The added value of standing in front of a class

Pupils of different age groups react very differently to a health topic - just one insight that student teacher Anna Schmidt has gained from her teaching experience at a grammar school in Mainz. Here she explains what the "Hacking School" campaign is all about - and how she was able to prepare for the teaching experience.

Preparing lessons, gaining practical experience and interacting with pupils - this is exactly what student teachers were able to do in the fall of 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 organized 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: cell phone use and the health consequences

One of the trainee teachers involved: Anna Schmidt. She is in her third Master's semester at RPTU, studying health and geography to become a teacher - and reports: "We prepared for teaching in a seminar at university." There were various teaching topics to choose from: "Together with a friend, I decided on the topic of cell 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 her lessons on cell phone use at Frauenlob-Gymnasium go? "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 pupils 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 pupils were asked to work on something themselves. And there was a reflection at the end." The pupils were first able to classify how often they use a cell phone each day. Or which apps they use. "Then we had them create posters, either on the topic of the health consequences of cell phone use or on the question of what rules would be useful for cell phone use."

The pupils worked on these aspects in small groups. In terms of the health consequences, for example, they discussed the fact that spending too long on a cell 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 cell 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 pupils took away added value and that they will now take a more critical look at the topic of cell phone use. "Overall, however, the younger pupils 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 added a lot of value for me. It's helpful to stand in front of a class and gain practical experience." You lose your fear of contact this way. "In terms of content, however, we weren't able to implement everything we had actually planned for the lessons" - another insight 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."

Incidentally, more than 80 students and academic staff were involved as workshop leaders at "Hacking School". 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 with a focus on school pedagogy at RPTU, and the principal 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.