skilled work

A technical work is a propaedeutic science work that is independently developed by students in Germany to monitor performance .

It is often a kind of final thesis of the Reformed upper level or as part of the special learning achievement that can optionally be included in the Abitur . The topic often develops in consultation between teacher and student. The requirements should be similar to those of a university thesis. Thus it gives the student an insight into scientific work.

The specialist work in various German federal states

The regulations for skilled work are very different in the different federal states .

Baden-Württemberg

In Baden-Württemberg , a technical work in the seminar course is particularly required at vocational high schools . The students work independently on the topic. The GFS consisting of a written and an oral part are comparable to a specialist thesis .

Bavaria

In Bavaria the technical work is no longer under a since switching to the eight-year high school advanced course taken. The students commit to a science propaedeutic seminar (short: W seminar) in which they prepare a so-called seminar paper , which they present in an oral lecture after completion. This seminar is taken for three semesters and is not only included in the Abitur grade through the grading of the seminar paper. In general, seminar work is about preparing the student for a university career. Therefore it is above all a matter of learning the methods of scientific work. If the seminar paper is rated with zero points, the student will not be admitted to the Abitur . Simply submitting an outline is not enough to receive a point. The high school graduate has almost a whole year to write the term paper. The mandatory submission takes place on the second day of school in November. The weighting of the seminar paper within the overall grade corresponds to that of a semester in double weighting, so a maximum of 30 points are included in the total number of points.

Berlin

In Berlin , the technical thesis must be applied for in the second half of the two-year upper school career (usually in the second half of the 12th grade). The application must contain the title and a rough indication of the topic. In addition, it must be noted in the application which subject the thesis is to be assigned to. This is usually, but not mandatory, one of the four examination subjects in the Abitur . The school examines the application; the result of the examination is communicated to the student at the beginning of the third semester. If the student agrees, a teaching staff will be named as a contact person who will support him and evaluate the work. Furthermore, he is given a deadline for his work, which is usually around the time of the written Abitur examination.
The thesis must be submitted in at least two copies (usually one copy for the first and second corrector, one for the chairman of the Abitur). The announcement of the results of the written work takes place together with the announcement of the results of the other written Abitur examination subjects.

As part of the oral examination, there is a colloquium at which the chairman of the Abitur, the supervising teacher, another teacher who is familiar with the subject and usually the school management are also present. The examination chair is held by the Abitur chairperson and the survey is carried out by the supervising teacher. A protocol is kept by the second subject teacher. The exam is public; Non-school students can also be admitted upon application. However, visitors do not have the right to speak. The evaluation of the colloquium takes place in camera immediately after it has ended.

The result will be communicated to the student in writing after all oral exams have been completed. The student can then decide whether he wants to incorporate the work into his Abitur or not. He should be supported by the educational coordinator of the school. When making a decision, it should be noted that the four exams in the examination subjects only count three times (instead of four times) in the third Abitur block when the thesis is submitted, the written part of the thesis also counts three times and the colloquium single.

Brandenburg

In Brandenburg , in grade 9, a thesis on a freely selectable topic must be completed. These grades count as class work and the thesis must be submitted in writing. In the 11th grade, instead of an oral exam, you can choose a technical paper (exam in a different form of examination). In the second semester, the student must work on a topic of his choice within three months. To this end, he is also looking for a supervising specialist teacher on his own. He must then present the technical work in a lecture and defend it in an oral examination. The grade of the technical work is determined in subjects with class work on 20% technical work, 20% class work and 60% of the remaining grades for subjects without class work, 25% technical work and 75% of the remaining grades apply.

Lower Saxony

In Lower Saxony , the technical work is done in one semester of the qualification phase of the upper level in the seminar subject. The seminar subject can be connected to a course at an increased or basic level of difficulty in terms of content or through the double commitment of the corresponding teacher, but this is generally not. The length of the thesis should not exceed 15 text pages, but attachments are not included in this. Six weeks are available for the preparation of the thesis during the teaching period; If the holidays are within this period, this period is not included. An oral presentation of the work is possible to control the independent preparation. The grade of the seminar subject is included in the Abitur . "First of all, the result of the school half-year in which the thesis was written must be brought in." Another half of the school year, which borders on the preparation period, will continue to be included. Both the topic and the grade are noted in the study book and on the Abitur certificate.

The subject is assigned by the teaching teacher, in most cases an agreement is made with the student. Allocation is also possible according to the presumed interests of the pupil, and a pupil can also choose from a list of suggestions or - which rarely happens because it is problematic in implementation - the pupil can freely choose the topic.

There is also the possibility that the specialist work can be done by two or more people. However, it must be ensured that the teacher can distinguish who wrote what from the students. In addition, the scope of the specialist work increases accordingly in group work.

The technical work has been done in the seminar subject (two hours per week) for several years. The thematic orientation of the seminar subject is often dependent on the chosen focus of the student, e.g. B. artistic or scientific. However, it is also customary for the topics of the seminar subjects offered to be announced at the time of course selection, from which the students can choose one of the seminar subject courses according to their interests or at least specify their wishes. In the seminar subject the interdisciplinary method learning is still in the foreground, for this reason technical papers should have a subject-related approach.

North Rhine-Westphalia

In North Rhine-Westphalia , in qualification phase 1 (11th grade according to the G8 model or 12th grade according to the G9 model), a specialist thesis must be completed in a course that is documented in writing. It usually replaces the first exam of the second semester in the chosen subject, but sometimes also the second exam of the first semester. The allocation of subjects for the work is left to the schools. However, in many schools it is possible for students to specify a certain number of desired subjects. The work of students who want to write their work in a subject taught by a teacher who has already had many inquiries from other students will be assigned to one of the desired subjects. The subject of the thesis should be in relation to a topic dealt with in class 12 or 13 and is more or less freely chosen by the students in consultation with the supervising teacher. The scope of the thesis should be 8–12 pages without the appendix and cover sheet. The pupils have about 6 weeks (this time can be extended by up to 2 weeks if necessary, e.g. in the case of empirical studies) to complete the technical work; During the writing process, there should be as frequent an exchange as possible with the supervising teacher, who takes on an advisory position.

Rhineland-Palatinate

In Rhineland-Palatinate , in grade 12, a thesis can be written in one of the three advanced courses. This should be completed within 12 weeks and should have a length of 10 to 12 pages (without attachment). The weighting of the thesis within the overall grade corresponds to that of a single semester, so a maximum of 15 points are included in the total number of points. In addition, there is the possibility of preparing a special learning achievement (BLL) with a scope of 20 to 25 pages (without appendix). This is not limited to certain subjects and is offset against the remaining Abitur work.

Saxony

In Saxony , in the lower secondary level in year 10, e.g. Sometimes also in the 11th grade, a technical paper was written. The student can choose the topic himself or have one assigned to him. The length of the thesis is between 8 and 15 pages. Subject-specific facts are also required. In addition, there is the alternative of writing a special learning achievement (BELL) in upper secondary level , which places higher demands on the student (often 60 pages) and is evaluated in the Abitur instead of an oral examination or is included as part of the examination grade. A BELL is worked on during the 2nd half of the 11th grade and during the 12th grade.

Saxony-Anhalt

In Saxony-Anhalt , the technical work is part of the upper secondary level and is written within the 10th grade. The choice of course and topic are part of the student's independence. A supervisor gives the pupil tips and assistance with questions and conception. At the same time, he is also the examiner, as the technical work must be defended in a 30-minute lecture (this is regulated differently from school to school) (questions and criticism are inherent). The technical work is included in the transcript of records as a normal performance (quick check). The students have several weeks or months to work on them, and work that has not been completed by the deadline will be rated "unsatisfactory". The scope of this thesis is 8 to a maximum of 18 pages; a shortfall is assessed as a formal error, but an overshoot is not penalized.

Schleswig-Holstein

In Schleswig-Holstein , schoolchildren can do a technical thesis in one of the advanced course subjects. The topic is discussed between the student and the subject teacher and, with the consent of the school management, the technical paper can be written in the second or third semester of the course. The entire half-year is available for this. At the end of the fourth semester of the course, students have to decide before the oral Abitur examination whether they want to have the result of the technical work credited.

Thuringia

In Thuringia , a seminar paper has to be written in the upper school for the Abitur . A longer period of time (around one year) is available for creation. The seminar work is done as a group work, whereby the individual contributions must be clearly delimited so that it can be seen which performance is to be assigned to which student.

Web links

Technical work. In: ZUM-Wiki. with information on how to write a thesis
C. Mettge: Seminar subject . Official information on the seminar subject and the technical work (Lower Saxony)