Around 800 teachers are gathering for the Comprehensive School Day at TU Braunschweig

What alternatives are there to written tests? How is the role of the teacher changing as learning becomes more individualised and independent? And how can schools empower young people to play a democratic role in shaping their society? These and other questions will be explored at the Comprehensive Schools Day on 7 October 2026 at Technische Universität Braunschweig. Under the motto ‘Embracing diversity and shaping the future’, the symposium brings together teachers from comprehensive schools across the Braunschweig region.

Comprehensive schools, more than almost any other type of school, embody the idea of children and young people with very different backgrounds learning together. Diversity is seen as the norm in this context. This is also linked to the aim of opening up educational opportunities and facilitating individual learning pathways. At the Comprehensive Schools Day, which is taking place at TU Braunschweig for the first time this year, around 800 teachers and educational staff will share their experiences, discuss challenges and gain new inspiration for their teaching.
As host, TU Braunschweig is underlining its role as a partner to schools in the region.

“It is fundamentally important that schools enable all children to find their own voice, regardless of their social background. A comprehensive school offers many opportunities for this,” says Professor Stefanie Hartz, Vice-President for Teaching Innovation at TU Braunschweig. “Nevertheless, it is not enough simply to put lots of different children in a room and hope for the best. We need targeted teacher training; we need the transfer of scientific knowledge into school practice; and we need a lively exchange between universities, teacher training colleges, schools, educational policy and the learners themselves. And it is precisely through the Comprehensive School Day that we are creating a space for this.”

Skills for successful learning

The Comprehensive School Day offers more than 60 workshops, led by teachers and, in some cases, with the support and expertise of pupils from the participating schools. Topics include alternative assessment formats, self-organised learning, working in multi-professional teams and learning coaching, as well as first aid for pupils experiencing mental health crises and education for democracy.

The event will kick off with a lecture by Professor Ferdinand Stebner from the University of Osnabrück on the topic ‘Self-regulated learning – skills for successful learning in a changing world’.

The Comprehensive School Day is organised by the Braunschweig Centre of Excellence for Teacher Training (KLBS), TU Braunschweig, the GGG – Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft Gesamtschule, and the participating comprehensive schools in the region: IGS Peine, IGS Franzsches Feld, IGS Querum, IGS Lengede, IGS Wittingen, Heinrich-Nordhoff Comprehensive School, IGS Gifhorn, Adolf-Grimme Comprehensive School, IGS Edemissen, Sally-Perel Comprehensive School and IGS Schöppenstedt.