Waldorf Upper-School International

online professional development for Steiner / Waldorf upper school teachers

meeting colleagues from around the world

exchanging ideas and inspiration about relevant pedagogical topics

Continuous Online Training in an International Context

Teachers from around the world are looking for continuous professional development courses for upper school teachers in English. One opportunity is the International Refresher Week at Easter in Kassel, which focusses on one grade level each year and offers workshops for different subjects as well as artistic activities. However, it takes place only once a year and includes travelling to Kassel, Germany – which for some colleagues implies a long journey and high traveling costs. The pandemic-related implementation of an online format in 2021 brought the advantage that many participants were able to take part in the conference for the first time.

Taking into account the need of teachers for inspiration and colleagial exchange during the course of the year, representatives of the Kassel Teachers’ Seminar, together with Ulrike Sievers and Martyn Rawson from elewa-eLearningWaldorf e.V., decided to create an online offer. This professional learning journey includes 3 online modules for 2022/23 which will focus on three levels of upper school teaching: classes 8/9, classes 10/11 and classes 11/12. The idea is to look at the overall themes for these grade levels and relate them to the different subject areas. (For more details see module descriptions below.)

We are very grateful to the ‘Friends of Waldorf Education‘ that they are willing to financially support us in the start-up phase.

Three modules – Fridays 2 to 6 pm CET

Each of the three afternoons will follow a similar pattern.

a general introduction to the topic of the module;
some possibility for participants to get to know each other in breakouts;
2x 80 minutes subject-related content on the specific topics;
some artistic activity /movement/contemplation and break in between.

Fees per session vary – based on your opportunities: Regular plus: 70 € / Regular: 50 € / Reduced: 20 € .

The three modules are framed by the International Refresher Weeks in 2022 (class 9) and 2023 (class 12).

Module I:

May 13th, 2022

What is the upper school about? The transition between 8th and 9th grade:

Anthropological and developmental-psychological justifications of the different ways of teaching in the middle school and the upper school using the example of concrete subjects.
The stimulation of forms of thinking and judgment in the 8th and 9th grade respectively.
Physical presence in the here and now as a prerequisite for the emancipation of the individually personal (birth of the soul body).

Birte Vestergaard (Mathematics) / Wilfried Sommer (Physics) / Dirk Rohde (Biology/Chemistry) / Michael Zech (History) / Martyn Rawson (Foreign Languages)

Module II:

October 7th, 2022

Developmental tasks in the 10th and 11th grade

The subjects should provide an opportunity to learn to reason from within oneself, to explore one’s own limits, and to incorporate one’s individual self-demands.
The world is to be justified in its interrelationships from the perspective of the various subjects through clear thinking, the weighing of different viewpoints and theses, aesthetic judgments, and the cultivation of empathy.

Jessica Krause (Mathematics) / Judyth Sassoon (Biology) / Peter Lutzker (Foreign languages)

! For this time, the courses in history, literature and physics had to be cancelled due to a lack of registrations !

Module III:

February 17th, 2023

Educational goals of the final classes (11th +12th grade)

How can good teaching be realized in the tension between the educational goals of Waldorf schools and the examination requirements?
How can education be organized as a personal transformation process?
The formation of a reflective and self-reflective consciousness should be stimulated in the context of the subjects.

Thomas Neukirchner (Mathematics) / Florian Schulz (Physics) / Craig Holdrege (Biology) / Rita Schumacher (Literature) / Martyn Rawson (Art History) / Ulrike Sievers (Foreign Languages)

Certificate of attendance

The modules build on each other and therefore we think it is most meaningful to attend all three modules. Hence, certificates of attendance will only be provided for colleagues or students who have participated three times.

International Refresher Week: March 31st to April 6th 2023 – Focus class 12

elewa-eLearningWaldorf e.V.