Edition 2026

The second edition of STEP takes place in 2026 and is hosted by the University of Bremen (Germany). The educational challenge at the center of this edition is cooperative learning in the inclusive classroom. During the exchange week, participants will visit two different schools that illustrate the range of possibilities and challenges when putting theory into practice to enhance inclusion and cooperation.

Theme

The origins of cooperative learning can be traced back to early 20th-century pedagogical and learning psychology theories. The American philosopher and educator John Dewey (1859-1952) emphasized learning through experience and joint action, while the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) highlighted the central importance of social interactions in cognitive development. Cooperative learning remains highly relevant in current inclusive educational settings. By viewing differences as a resource and an integral component of successful learning, this method is well-suited for addressing diversity. However, cooperative learning requires careful consideration of structural conditions to ensure active participation of all students in joint learning processes. Besides, cooperative learning can enable democratic practices in a diverse classroom and promote democratic education, one of the significant tasks of schools, if certain circumstances are fulfilled.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course, participants:

know the possibilities and limitations of cooperative learning as well as the underlying theory, on the basis of which they can make reasoned decisions.
have gained valuable insight into the requirements and challenges of promoting cooperative learning within an inclusive school environment.
have started to develop a personal vision on fostering cooperative learning and democratic education from an inclusive perspective as a prospective teacher.
have become aware of the similarities and differences between international school systems and their views and practices, also with regard to cooperative learning and democratic education.
have gained first-hand experience in cooperative learning through active participation in international work groups, enhancing their understanding and application of these methods.

Case studies

For the core of the digital course on cooperative learning in the inclusive classroom, we developed three case studies that each highlight different aspects of the theme:

Once Upon a Group
Designing inclusive cooperative learning in a fourth-grade fairy tale unit

Toni, a first-year teacher in an urban primary school, has just taken responsibility for a fourth-grade class whose students bring a wide range of experiences, languages, and learning profiles. Motivated by the idea that differences are a resource for learning, Toni decides to introduce cooperative learning in a unit on fairy tales. His goals are twofold: 1) that students recognize common features of fairy tales and 2) that they practice working together so that everyone has an important task and a voice. After the lesson, Toni leaves deflated, wondering whether cooperative learning simply creates chaos [read more]

Voices in Conflict

Rebuilding cooperative learning for mutual recognition and democratic practice

Fatima, a first-year secondary English teacher, designs a cooperative learning project for her ninth-grade class to analyze dystopian short stories and connect them to contemporary civic issues. She forms heterogeneous groups of four, assigns rotating roles (facilitator, summarizer, evidence finder, presenter), and invites the students to co-create discussions norms meant to ensure equal voice. Despite her careful setup, interpersonal tensions quickly surface. The outcome is exclusion and uneven participation, culminating in a performative consensus and a final gallery of products that showcase imbalance rather than genuine collective understanding [read more]

Empowering the Entire Classroom

Strategies to improve inclusion in project- and inquiry based learning

Elijah is part of a group of teachers at an urban ‘middle school’ that decided to start with project based learning to enhance cross-disciplinary cooperative learning in which acquiring (soft) skills plays an important role. For a period of three weeks, students are going to work on a project about their own city in which they will design plans to make public spaces in their own neighbourhoods more inviting for young people. When Elijah and his colleagues evaluate the project, they come to the conclusion that they did not have a proper knowledge of which skills the students master [read more]

Workshops and movie night

During the exchange week (4-8 May 2026), teacher trainers from all partner universities will provide workshops on the central theme and related topics. You can find all abstracts on this page.

In the middle of the week, we will watch the movie Das Lehrerzimmer together. Ilker Çatak’s 2023 film is a nerve-janglingly painful and intense movie about an outbreak of stealing in a German secondary school. Leonie Benesch is Carla Nowak, a young, idealistic teacher of maths and PE. Like everyone in the school, Carla is deeply unhappy about the unsolved thefts, but also unhappy about the heavy-handed and unjustified methods the school is using.

Movie still from Das Lehrerzimmer (2023) →

More information

Would you like to know more about the second edition of STEP? Get in touch with Britta Ostermann (University of Bremen, Germany).

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