The added value of standing in front of a class

Schoolchildren of different age groups react very differently to a health topic - just one realisation that student teacher Anna Schmidt takes away from her teaching experience at a grammar school in Mainz. Here she explains what the ‘Hacking School’ programme is all about - and how she prepared for the teaching experience.

Preparing lessons, gaining practical experience and interacting with school children - this is exactly what student teachers were able to do in autumn 2024: ‘Hacking School’ was the name of the campaign behind it, which took place over three days at Frauenlob-Gymnasium in Mainz and was coordinated by RPTU. Under the aspect of ‘Education for Sustainable Development’, the student teachers organised various workshops for grades five to twelve - a total of 250 double lessons were offered. They covered topics such as politics, programming tasks and the acquisition of health skills.

Teaching topic: Mobile phone use and the health consequences

Anna Schmidt, a trainee teacher, was also involved. She is in her third Master's semester at RPTU, studying health and geography to become a teacher - and reports: ‘We prepared for teaching at university as part of a seminar.’ There were various teaching topics to choose from: ‘Together with a friend, I decided on the topic of mobile phone use. We worked through a lot of literature in advance.’ Her fellow students' topics included building raised beds and vocational training, she recalls. 

And how did your lessons on mobile phone use go at Frauenlob-Gymnasium? ‘Two of us gave 1.5 hours of workshop lessons in classes five to nine. So basically the same thing five times.’ There were around 20 to 25 schoolchildren in each class. They structured the 1.5 hours according to the didactic guidelines for the subject of health - ‘but we also improvised a bit,’ says Anna Schmidt: ‘Our workshop began with an introduction, then the schoolchildren were asked to work on something themselves. And there was a reflection at the end.’ The schoolchildren were initially able to classify how often they use a mobile phone each day. Or which apps they use. ‘Then we had them create posters, either on the topic of the health consequences of mobile phone use or on the question of what rules would be useful for mobile phone use.’ 

The schoolchildren worked on these aspects in small groups. When it came to the health consequences, for example, they discussed the fact that spending too long on a mobile phone can lead to neck problems - or that sitting for long periods of time is not good. ‘And the blue component in the light from the display can also have health consequences,’ explains Anna Schmidt. When developing rules, the focus was again on the question of how mobile phone consumption can be curbed - and which apps may be more useful than others: ‘We found that children from the younger classes in particular are already using educational apps.’

During the final reflection, Anna Schmidt had the impression that the schoolchildren took away added value and that they will now take a more critical look at the topic of mobile phone use. ‘Overall, however, the younger schoolchildren in particular were more open to the topic. That was actually something that really surprised me. The younger ones were more involved and also thought more about it.’ 

‘It's helpful to stand in front of a class’

And what else does she take with her as a prospective teacher? What is her conclusion? ‘The whole thing has a lot of added value for me. It's helpful to stand in front of a class and gain practical experience.’ You lose your fear of contact in this way. ‘In terms of content, however, we weren't able to implement everything we had actually planned for the lessons’ - another realisation that contact with everyday school life can bring.

Anna Schmidt still has two semesters of study ahead of her. As she wants to work at a vocational school later on, she still has to complete a nine-month internship. She will then start her traineeship at the beginning of 2026 at the latest. She would prefer to complete this near Kaiserslautern - because she is very close to home. ‘I come from Ilbesheim near Kirchheimbolanden.’ 

By the way: over 80 students and academic staff took part in ‘Hacking School’ as workshop leaders. In addition to RPTU, the Freiburg University of Education, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, the University of Stuttgart and the University of Trier were also involved.

The idea for Hacking School arose from discussions between Mandy Schiefner-Rohs, Professor of Education specialising in school pedagogy at RPTU, and the headmaster of Frauenlob-Gymnasium, Stefan Moos. Meanwhile, the ‘real’ teachers at the Mainz grammar school were able to use the time they had freed up for school and teaching development. A win-win situation - for the school and the students.