Expert Groups
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Nine Expert Groups
There are nine Expert Groups at the PH Zurich:
- Language Education Expert Group
- Mathematics and Computer Science Education Expert Group
- Science and Social Sciences Education Expert Group
- Arts Education Expert Group
- Physical Education Expert Group
- Teaching as a Profession Expert Group
- Educational System Expert Group
- Education and Social Sciences Expert Group
- Psychology Expert Group
The Expert Groups are a secondary structure outside the line organisation, adopting an interdisciplinary approach to work across the four areas of expertise at the university.
Purpose
The Expert Groups facilitate professional discourse between teaching staff, academic associates and assistants at PH Zurich and support the development of specific subjects and the members of the Expert Groups.
The Expert Groups are assigned the following responsibilities at the university:
- Facilitating disciplinary, interdisciplinary and subject-specific conversations
- Developing new and existing services and contributing to internal knowledge management at PH Zurich
- Setting priorities based on the future needs of the institution as a whole
- Coordinating professional projects and creating synergies to enable professional development
- Ensuring there is room for professional development not directly related to products
Details on the Expert Groups
Language Education Expert Group
The Language Education Expert Group comprises around 90 experts in the subjects of German, German as a Second Language (DaZ), English, French and Italian. The group promotes discourse on topics that are relevant to individual language subjects or across language subjects and levels, such as reading instruction or media and language.
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Mathematics and Computer Science Education Expert Group
The Mathematics and Computer Science Education Expert Group is made up of around 50 members of teaching staff and academic associates. It focuses on teaching and learning within Mathematics and Computer Science. One of the group’s priorities is supporting transfer and exchange between subject-specific education and school practice at PH Zurich. It covers learning objectives, content and methods as well as the ways in which pupils and students learn and understand.
From an interdisciplinary perspective, the group looks into methods and results within Mathematics and Computer Science and other related fields of study, such as Pedagogy, Psychology, General Education and Media Pedagogy and Education. The expert group networks with institutions and partners inside and outside of the school environment through its activities.
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Science and Social Sciences Education Expert Group
The Science and Social Sciences Education Expert Group has around 80 experts representing various areas of expertise at PH Zurich. One of the expert group’s priorities is supporting dialogue, exchange and transfer between subject-specific education and school practice.
The expert group is divided into a core team (four people), a leadership team (eight senior expert group members) and eight working groups. The Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Working Group and the Intersectionality Working Group have an interdisciplinary focus. The work of the other six working groups is focused on subjects, subject groups, school subjects or fields of education: Geography; History (including Political Education and Holocaust Education); Science and Technology; Economy, Labour, Home Economics; Nature, Humans, Society; Religion, Culture, Ethics. Members of the expert group are divided into these working groups to ensure that they can each develop in their specialist fields. This approach also makes it possible to address and progress interdisciplinary topics from different perspectives and disciplines.
The expert group networks with institutions and partners working in science and social sciences inside and outside of the school environment through its activities.
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Arts Education Expert Group
The Arts Education Expert Group is made up of some 80 members of teaching staff and academic associates. The structure of the expert group reflects education organised by discipline in line with the way in which subjects are structured on the curriculum. As a result, the expert group focuses on the following subjects: Visual Arts, Design and Technology, Music and Theatre, Dance and Movement Education and the relevant interdisciplinary areas. The group is divided into four subgroups to ensure specialist areas can be covered in sufficient depth. For the same reason, there is close communication with the division heads working in the arts.
The expert group’s projects relate to various aspects of the arts, with networking with cultural institutions inciting and inspiring new ways of focusing specifically on the arts. The ‘Nacht der Künste’ arts night is one of the expert group’s interdisciplinary projects.
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Physical Education Expert Group
The Physical Education Expert Group is made up of around 30 members of teaching staff and academic associates working at pre-primary, primary and lower secondary level. The expert group addresses the topics of exercise, sport, schools and society through working groups and conferences, while contributing to the exchange of knowledge within PH Zurich and beyond. The expert group is currently focusing on the following areas:
- Basic motor competencies in childhood
- Quality of teaching in physical education
- Sport in schools
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Teaching as a Profession Expert Group
The Teaching as a Profession Expert Group is made up of around 40 experts of teaching staff and academic associates representing various areas of expertise at PH Zurich. The focus of its work is on the professionalisation of future, new and experienced teachers across disciplines. The expert group takes a number of approaches to specific and relevant topics.
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Educational System Expert Group
The Educational System Expert Group has over 40 members representing a range of disciplines and working at different levels within the system with their backgrounds in education sciences, work and organisational psychology, sociology, business or law. The expert group focuses on various topics and adopts different approaches under the umbrella of the educational system. Discussions are sparked by lectures, studies, research results, short presentations on the profession by individuals within the group and topical debates within educational policy.
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Education and Social Sciences Expert Group
The Education and Social Sciences Expert Group is made up of at least 120 members of teaching staff and academic associates. The group covers a broad area and is divided into seven subgroups:
- Vocational Education
- Education Sciences
- Health Sciences
- Culture and Social Sciences
- Media Education
- Special Needs Education/Inclusive Education
- Sociology
Members of the expert group are divided into these subgroups to ensure that they can each develop in their specialist fields. Plus, the subgroups can collaborate to facilitate
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Psychology Expert Group
The Psychology Expert Group consists of around 50 members who examine key issues in teacher training from different sub-disciplines of psychology.
On the one hand, the specialist group organises events on topics that are redefined every six months. On the other hand, it works in thematic working groups that deal in depth with psychological principles and their application. Among other things, the focus is on coaching students and teachers, developmental psychology issues and aspects of professional assessment. Other areas of focus include the promotion of interdisciplinary skills and communication in the classroom.