The project objectives are achieved through three measures: In order to build up conceptual knowledge about the EU, an Europe-e-learning course was developed that can be completed in self-study. It contains various learning paths to suit different learning levels and is prepared using multimedia. At the heart of the project is a seminar in which student teachers and trainee teachers worked together with teachers to develop teaching units on the EU.
They were supported by didactic experts from the Department of Political Science, Chair for Political Education and Didactics for social studies. In order to produce teaching units for as many ages and levels as possible, (student) teachers from all school types and subject areas were recruited. The teaching units developed in the seminar were implemented, evaluated and subsequently revised at the schools of the participating teachers.
A didactic commentary was then written to go with it. Both outputs were made available to a broad public on an open source platform in both German and English. By participating in the seminar, the (student) teachers became experts in the teaching units they developed and acquired both conceptual and didactic-methodological knowledge about the EU and the teaching of EU topics in the classroom. In line with the principle of “train the trainer”, the tandems or small groups created in the seminar designed a workshop to present their teaching units and carried this out as part of a teacher training course organized by the MZL.
In this way, acquired knowledge is passed on and more and more teachers are reached through the multiplier function of those involved. This is also promoted through the establishment of a certificate program for EU ambassadors, which includes the e-learning-course, regular training and further education as well as supervision.