Dealing with norm and knowledge horizons in the context of reconstructive case work at the interface of subject-related didactics and general didactics

Perspectives from a joint seminar

Abstract

Reconstructing real cases of teaching in a stress-reduced atmosphere offers the possibility for an objective and critical analysis of teaching practices in the context of teacher education. At the same time, this requires specific competencies and knowledge from the students and it also raises questions about the normative embedding of case work. The article specifies these general challenges of reconstructive case work using the example of a seminar for student teachers, which was designed and implemented at Technische Universität Dresden by the Didactics of German in collaboration with the General Didactics. As one key topic proves to be the question of how putting the different normative horizons – subjectrelated didactic horizons, general didactic horizons, and individual horizons – into a reflected relationship can succeed in the seminar. By doing this, we will raise the issue of the knowledge base that is necessary for such a seminar setting, but which the student teachers may not have prior to it. Finally, the article addresses the following question: to what extent does linking subject-related and general didactic approaches to one another have the potential to benefit or overload students in this kind of seminar? The article thus develops questions that need to be clarified by empirical investigations, but which also need to be discussed with regard to the further development of teacher training programs.