Thomas Berger works as a lecturer and teacher educator in our team and as a German teacher at the ‘UniverSaale’ comprehensive school in Jena, Germany. Holding a PhD in literary studies and possessing several years of experience as a German teacher, he contributes valuable perspectives to our research group. Thomas’ main focus lies on teaching, with a special interest in (teaching) literature. In addition, he offers seminars on grammar and orthography together with researchers in the linguistics department.

• Der Humanitätsgedanke in der Literatur der deutschen Spätaufklärung. Heidelberg: Winter Verlag 2008.
• „Grenzvernunft“ und Theodizee – zum Verhältnis von Skepsis und Heilsgewissheit in Lessings Spätwerk. In: Wezel-Jahrbuch 10/11 (2009), S. 195-219.
• Nachweis und Bewertung literarischen Verstehens in schulischen Leistungssituationen und Testaufgaben. In: Iris Winkler, Nicole Masanek, Ulf Abraham (Hg.): Poetisches Verstehen. Literaturdidaktische Positionen – empirische Forschung – Projekte aus dem Deutschunterricht. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider 2010, S. 98-113.
• Rezeption und Produktion von Sachtexten. In: Helmuth Feilke, Juliane Köster, Michael Steinmetz (Hg.) Textkompetenzen in der Sekundarstufe II. Stuttgart: Fillibach bei Klett 2013, S. 331-353.

Florian Hesse currently works as a researcher and teacher educator at the Department of German Literary Studies and at the Centre for Teacher Education and Educational Research at the Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany. From 2019 to 2022, he holds a PhD scholarship from the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (‘Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes’). In his research, he focuses on different domain-specific aspects of student teachers’ competence, such as their ability to create learning opportunities in literature classrooms (PhD project) or to plan literature lessons (KOPPRA-D). Moreover, he studies teacher students’ beliefs about reading (LeBiS) and develops curricula for the education of mentor teachers (AUAU). In terms of research methodologies, Florian uses both qualitative and quantitative approaches in his studies.

• Hesse, Florian (2018): Can You Cope with Kids? On Pre-Service Teachers’ Learning Opportunities in Introductory Internships. Unveröffentlichte Examensarbeit. 138 S. FSU Jena. Ausgezeichnet mit dem Lehramts-Examenspreis der FSU Jena 2019.
• Hesse, Florian & Lütgert, Will (in Vorb.): Auf die Lernbegleitung kommt es an! Konzepte und Befunde zu Praxisphasen in der Lehrerbildung. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt.

• Teaching Literature in Field Experiences
• Cognitive Activation through Tasks in Literature Classes (KoALa)
• Cooperative Planning Conversations in the Teaching Practicum of Future German Teachers (KOPPRA-D)
• Reading Autobiographies of Pre-service Teacher Students (LeBiS)

Research and teaching are equally important to Christiane Kirmse, who works as a research assistant and doctoral student in our team. In her research, she explores questions theoretically and empirically, using qualitative research methods. She is particularly interested in the question of how teachers and students deal with point of view in narrative texts (PhD-Project). Questions that concern the reading of literature are not only the core of her research, but also of her teaching. In addition to her seminars with literary scholars, her cooperation with researchers in the field of text linguistics offers interesting networking opportunities. In her teaching, she pays close attention to the opportunities and challenges of digitization. One research project that is closely linked to the further development of her teaching focuses on teacher students’ beliefs about reading. To examine these beliefs, Christiane, together with her colleagues, Anna Seeber and Florian Hesse, analyses the reading autobiographies of students who are still at the beginning of their studies (LeBiS).

• Erasmus von Rotterdam, Paraclesis dt. In: Conradus Mutianus Rufus und der Humanismus in Erfurt. Katalog zur Ausstellung der Forschungsbibliothek Gotha auf Schloss Friedenstein 21. August bis 1. November 2009, hg. v. Christoph Fasbender. Gotha: Univ. Erfurt 2009, S. 48-50.

• Research on Experts’ and Novices’ Literary Reading Processes. Teachers’ and Students’ Strategies for Dealing with Point of View (PhD project)
• Reading Autobiographies of Pre-service Teacher Students (LeBiS; together with Anna Seeber and Florian Hesse)

Birgit Rickmann teaches German and English at the ‘Karl Theodor Liebe Gymnasium’ (High School) in Gera and works as a University Mentor for pre-service teachers during their field experiences. She finds teaching at university rewarding for two main reasons: One, she is able to provide her students valuable feedback concerning their theory-driven plans as well as their actual teaching. Two, it is exactly this process of giving feedback that allows her to reflect more deeply on her own teaching.

Frederike Schmidt currently works in a postdoc position in our team. In general, her research interests are in teacher education, literacy skills in literature classrooms, the assessment of reading skills and film education. Currently, she is examining the role of academic language in classroom conversations about literature (postdoctoral lecture qualification) and student teachers’ ability to plan literature lessons (KOPPRA-D). Her work is theoretically driven and empirically oriented with a focus on qualitative approaches.

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Anna Seeber works as a researcher for the OVID-PRAX project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. This interdisciplinary project examines the effects of an online-based video feedback intervention in pre-service teachers’ first long-term teaching practicum. In her PhD project, which is closely related to the OVID-PRAX project, Anna Seeber explores the facets of professional competence of German L1 teacher students conducting their teaching practicum. Apart from OVID-PRAX, Anna, together with her colleagues, Christiane Kirmse and Florian Hesse, investigates the reading-related beliefs of teacher students (LeBiS). The main goal of this cooperative project is to further develop the education of future literature teachers. To answer her various research questions, Anna uses both quantitative (OVID-PRAX) and qualitative research methods (PhD-Project, LeBis).

• Online-based Video Feedback in Teaching Practicum (OVID-PRAX)
• Reading Autobiographies of Pre-service Teacher Students (LeBiS; together with Christiane Kirmse and Florian Hesse)

Karin Zimmermann teaches German, History, and Theater and Design at the ‘Otto Schott Gymnasium’ (High School) and works in our team as a University Mentor for pre-service teachers during their field experiences. Switching between the two institutions is what Karin experiences as particularly rewarding. At school, Karin advocates for a holistic approach of learning and teaching, whereas the main focus of her teaching at university lies on the planning of German lessons. Inspired by the OVID-PRAX project, she provides individual feedback concerning the pre-service teachers’ lesson plans. Thus, she aims at enabling teacher students to cross the boundaries between the theory they learn at the university and the practical demands of their field experiences.