3rd teff Conference "Every Voice Matters: Diversity in Schools and Teacher Education"

Day 1 | Neues Seminargebäude, Universität zu Köln | Universitätsstraße 37 | 50931 Köln

WEDNESDAY, March 25, 2026

Welcome and opening remarks

• Beatrix Busse, teff Chief Development Officer, Chief Development Officer of the European University for Well-Being (EUniWell), Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs (University of Cologne, Germany)
• Jan Springob, teff Chair and Managing Director & Head of Team School Network & Internationalization (University of Cologne, Germany)

Interactive Welcome Activity

• Dagmar M. Benincasa, teff project coordinator (University of Cologne, Germany)

Keynote

“Inclusive Education Meets Architecture”

• Dr. Meike Kricke, Montag Stiftung Jugend und Gesellschaft, Co-Author of “Designing and Building Schools” (Open Access Download here)

  The keynote outlines the interplay between education and learning environments as a central requirement for a sustainable design of school buildings and future oriented pedagogy. It shows the opportunities that lie in this interplay and how the learning environment can support and promote an inclusive 21^st century education.

  The Montag Stiftung Jugend und Gesellschaft (Montag Foundation for Youth and Society) is an independent non-profit foundation belonging to the Montag Foundations group in Bonn. Its projects are committed to creating an everyday world with equal opportunities that offers children and young people the best possible development and educational opportunities. For nearly 20 years, the Montag Stiftung Jugend und Gesellschaft has been advocating for a new mindset and new practices in school design in Germany. Working together with experts from education, architecture, planning, and administration, it is developing fundamentals, guidelines, and concepts—and is striving to implement them in practice. The aim is to create sustainable school buildings that support high-quality and future orientated education for all.

Workshop 1: Tree of Belonging

This workshop, intended for BIP‑students, explores how student-teachers develop a sense of belonging within their learning environments. Using the metaphor of a tree, facilitators guide participants through reflective dialogue. Together, participants co‑create a ‘Tree of Belonging’ that illustrates the conditions student-teachers need in order to take root, grow, and flourish.

Randy Samyn (KU Leuven, Belgium)  |  Renske de Leeuw (Saxion University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands)  |  Chrischar Rock (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)

Workshop 2: Whose Perspectives Do We See? Professional Vision in Diverse Classrooms

Classroom teaching is complex and attention may be directed towards different aspects. These perceptions are not accidental; they reveal how (prospective) teachers make sense of teaching and whose perspectives and experiences are placed at the centre of learning — a question that is particularly important in diverse classrooms. The workshop focuses on Professional Vision as a key concept in teacher education for making classroom processes and actors visible. Building on this perspective, the workshop also explores factors influencing learners’ perspectives in education about contemporary societal issues.

Marius Scholz (University of Cologne, Germany)  |  Lida Klaver (Saxion University of Applied Sciences)

Workshop 3: Time to listen - meaningful participation in schools and beyond

The workshop introduces a method to develop projects which are based on the interests and visions of stakeholders (e.g. pupils, teacher, students) and explores possibilities to integrate these projects into schools or other organisational structures.

Julia Soeffner (Education Y / Pacemaker Initiative)

Workshop 4: Addressing Antidiscrimination, Diversity, and Inclusion in Higher Education: Institutional Approaches and Practices at the University in Cologne

This workshop explores how the University of Cologne translates institutional commitments to antidiscrimination, diversity and inclusion into concrete practices, with a focus on teacher education. It presents initiatives aimed at addressing discrimination, supporting diversity-sensitive teaching, and developing institutional structures for prevention and intervention. The workshop offers insights into ongoing processes, and challenges, and provides space for dialogue on how universities can further develop equity-related approaches in general and in teacher education in particular.

Britt Dahmen (University of Cologne)  |  Jan Springob (University of Cologne)

Workshop 5: Out of the Classroom, Into the Museum! What Does a Museum Visit Offer Diverse Groups of Students?

This interactive workshop invites you to explore museums as powerful spaces for learning beyond the classroom. Participants will discover how a museum visit can support inclusive teaching, foster dialogue, and create meaningful learning experiences for diverse student groups. Through practical examples and collaborative activities, the workshop highlights how museum visits can enrich curricula, encourage critical thinking, and amplify every voice.

→ For this workshop, please meet with the group in front of the foyer at 1.10pm to walk to the museum together (~ 15 min walk)!

Dominik Fasel (Head of Diversity at Museum Services Cologne)

Campfire Sessions (parallel sessions)

Please come to the main hall to listen to a short “How To”. From there, we'll go to the “campfires” together.

Campfire A: Universal Design for Learning & experiences with students who have hearing impairments

Renske de Leeuw (Saxion University of Applied Sciences)

Campfire B: How to support internationally educated teachers with a refugee or migration background in re-entering the teaching profession in Germany

Christian Rabl (Universität zu Köln, Lehrkräfte Plus)

Campfire C: Experiences from an educational and anti-discrimination project that offers workshops in schools on sexual, romantic, and gender diversity for young people

SCHLAU Köln e.V.

Campfire D: Experiences from a partnership project on the intercultural competencies of graduate teachers from three different continents 

Chrischar Rock (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)

Campfire E: Experiences from working in School Psychological Services

Cathrin Hamacher (City of Cologne, School Psychological Services)

Belgischer Hof

Brüsseler Str. 54 | 50674 Köln

www.belgischer-hof.de

Day 2 | Zentrum für Lehrer*innenbildung (ZfL), Immermannstr 49 | 50931 Köln

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2026

Opening Session 

Jan Springob, teff Chair and Managing Director & Head of Team School Network & Internationalization (University of Cologne, Germany)

Dagmar M. Benincasa, teff project coordinator (University of Cologne, Germany)

Discussion Round 1:Inclusive by design? Exploring VR through children’s rights

This workshop starts with a brief case presentation on implementing VR in education at Saxion and how inclusion and diversity are currently addressed in VR app design. Participants will then use a Children’s Rights card set to examine how design choices can unintentionally exclude certain groups and to generate concrete ideas for more inclusive educational products and services.

Nico Rutten (Saxion University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands)

Discussion Round 2: Adaptive Expertise

In this session we wille discuss how educators can stimulate adaptive expertise in (pre-service) teachers. Adaptive experts are considered people with the ability to adjust their routines when circumstances require it (van Tartwijk et al, 2023). This ability is highly relevant, as developments in society such as societal polarization, are placing new demands on professionals in education and teachers have to change their teaching content and teaching methods accordingly. During the session, we will look into models and strategies to support (pre-service) teachers and share positive, and challenging, experiences with regard to teacher development that aims for flexibility and resilience.

Martine van Rijswijk (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)

Discussion Round 3: Every Voice Matters in the Classroom: Teaching and Assessing Diverse Learners in Inclusive Educational Contexts

Contemporary classrooms across Europe are characterised by growing linguistic, cultural, and learner diversity, including students with special educational needs. While inclusion and equity are central policy goals, teachers often struggle to design teaching and assessment practices that are both fair and pedagogically meaningful for all learners. This discussion round focuses on how teaching and assessing diverse learners, particularly in language education, can be approached through principles of universal design rather than through ad hoc accommodations. The session will begin with a short, practice oriented input drawing on recent research on inclusive language education, Universal Design for Learning, and fairness in assessment. Key learner profiles, such as students with dyslexia, attention related difficulties, or multilingual backgrounds, will be briefly introduced to illustrate how barriers often emerge through task design and assessment formats rather than through learner deficits. Concepts such as accessibility, validity, and learner voice will be used as reflective lenses.

Participants will then engage in a seminar style discussion guided by prepared questions and short classroom scenarios. Together, we will explore concrete teaching and assessment dilemmas, exchange experiences from different educational contexts, and reflect on how inclusive design, formative assessment, and flexible participation structures can support meaningful engagement. The aim is to create a dialogic space where research insights and professional experience meet, and where participants leave with ideas they can realistically adapt to their own classrooms and teacher education programmes.

Dina Tsagari (Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway)

Discussion Round 4: Futures Thinking

Welcome to join our discussion on Futures Thinking! This session challenges you to imagine possible futures of schooling, reflect on your own experiences, and explore how educational stakeholders across countries envision their professional futures. In unravelling how futures thinking is discussed within different contexts, we will explore how teachers can act as changemakers to achieve desired futures. Rather than predicting a single future, the session creates space for dialogue, imagination, and collective reflection across diverse perspectives. 

Xinlan Zhang & Iina Hyyppä (University of Helsinki)