Zwischentoene / Nuances - Teaching Materials for Classroom Diversity
Diversity in classrooms is the norm. Whether in Dresden, Cologne or Munich - increasing numbers of school pupils in Germany come from migrant backgrounds. The diversity of their biographies and the pluralisation of living environments offer the ideal opportunity to encourage pupils to take a constructive approach to social differences.
The internet platform zwischentoene.info provides teaching modules (in German) that represent and reflect this diversity. The modules for politics, history and ethics/religious education classes for pupils in secondary education address the questions that textbooks frequently gloss over. One core area explores the perspectives of Muslims and those from migrant backgrounds. In view of the public controversies surrounding Islam and immigration, these topics lend themselves to learning processes closely related to living environments and to stimulating the pupils' decision-making and negotiating skills.
The materials consist of different types of media assembled from a wide range of sources. What they have in common is a non-mainstream perspective. The use of online media is an important component of the teaching modules, either in the shape of social networks, content sharing platforms or blogs. The aim is to facilitate the active and considered use of these media. The modules are designed to complement the curriculum; when devising them we placed great value on their direct application in the classroom.
The internet platform will be continuously updated and augmented by new teaching modules. The facebook group "Zwischentöne - Materialien für Vielfalt im Klassenzimmer" provides a forum for exchange and discussions.
"Zwischentoene/Nuances" is a knowledge transfer project of the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research and has been funded by Robert Bosch Stiftung (2013-2016).