Fostering Dialogue and Promoting Cooperation

How can event formats lead to long-term collaborations? One example is the dialogue format initiated and overseen by Chantal Momber “Digital Café for Future Shapers.” The event brings together stakeholders from research and professional practice, such as in the case of the “ExClaim” software system developed by the Department of Computer Science. This allows high school and college students to receive immediate feedback on whether they have correctly solved their programming tasks. The department is now collaborating with Konz High School and Mainz-Oberstadt High School to further develop the program and integrate it into classroom instruction.Dr. Annette Bieniusa, Matthias Weber, Peter Zeller, and Sebastian Schloßer from the Computer Science department developed the system, which has been in use at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern since 2014.

This allows students to receive feedback on the correctness of a programming assignment within seconds. However, the technology is not only relevant for university-level learning but can also be used in school classrooms.

Bieniusa and Schloßer presented the software as part of the “Digital Café for Future Shapers,” an event initiated and organized by Chantal Momber. Participants were able to put the software through a practical test and, for example, observe how it can be used to boost motivation to learn. The technology has generated great interest among teachers. As a result, Bieniusa and Schloßer provided the necessary equipment and sample exercises so that the system could actually be used in classroom instruction at the Gymnasium Konz and the Gymnasium Mainz-Oberstadt.

In addition, feedback from the participants led to further projects. For example, students are currently working on their bachelor’s theses to create a platform that makes it easier to exchange assignments and displays error messages in a more readable format.

For Dr. Annette Bieniusa, this exchange with schools is rewarding: “It’s exciting to see how a pedagogical idea from university teaching is taken up in a school context and adapted to the learning situation there. We’re pleased to support the Digitalization of school instruction in this way.”

At the “Digital Café for Future Shapers,” interested participants can discuss new research findings and tools with researchers and try them out firsthand. This benefits everyone involved, as they gain unfiltered access to the latest scientific insights. The academic community can also immediately incorporate feedback from this collaboration into its research, thereby improving it.

Would you like to be informed about upcoming dates for the Digital Café for Future Shapers?