication group (KG): what is PL admission for-malities

city as school: Mobility trai-ning, city rallye

Sports festival - all IBA- classes: table tennis, football etc.

workshop; counselling, finding goals

workshop; counselling, finding goals

Introduction week GSS 2nd week

KG; questionnaire emcra; application training I; job family tree(homew.)

research of jobs and internships; Portfolio ses-sions (Engl.)

En- Ger- Ma according to timetable

See above See above

3rd week

KG; research of jobs and internships

KG; En- Ger- Ma-Social Sc.; art project

En- Ger- Ma ac-cording to time-table

art project; Guerilla- Gar-dening

Art project; Guerilla- Gar-dening

4th week

Social training at „Haus Kreisau“

KG; En- Ger- Ma-Social Sc.

En- Ger- Ma ac-cording to time-table

workshop; students firm?

workshop; students firm?

5th week

evaluation ori-entation phase

KG; En- Ger- Ma-Social Sc.

30.9. action day GSS

workshop; company visit

workshop


6.4 Timetable Current planning of school year 2015/16 Productive Learning at Georg-Schlesinger-Schule:

Explanations: KRA Barbara Krabbe; MEH Susan Mehl; FAR Martin Faroß; STR Joachim Strobel KG = communication group Ma i PL = Mathematics in Productive Learning BL = practical learning task IBB = individual counselling (in the ideal case at the work placement; 1 hour [= 0,7 LWS] per week per partici-pant) Ma = Mathematics, will be taught by a colleague from staff Sp = Physical education, will be included if need to be and supervised by PL teachers 6.5 Curriculum for practical lessons in metal technology (“Fachpraxis”) within PROVED Vocational preparation at GSS is mainly focused on preparing students for an apprenticeship in the metal or transport industry. Thus, teaching the basics of metalwork has a tremendous share in the course syllabus. This subject could also meet special requirements students might need at their practical placement. Practical lessons are taught in so-called `learning areas` (LF). LF 1 Preparation:

Necessary safety and health protection regulations; protection of the environment in the work process

Obtaining information about organization and structure of internship companies, about work routines and contact persons.

Reading simple engineering drawings (structure and symbols of an engineering draw-ing).

Introduction into metals, tools and semi-finished components (ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, profiles, basic tools) + first, simple working procedures.


LF 2 Basic work:

Testing, measuring, marking and centering Testing shape accuracy (gauges) Testing of workpieces with angles Measuring of lenghts and diameters (rule and vernier calipers)

Example: manufacturing a “nameplate” or a “bottle opener” LF 3 Production of components with hand-held and power tools: Task: Manufacture the jaws of a parallel vice

Planning: technical papers, define components according to guidelines, set up work plan

Carrying out: choose and provide material and auxiliary material, set up workplace, produce components according to work plan, apply rules of health, fire, work and environmental safety

Evaluating: check, present and evaluate work results Certificates may be granted at the end of each `learning area` (“successful participation” or just “participation”). Consultation and exchange of information regularly take place in be-tween. 6.6 Practical work placements

All students of the PL-class will under-go practical training at the GSS metal workshops in the first trimester due to the need of well-prepared apprentices in Berlin-based metal and transport companies. For the second and third trimesters students are looking for placements on their own and in ac-cordance to their professional orien-tation.

At the end of each trimester students both receive a report and write a report on their own. Official school reports will be handed out at the end of the first school term and, of course, at the end of the school year. As mentioned above, practical working covers two or three days of the school week. If stu-


dents are determined to take and pass the Intermediate secondary school exams (MSA, in-termediate secondary school certificate) it is recommended to spend three days at school and only two days at the work placement. When it is becoming obvious that the MSA (in-termediate secondary school certificate) cannot be passed successfully or if students would rather succeed with the eBBR, we recommend three days of practical work. Generally, the internships can take place in every field of work and serve the orientation and decision for a future vocational training. A practical learning task or project task deriving from issues at the work placement is con-comitant to the internship in each trimester. It ought to combine contents of the school sub-jects on the background of a practical question. The project task will be worked upon in indi-vidual learning periods at school. Teachers merely assist in this learning process. Students will be regularly visited at their placements, at least every second or third week. List of practical sites as examples (January 2016)

Edi´s KFZ- Werkstatt Breitenbachstr.11-12, 13509 Berlin

Britta´s Hair & Spa Beauty Salon Titiseestr.5, 13469 Berlin

Bären-Apotheke Oranienburger Str.85-86, Berlin

Finetech GmbH&Co.KG Boxhagener Str. 14, 12681 Berlin

SOPRORO- das Sozialwarenhaus Roedernallee 88/90, 13437 Berlin

Arthur Schambach GmbH & Co. KG Großkopfstr. 4, 13403 Berlin

Brückner Car Service, Kfz-Meisterbetrieb Wexstr.21, 10715 Berlin

Hüttinger & Potthoff GmbH-Metallbau Hagelberger Str. 53/54, 10965 Berlin

A.S.T- Metallbau GmbH Niemetzstr.41, 12055 Berlin

Autowerkstatt Graßmann Alt Karow 34, 13125 Berlin

Easy- Motors/ Sedat Tuncay Prinzenallee 20, 13357 Berlin

Auto Teck, Kfz- Meisterbetrieb Ritterlandweg 20, 13409 Berlin

Athlet Umzüge Burgdorfstr.12, 13359 Berlin

Fahrzeugtechnik Lange Alt-Marienddorf 45, 12107 Berlin

Pitstop car-garage Ostseestr.1, 10409 Berlin

Abdul& Söhne- KFZ-Werkstatt Rauchstr.43, 13587 Berlin

Berliner Glas KGaA, Kubatz GmbH&Co Waldkraiburger Str.5, 12347 Berlin

Autocenter König & Platen Flottenstr.24A, 13407 Berlin

Schulz Werkzeugbau GmbH Buchholzer Str.55-58, 13156 Berlin

Karras GmbH Bauschlosserei Osloer Str. 112, 13359 Berlin

Autolackiererei Strauß & Strauß Scharnweberstr.10, 13405 Berlin

Britta´s Hair & Spa Beauty Salon Titiseestr.5, 13469 Berlin


6.7 Learning in “socially relevant situations” Since students will carry out practical training in professional fields they are interested in, they ought to take on real responsibility at their respective work placements in the second and third trimesters instead of making coffee or cleaning client’s cars. To ensure this criteri-on, pedagogues keep a very close contact to the companies offering internship placements. For preparation and reflection we intend to work with the IPLE-booklet “Produktives Lernen an Berliner Schulen” – a guideline for students, 2014. The practical learning task in the wake of each trimester ought to reflect their learning process in the “real world”. 6.8 Individual learning and learning in groups Individual learning takes place at the practical work placement and at school in accordance with the individual educational aims of each student.

Example: In the learning fields different methods of student interaction will be practiced: learn-ing on stations, speed-dating, Twisted classroom, group puzzles, think-pair-share, etc. There will be room for individual re-search for the practical learning task as well as conversations and counselling with ped-agogues on the practical task.

In cooperation with the teachers and according to the results of questionnaires the students establish their individual learning schedules and are encouraged to make their own decisions about which assignments are accomplished first in periods of independent learning. Examples for contents of an individual learning plan:

Explorations at practical work placement (jobs, terms, tools and equipment, …) German at workplace (reports, diaries, applications, business letters, specialist texts,

...) English at workplace (customer conversations, product information, phone calls, …) Mathematics at workplace (statistics, calculations of costs, technical drawings, …)

Portfolios, written and oral papers as well as presentations serve the purpose of evaluation of students’ performance.


Example: In the third trimester students are asked to create a product which is connected to the experience they make at their practical work placement in the course of the trimester. Task for students:

Create a product which illustrates your work at the practical place, which reflects your ideas and experience which you gained at the work placement.

Be prepared to present your product in front of an audience consisting of your pedagogues and classmates.

Your presentation should reflect the devel-opment of the product.

6.9 Educational counseling We require further training regarding the concepts and methods of individual educational counselling. The organization of educational counselling has mainly taken place in the ‘orien-tation phase’. Regular individual counselling is difficult to organize since the teachers have not been granted the necessary time for that. An alternative to individual counselling is group counselling, which takes place every second week and in the ‘communication group’. Topics for individual counselling:

current life situation, feelings about work placement, family, school,

classmates, development of future plans, issues of daily concern, learning tasks according to the individual learn-

ing plan, learning activities at the practical place, questions rising in the practical experiences.

6.10 Assessment of performance The assessment of the student’s performances is mainly orientated towards a successful search of an apprenticeship and a practical placement in preparation. However, many stu-dents are keen on getting the MSA (intermediate secondary school certificate) and thus will be evaluated according to the requirements of the EQR.


Further components of the assessment are self-evaluations, evaluations of the other partici-pants and also assessments given by the mentors in the internships. School reports at the end of the school terms are identical to the other IBA-reports. An addi-tional certificate for the participation in the PL-class is currently under discussion. 6.10.1 Evaluation of educational development in PL The assessment of a student’s development in their abilities relates to the personal develop-ing processes on the one hand and to the quality of learning results on the other hand. A compromise must be found between these two aspects. The following subdivision shows how the different aspects may be counted. In every “assessment-field” the students are able to reach 5 points – so that they are able to collect maximum 40 points in sum. 1. Productive activity

- reading and understanding an engineering drawing - setting up a work-plan/ planning task approach - choosing suitable production technologies and appropriate tools / appropriate means - production of a workpiece in accordance to engineering drawing with given toler-

ances/ creation of a product according to instructions and preset minimal demands 2. Social competence & behavior

- social behavior - punctuality - tidiness and cleanness at the workplace - careful handling of tools, machines and material - obeying safety regulations

3. German - regular participation in communication group and in learning offers - improvements in the oral use of the language and in writing - acquiring and applying formats in accordance with educational standards - complete folder

4. English - regular participation in learning offers - repetition and constant application of structures and contents - acquisition of formats according to educational standards - complete folder

5. Social Science - regular participation in learning offers - argumentations in discussion - application of subject- related terms


- products, e.g. posters, ppt- presentations, complete folder 6. Mathematics

- regular participation in learning offers - successful work on topics - complete folder

7. Documentation - giving reasons for the choice of topic - complete documentation folder - monthly reports in complete sentences

8. Presentation - choice of suitable media (poster, ppt, etc.) - presentation skills (speaking off-the-cut, refering to audience)

6.10.2 Legal regulations in vocational preparation Relevant legal conditions tremendously influence the procedures in vocational preparation in Berlin. They are laid down in the vocational school regulations of the federal state of Ber-lin (“Berufsschulverordnung des Landes Berlin“). Students must attend at least 70 % of the lessons throughout the entire school year. This is an indispensable pre-condition to achieve a school-leaving certificate. Even if all subjects are passed the student will not receive a school certificate with an attendance of under 70 %. Playing truant is unfortunately a major topic in classes of vocational preparation. A student who accumulates 10 days of absence without an excuse in the course of the school year is expelled after having received a written warning previously. Concerning the practical work internships in companies students must not work longer than six hours per day plus breaks. 7 Cooperations 7.1 Important cooperating partners Before the PL-project entered the implementation phase the cooperating companies of our college were informed about the PL-concept development (Novem-ber 2014). A comprehensive list of suitable companies for internships is permanently being completed.


An information leaflet about PL for the companies has been created and is delivered on in-formation events. Students use the leaflets in their applications for internships. Seminars at “Haus Kreisau”3 are in planning with possible focus on intensifying the process of finding out one`s strengths. The parents of our students were informed on an infor-mation meeting in September and are offered further in-formation and cooperation in November 2015. There are contacts with the chambers of industry, commerce and trade. 7.2 Cooperations within college The concept development and implementation is regularly communicated at the different school committees and in the school`s newsletter. The actual concept development is only carried out by the involved teachers. On the website of our college the PL project is repre-sented as follows: http://gs-schule.de/bildungsgaenge/berufsvorbereitung-2 (in German). 7.3 Team cooperations The teamwork in the team of the involved pedagogues has a big priority for realizing the project because of the needed communication. From the beginning of the project the teamwork was realized in regularly meetings and, if needed, in short-way communication. The participants of the team were willing to work in a very close relationship to each other and to the students. Nevertheless it was important to have responsibilities according to the different tasks – especially the coordination of the project process. Ms. Krabbe, Ms. Mehl and Mr. Faroß are intensively working on the concept development. Barbara Krabbe has been working as a teacher for metal and transport technology at Georg-Schlesinger-Schule for several years. She is responsible for the department of basic technical training. In the above mentioned pilot project (IBA) Ms. Krabbe has been involved from the start as a teacher and a valuable contributor of ideas and accomplished a teaching scheme with a highly practical approach called „Service learning“. She is responsible for the devel-opment of the whole technical part of the pilot project “IBA”. She coordinates the imple-mentation of the curriculum and the conceptual continuous development of the “IBA” pro-ject. She speaks English and Spanish. Her tasks in the project are the curriculum develop- 3 Partner organisation associated with the educational foundation of the Protestant Church of Berlin


ment, the implementation of PL and the participation in the teacher training program. Ms. Krabbe coordinates the PL-project. She is responsible for theoretical metal technology, Social Studies and the practical learning task. Susan Mehl is in charge of the English department at Georg-Schlesinger-Schule. There she especially promotes qualified Technical English teaching with a focus on CLIL. Ms. Mehl has been teaching at this school for nearly 17 years and in all courses including vocational orien-tation, vocational school (dual system), grammar school and adult education. She also teaches English in the IBA classes and has succeeded in establishing a trustful relationship with most students. She speaks English, she is the head of the English department, she also speaks Russian. Her tasks in the project are curriculum development, participation in the teacher training program. She teaches English in the classrooms of the IBA project and is very experienced in developing cooperation projects between different subjects. Martin Faroß is certified as a coachbuilder and has worked many years in the training of ap-prentices before he joined the team of GSS as a teacher for practical workshop training. He has been teaching in the IBA-classes at our college for two years. He is in charge of the prac-tical training of the PL-class in the metal workshops and the counselling at the internships. Joachim Strobel is certified instructor for metal construction and has gained much experi-ence in the training of apprentices and as a manager of a training department. He has been teaching the IBA-classes in the metal workshops for two years and is also in charge of the practical training of the PL-class and the visits at the internship placements. Hasan Bali teaches Mathematics in the PL-class in the first trimester, mainly to those stu-dents who focus on the MSA4 or want to improve their marks. Elke Verter continues in teaching Mathematics from February 2016. She contributes to the development of the PL-system with many ideas and materials for the independent learning periods, especially for those students focusing on gaining the MSA. 7.4 Cooperation with partners of the PROVED-project The exchange with the project partners takes place at the partner meetings and internation-al seminars as well as via emails and the PROVED platform on google drive. The IPLE (Insti-tute of Productive Learning in Europe) is situated in Berlin, so the PL-team of GSS was able to contact the staff for questions and any needs (e.g. school-based-trainings were easily real-ized). It is good to have a “regional supporter”. 4 Intermediate secondary school certificate


8 Summary and remarks on the implementation/realization 8.1 Productive Learning in vocational training in GSS The system of vocational education in Germany is generally considered to be one of the most effective and successful ones in the world. It is called the `Dual System` and, over a pe-riod of usually three and a half years, comprises two thirds of practical and theoretical train-ing at a workplace in a company and one third of general theoretical education at a compre-hensive vocational college focusing on the field of expertise related to the chosen profes-sion. Future apprentices apply for an apprenticeship at a company, undergo job interviews and assessment tests and, in case of a successful application, sign a training contract with the company. The company enrolls their apprentices at the respective vocational college. Vocational colleges and companies are in close contact about the development of the stu-dents and the requirements needed in the respective jobs. Example: A 16-year old person with `MSA` (intermediate secondary school certificate) successfully ap-plies for an apprenticeship as an industrial mechanic at the BMW motorcycle works in Berlin. She/he signs a training contract and starts the apprenticeship at this company on 1st Sep-tember. All industrial mechanics in Berlin receive their general theoretical education at Georg Schlesinger vocational college (GSS). So this person will be enrolled at GSS, spends two weeks in a row at BMW and one week at school with other industrial mechanics from other companies and then again two weeks at the company and so on and so forth. At the end of the apprenticeship the apprentice has to take final exams in front of an examination board consisting of teachers from vocational school, instructors from the company and rep-resentatives of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Both, these exams and the final school report must be passed. Many apprentices are trained for the needs in workforce of their companies and receive a work contract afterwards. Most German companies are in need of good trainees these days and an apprenticeship at a prestigious company is popular among school-leavers, even among graduates from Gram-mar schools (Gymnasium). The minimum precondition for an apprenticeship is the basic sec-ondary school certificate (BBR), but most people with just the basic certificate don’t see a fair chance of getting a vocational training of their choice. Most applicants come up with MSA or even the German Abitur. Here, Productive Learning comes in useful. Since the dual system is some kind of Productive Learning in itself, PL is being established in the field of vocational preparation in Germany. PL offers a fine opportunity for young people to gain experience and basic expertise in certain


vocational fields on the one hand and, on the other hand, to learn how to organize oneself, how to present and, last but not least, how to learn more effectively. The main aim of PL in VET in Berlin is to enable students, who failed with applications so far and/or failed their final exams at secondary school, to apply successfully for a training which corresponds with their interests and abilities. This may include the acquisition of the MSA. The target group of PL in VET is mainly young people with a lack of orientation about what to do in their future professional life. Persons applying for the PL class at Georg Schlesinger vo-cational college, though, ought to have a certain interest in metal or transport technology because the practical work placement of the first trimester is the metal workshop. PL in VET at GSS is being tried out within the framework of a large-scale school project called „IBA“-Integrated Vocational Preparation. About 10 Berlin-based vocational colleges take part in this project. The major aim of this project is also to combine basic practical training in cer-tain professional fields with secondary school exam preparation. Students who enroll in these one-year courses have usually fulfilled compulsory school attendance (10 years), but have not succeeded in gaining the MSA. In the ideal case they are interested in the field of expertise the college they enroll at specializes in, but, reality looks different. Often students would choose a college close to their home. Here, PL comes in useful, too, because, by and large, students are finished with metal technology after the first trimester in case they de-cide that it is not of greater interest for their professional choice. The PL-project at GSS fully corresponds with the requirements of the IBA-concept, e.g. the timetable (can be seen in chapter 6). The conception of the PL-idea at GSS includes a trimester structure within the regular school year. Each trimester covers a period of about three months and the students visit school on three days and the other two days they make individual experiences at their practical work placement. As mentioned above, the first trimester is carried out entirely at school, since the metal workshops offer a fine opportunity of basic training on the job. This is not compulsory, though, when students are able to find a practical work placement outside school for the two days. The other two trimesters have to be spent at a placement in the „real world“ and students who do not focus on gaining the MSA in the first place have the opportunity to spend three days at the practical work placement. Students ought to pay special considera-tion to finding a placement at an enterprise which offers apprenticeships in the third tri-mester. School days are organized as follows. On two days a ‘communication group’ of about 45 minutes takes place in which all kinds of aspects are discussed and students are supposed to learn to express themselves better and to listen to and reflect on other students’ issues. This seems to be a challenge for most students as they constantly fail to acknowledge that this is


learning and developing, too. Even a variety of different methods like flashlight, prompt cards, speed-dating, etc. has not helped to improve some students’ attitude towards the ‘communication group’. As a whole, though, we think that this format nevertheless contrib-utes to the generally pleasant atmosphere in the class (in comparison to the somewhat diffi-cult situation in most regular IBA-classes). Students also get an overview about the week’s plan and due tests or other important dates at the end of the first ‘communication group’ meeting of the week. This way they are supposed to learn what they will have to do in the „Independent Learning“ periods. For these periods there are trays with all kinds of learning materials on offer. These trays are updated on a regular basis. Students check their solutions independently with folders containing model answers. Students may work on their own, in pairs or groups. There are always two pedagogues present in the classrooms who may be consulted in case of questions or difficulties. Classical lessons are taught between one to three times a week, mainly with student-centered methods. These have been introduced to monitor students’ progresses as a whole and in accordance with students’ requests. Counselling of students often takes place during school periods. This is made possible by the presence of two teachers at all times, but it is not an ideal solution. The teachers involved in the PL-class are responsible for other courses at GSS, too, and do not have any temporal scope within their schedules. Nevertheless, personal counselling takes place and successfully at that, for all students consider their pedagogues trustworthy contact partners for all sorts of issues. Of course, this also contributes to the mostly pleasant atmosphere in the class. As a support to carry out regular counselling at the practical work placement a new colleague, an educational counsellor, was introduced at the end of the first trimester/beginning of the second trimester. This is not unproblematic because this colleague does not take responsibil-ities within the classroom. In the new school year this colleague will be introduced to the new class right from the beginning and thus will be way more integrated in the PL-class. Results of presentation exams and other performance reviews show that PL offers a viable alternative to the regular IBA-classes for certain students. 8.2 Conclusions for a possible continuation of PL in vocational preparation The trimester organization of the school year has proved to be beneficial for the students. The practical learning in the first trimester was carried out at GSS, which promoted the search for practical placements in the second and third trimesters since students could come up with a certain basic expertise in metalwork. A small team could be kept and cooperated very well. The external educational counsellor was a bit difficult to integrate at the begin-ning, but will be part of the team for the coming school year right from the start. Due to the high share of time the members of the team spent with the students, a very close and trust-ful relationship could be established between the teachers and the students. This appears to


be essential for the students’ success, especially of those students with learning or behavior-al difficulties. Making real practical work experience throughout the year promoted the vocational orienta-tion of most students in a very effective way. Also theoretical learning at school and practical learning at the workplace could be combined very well. It took students a lot of time to understand that the ‘communication group’ format is also part of the learning process. At the end of the school year all students agreed, though, that the ‘communication group’ created a good team spirit in the class. In the course of the school year most students accustomed themselves to the high share of independent learning periods at school. As a result can be said that especially self-responsible students managed a workload which was much higher than the average and in a sustainable way at that. 8.3 Certificates, average final grades, training contracts At the end 18 students finished the school year in the PL-class successfully with personal vo-cational positive perspectives. School-certificates: (best) – 6,0 (worst))

The average final grades of the nine intermediate secondary school certificates (MSA) are as follows: 1x1,4 - 1x1,8 - 2x2,0 - 1x2,1 - 1x2,8 - 1x2,9 - 2x3,0

The average final grade of the student who gained the basic secondary school certifi-cate: 3,1

The average final grades of the students with MSA accomplished in 2015 are as fol-lows: 1x2,5 - 2x2,6 - 1x2,9 - 2x3,0 - 1x3,3 - 1x4,4

Vocational / educational connections after the PL-class: Students have gained contracts for a connecting apprenticeship with the following compa-nies/enterprises:

Cutting mechanic at Siemens Industrial mechanic at the Berlin public transport company BVG Toolmaker at Artur Schambach GmbH&Co.KG Pharmaceutical assistant at a pharmacy Car mechanics at Senorita cars and Federal army Bundeswehr Tiler at Dachdecker Kaßburg Metal constructor at Plaschke Tezett GmbH Concrete constructor at OSZ Knobelsdorff-Schule


Several students still have job interviews to come. Four students are going to continue schooling to gain a higher school certificate at Georg-Schlesinger-Schule or at OSZ Handel I.

August 2016 Published by: Institut für Produktives Lernen in Europa (IPLE) [email protected] www.iple.de Created in the frame of the Erasmus+ project PROVED www.iple.de/PROVED

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