"RegioDiff" project honored with inclusion award
The Ministry of Social Affairs awards this prize to innovative projects that make a significant contribution to breaking down barriers and strengthening inclusion. The science prize is endowed with 10,000 euros.
The project "RegioDiff: Getting to know the regions of Styria: Differentiated subject teaching materials for inclusive lessons in the fourth grade" was awarded the science prize "Inclusion through Science and Technology" (WINTEC) by Federal Minister Johannes Rauch (Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection) on January 9, 2024.
As part of the Regio-Diff project, the project team has developed teaching materials for 4th grade science lessons that take into account the different reading abilities of children in an inclusive class. This allows teachers to work with all children in a class on one topic in inclusive lessons.
The materials are available in four different levels of difficulty, with the children's reading skills being graded using the Graz Reading Comprehension Test (GraLeV) developed in the project. Topics covered include the Gesäuse National Park, Archduke Johann, Graz and its sights and Styrian pumpkin seed oil.
"The materials and their use were evaluated in the project. Teachers and pupils were motivated to work with them, and joint learning could be implemented well," says project manager Lisa Paleczek from the Institute for Educational Research and Pedagogical Education at the University of Graz. "The quickly visible feedback in the digital learning environment in which the RegioDiff material is embedded gives teachers an insight into the children's individual requirements and progress."
Obstacles in the learning process can thus be made visible more quickly and addressed promptly. The resources freed up by this time saving can be used to provide targeted support for children and to optimize the design of inclusive lessons. This in turn benefits the children.
The project, including the accompanying scientific research, is a cooperative project between the University of Graz, PPH Augustinum, PH Steiermark and Wohlhart Lernsoftware.
The materials are freely available on the Internet.
The concept developed in the project is already being used with other topics, such as sustainability in the RegiNaDiff project and lightweight construction in the Kinderleicht project.
The project team: Lisa Paleczek (project manager) Daniela Ender (deputy project manager, PPH Augustinum), Susanne Seifert, Katharina Prinz, Jessica Berger, Andrea Kogler, and Lorenz Kern (Wohlhart Lernsoftware) with Minister Johannes Rauch
