UNIC handbook on physical and virtual mobility. Teaching and learning in intercultural settings

This handbook reaches out to university teachers irrespective of their discipline and research fields. It shows the diversity of practice of intercultural teaching which is currently applied in different universities. International Mobility is supposed to increase the quality of teaching and research through the exchange of knowledge, international networking and common research projects. Regarding the involved individuals and organisations, mobility is expected to contribute to an attitude of respect towards the respective cultural values and to develop academic solidarity. Not at least the intercultural learning of mobile and home students and teachers shall be activated. The authors of this Handbook hope to give a taste of international exchange and collaboration in university teaching. The handbook consists of two parts. The first part deals with the shaping of teaching and learning situations in an international and diverse environment, and focuses on didactical reflections. It shall be used to enable teachers in their respective fields to design intercultural learning processes, which contribute to the learning of all – home as well as international exchange students. The first part also gives an impression of different options how universities can advance the internationalisation of higher education. Readers will find basic information, practical hints and examples from the partner universities. Reflective questions and practical hints take the form of bullet points from chapter 2 onwards. The sub-chapters on “Stories from the field” offer concise practical advice on designing internationally oriented teaching to support any such setting. Readers can rummage through stories from the different universities, where practical examples are elaborated. The second part lists information about funding and support programmes by the UNIC partner universities with a focus on teaching staff, with concrete links and contacts at the respective institution. (DIPF/Orig.

Inklusive Schulentwicklung organisieren. Anstöße für den Prozess der inklusiven Schulentwicklung

Die Entwicklung hin zu inklusiven Schulen funktioniert über die Veränderung der einzelnen Schule. Der Artikel stellt zunächst die Anforderungen für eine solche inklusive Schulentwicklung dar. Diese sind eng verbunden mit der Analyse von institutionellen Barrieren, der Priorisierung von Teamarbeit sowie der Entwicklung gemeinsamer Werte innerhalb der Schule. Anschließend werden anhand konkreter Schritte mögliche Entwicklungen in verschiedenen Stadien der Schulentwicklung aufgezeigt. Insbesondere die aktive Partizipation und kommunikationsfördernde Organisationsstrukturen stehen im Mittelpunkt des Beitrags. Insgesamt ist festzuhalten, dass bereits kleine Schritte eine langfristige und umgreifende Entwicklung anstoßen können

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

UNIC handbook on physical and virtual mobility. Teaching and learning in intercultural settings

This handbook reaches out to university teachers irrespective of their discipline and research fields. It shows the diversity of practice of intercultural teaching which is currently applied in different universities. International Mobility is supposed to increase the quality of teaching and research through the exchange of knowledge, international networking and common research projects. Regarding the involved individuals and organisations, mobility is expected to contribute to an attitude of respect towards the respective cultural values and to develop academic solidarity. Not at least the intercultural learning of mobile and home students and teachers shall be activated. The authors of this Handbook hope to give a taste of international exchange and collaboration in university teaching. The handbook consists of two parts. The first part deals with the shaping of teaching and learning situations in an international and diverse environment, and focuses on didactical reflections. It shall be used to enable teachers in their respective fields to design intercultural learning processes, which contribute to the learning of all – home as well as international exchange students. The first part also gives an impression of different options how universities can advance the internationalisation of higher education. Readers will find basic information, practical hints and examples from the partner universities. Reflective questions and practical hints take the form of bullet points from chapter 2 onwards. The sub-chapters on “Stories from the field” offer concise practical advice on designing internationally oriented teaching to support any such setting. Readers can rummage through stories from the different universities, where practical examples are elaborated. The second part lists information about funding and support programmes by the UNIC partner universities with a focus on teaching staff, with concrete links and contacts at the respective institution. (DIPF/Orig.

"Teams on their way to inclusive schools": A seminar concept to promote cooperation skills

In inklusiven Settings begegnen Lehrer_innen veränderten Professionalisierungsanforderungen; entsprechend ist die Lehrer_innenausbildung gefragt, auf diese neuen Kontextbedingungen zu reagieren. Insbesondere die Arbeit in Teams, die durch den Gemeinsamen Unterricht notwendig wird, macht einen Wandel erforderlich. Im Seminar (Einbettung in DoProfiL – Dortmunder Profil für Inklusionsorientierte Lehrer/-Innenbildung; siehe Förderhinweis am Ende des Beitrags) lernen Studierende der Lehrämter Grundschule und Sonderpädagogische Förderung gemeinsam und erarbeiten im Modus des Forschenden Lernens eine relevante Fragestellung zur inklusiven Schulentwicklung. Neben der inhaltlichen Auseinandersetzung mit Themen wie Lehrer_innenkooperation oder Etablierung einer inklusiven Wertebasis setzen sie sich reflexiv mit dem Teamprozess innerhalb der festen lehramtsgemischten Kleingruppe auseinander. Die Studierenden dokumentieren ihren Prozess auf Protokoll- und Reflexionsbögen, in denen sie die eigenen Erfahrungen in Bezug zum Gelernten setzen. Sie werden angeleitet, sich den Aufgaben der inklusiven Schule in gemeinsamer Verantwortung von Allgemeiner Pädagogik und Sonderpädagogik zu nähern. Auch die Lehrenden agieren interdisziplinär im Teamteaching (Bildungs-/Rehabilitationswissenschaften) und versuchen, die als höchste Stufe von Kooperation bekannte Kokonstruktion zu praktizieren und zu demonstrieren. So sollen Haltungen, Wissen und Kompetenzen zu Team- und Kooperationsprozessen erworben werden. Der Beitrag skizziert das Seminarkonzept, greift verwendete didaktische Prinzipien und Methoden zur Strukturierung von Teamprozessen auf und nimmt Bezug auf formale Lehrevaluationen sowie Reflexionen von Studierenden und Lehrenden aus zwei Durchgängen.In inclusive settings, teachers encounter modified professionalization requirements; accordingly, teacher training is required to react to new contextual conditions. In particular, the growing amount of team teaching situations and the challenges that come with it require a change. In the course of the seminar students for primary school and for special need education learn together and develop a relevant issue for the inclusive school improvement using the mode of inquiry-based learning. In addition to the discussion of topics such as teacher cooperation or the establishment of an inclusive value base, they also reflect on their team process within the mixed small groups. The students document their process on reflection sheets, in which they relate their own experiences to what they have learned. They approach the tasks that come with an inclusive school system in the joint responsibility of general education and special education. The teachers from both disciplines also practice team teaching (education/rehabilita-tion science) and by this try to demonstrate co-construction known as the highest level of cooperation. Thus attitudes, knowledge and competences for team and cooperation processes should be acquired. The paper outlines the concept of the seminar, uses materials and methods for structuring team processes, and refers to formal teaching evaluations as well as reflections of students and teachers from two rounds