REFLECTIONS ON OFFERS AND USE OF DIGITAL MEDIA FOR TRANSFERRING KNOWLEDGE IN TEACHER EDUCATION

Abstract

Digital processing, augmented reality and virtualisation have been developed and tested in the gaming world and working environment for some time. In educational settings, media should become learning objects that arouse the interest of learners, establish a connection to their previous knowledge, and enable interactive action and self-control (cf. Göhlich & Zirfas, 2007; Sesink, 2008). In parallel with technological developments, the question of imparting knowledge methods as well as increasing learners' knowledge is consistently subject of debates on competence in higher education didactics (see Erhardt, 2010). In terms of knowledge theory, the question arises to which extent knowledge changes as a result of media processing and, not least, how students' knowledge assets build up, transfers and influence each other (see Stadler-Altmann & Keiner, 2010). In the first decade of the millennium, numerous activities introduced in higher education had been carried out related to media-based knowledge transfer and information acquisition in the context of curricular offerings, pilot events or third party financed projects with non-university cooperation partners (Iske & Meder, 2010; Gördel at al., 2018; Hofhues, Jochuma & Kohrs, 2013; Reinmann, Ebner & Schön, 2013). In this paper, concepts of media-supported teaching and learning environments in the context of the training of pedagogical professionals in South Tyrol are depicted. Didactic designs for lectures and seminars are presented and critically reflected. These two teaching formats are mainly intended for the one-level master's degree in Primary Education at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano. The design research approach chosen for this purpose does not diminish input-output comparisons, but rather raises the question of which media-pedagogical innovations and didactic interventions can improve the existing teaching-learning situation (Fishman et al., 2013). First, the pedagogical fields of action are analysed by considering both the specific context of the given structure at university and the existing teaching-learning settings. Consequently, impulses for a didactic re-framing in the context of the methodological dimensions of control and teaching style will be discussed in the light of the current state of research.