Book Review: “Lernen: Ein pädagogischer Grundbegriff” by Michael Göhlich & Jörg Zirfas

I’ve started to read “Lernen: Ein pädagogischer Grundbegriff” by Michael Göhlich & Jörg Zirfas a week ago. It has been recommanded to me by Pierre Fixmer (lecturer @ uni.lu) and will be one of the books we’ll use for our seminar in the Bachelor in Educational Sciences programme “Exploring Perspectives on Learning” next semester.

So far, I really like the authors’ idea that LEARNING has too long been a concept of psychology, and lately of neuroscience, while it should be a core concept of educational sciences. Personally, I think that educational sciences should indeed reclaim learning as their core research topic, but that they should also be very open to discoveries from all other scientific inquiries on learning. In this sense, I see educational sciences as an inter- and multidisciplinary research field (a crossroad) rather than as a separate and distinct scientific discipline (a bit like cognitive sciences).

About me

I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Luxembourg in the field of learning and teaching sciences. My PhD thesis was in cognitive psychology, focusing on implicit learning processes. I have always been interested in the integration of ICT in education, especially the strategic use of technology in teaching. With the advent of the digital revolution, I became interested in exploring the socio-cultural changes in learning caused by the use of digital technologies.

My current research focuses on the subjective theories of learning held by teachers and how these influence their use of ICT in the classroom. I am particularly interested in identifying factors that enable or hinder the use of ICT in teaching, and how these factors can be addressed.

Throughout my career, I have worked extensively as a teacher trainer in the field of educational technologies. I have experience with various forms of active pedagogy approaches, including problem-based, project-based, and design-research approaches. My goal is to help teachers integrate technology into their teaching practice in a way that enhances student learning and engagement.