Carl-Zeiss-Gymnasium Jena

The Carl -Zeiss- Jena High School is a public high school with mathematical, scientific and technical specialty classes. Before the high school focused exclusively on promoting mathematically, scientifically and technically interested and talented students, it was a normal school with additional special classes. The Carl Zeiss High School has become since the school year 2008/2009 to complete a high school with special classes. The school is named after the famous optician Carl Zeiss and is located in Jena, Thuringia.

• 4.1 instructional design
• 4.2 Projects under the school's profile
• 4.3 Non - science projects
• 4.4 Participation and success in student competitions
• 4.5 Special qualifications

School concept and school experiment

The aim of the school is to identify talents early on and promote. The catchment area of the school covers the entire Ostthüringer room. Sometimes students come from other parts of Thuringia and from neighboring states. In order to promote gifted and interested students, the school is under the motto: Promoting by Request. To achieve this goal, there are special classes at the school, beginning with the 9th grade. Students who do not come from the Jena area, to attend school in special classes until the 9th grade. For them there is a boarding school. In the special classes, a depressed mathematics, science and technical education takes place. This is achieved by an increased number of hours in the relevant subjects (mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, computer science ) and by special, in Thuringia otherwise not taught subjects achieved (technology), increased by dividing the students into half classes as well as through a material extent and applying methods of self directed learning and advanced working methods. For students from the surrounding area there are preparatory specialized classes since the 5th grade. If you want the special school, must pass a shooting test. In the entrance test for 9th grade cognitive skills such as textured solving difficult problems, spatial ability, abstraction ability and concentration are examined, as well as linguistic and social skills. The admission test also an intelligence test is integrated, the students, however, not be informed of the result. The admission process for the 9 classes has undergone some changes over time. Currently (2010) there is a written part and an oral part, which take place on two consecutive days. The entrance test for the 5 classes of special school consists of an interview with the students in the presence of the parents, which is carried out by experienced teachers of the school. However, should the students who were enrolled in the 5th year, the entrance test for the 9 classes exist. Cross accesses are possible under certain conditions and are often found, so greatly changed the composition of the cohorts over time. It usually comes when you switch to the 9th grade to a sharp break, by some graduates and many new students who live in a boarding school.

In order to reach many students, there is correspondence circle in the natural sciences, mathematics and computer science for the students of 5th to 10th grade. Often students from East Thuringia come up with the correspondence circles in contact, which were successful in student competitions. Since there is contact teacher at almost all Thuringian schools that are trying to gifted students to supply the recording process, which results in a further source of students who come to the special school. Furthermore, enjoys the special school in room Jena a high level of awareness.

The school pilot project, which has been conducted since 1999 to test the task, talents promote the 9th to 12th grades by including all subjects (not just the science subjects ) as well as the gifted education in grades 5-8 and documented. The inclusion of all subjects leads to a much wider knowledge and a greater amount of methods are taught, as is usual in normal schools. The promotion of pupils from grades 5 to 8 is a particular challenge due to the not yet developed orientation of students in this age group.

History

Foundation

The Special School " Carl Zeiss " was created in 1963, in response to the shortage of skilled workers in the GDR. To compensate for this, the GDR leadership decided to establish special schools with mathematics, science and technical orientation, which should counteract this. About so-called contact teachers in regular schools out was held specifically for gifted students, which were then delegated to the special school. After the changes in 1990, which was " Carl- Zeiss -Gymnasium Jena " as a grammar school founded with mathematical, scientific and technical specialty classes that emerged from the Special School " Carl Zeiss " and the Polytechnic High School " Clara Zetkin ". This step was necessary because the West German education system, which was integrated in Thuringia, not pure special schools and thus knows the union was essential to a normal high school.

After 1990, there were special classes for students from the 9th grade. As part of the preparatory school experiment special classes from Year 5 have been introduced. From the school year 2008/2009 the Carl Zeiss High School has again only specific classes.

Research Association and the promotion of school

There is a development association, the association " Special School, Carl Zeiss, Jena eV" This has to be the goal by assisting the teaching staff, parents and alumni improve training and to support financially. This happens for example through cooperation with PEN and about Carl Zeiss Jena, of which regular donations in 4 - to 5 -digit level came.

The association awards each year to a student of Abiturjahrangs to Abiturfeier the annual cost of this special school.

Equipment

After the school was moved from the Schreckenbachweg Erich- Kuithan Street, the entire school building was renovated and received its present appearance. In the years 2009 and 2010, the court and the sports field were renewed. In the school itself can be found by tile pattern and pupils' work many mathematical features. It will be presented at various locations of the school building results and special student projects in a kind of permanent exhibition. In the entrance of the tiles form special patterns. In the schoolyard is the regular 17- square table, with construction instructions for a regular 17-gon, at whose edges the years winners were immortalized with nameplates. From the 18th winners another table with 257 corners will be used. With the redesign of the school yard this also includes new features. For example, conics are drawn on the floor.

The school has several computer science rooms that are equipped with PCs. Furthermore, can be equipped with a beamer almost each of the rooms when needed, and more than half of the rooms has a fixed projector. For lectures projector and laptops can be borrowed when a presentation with these funds must be kept. Also, the chemistry and physics laboratories are modernized. There are plenty of devices available to perform experiments in individual work, so performance surveys may take place in the context of experiments. The equipment allows that the school may from time to time align various student competitions. The classrooms are regularly used by the Ernst -Abbe- University of Applied Sciences Jena, and the community college Jena.

Future

Despite the low birth registration figures for the Shoo tests in both the 4 classes and in the 8th grade are stable and even slightly increased. By the separation of the normal school class levels can be maintained, to ensure the individual support to a small level. For the future, however, is not to be expected that the number of graduates will increase.

Regional Centre Ostthüringen

The regional center of East Thuringia is integrated in the special school center for the promotion of scientific and talented students interested in East Thuringia. Under the auspices of the Regional Centre, the Korrespondenzirkel be organized and carried out and finds the school experiment instead. The regional center maintains contact with the contact teachers in other high schools and works on projects to expand the promotion of science in young Ostthüringen. These framework agreements with the Ministry of Thuringia, Jena, Friedrich- Schiller- University Jena and the Ernst -Abbe- Fachhochschule Jena were always closed, in which the parties to an annual meeting to evaluate the progress and to document the results commit.

Career

Students may already be included in the preparatory special classes from 5th grade, if they pass the entrance test, which takes place during the 4th grade. From the 5th grade they are promoted intensive, which is already characterized in the low grades by a significantly higher workload and number of hours. Since the performance records have a significantly higher level, some students leave school again in the course of their school career. In the 8th grade entrance exam for all students for special classes of grade 9 to 12 takes place. This must also stand the students who are already at the school. In the 9th grade change many students who do not come from Jena and surroundings, to the school and live during the week in a boarding school. Of the students who attend the boarding school, leave school experience has shown that a lower percentage of back than in the rest of the vintage.

Instructional design

From the 5th grade the level of teaching is significantly increased in order to meet the cognitive abilities of the students and to require no in all subjects. The school profile consists of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and computer science. In these subjects the lessons one years usually starts rather than in normal schools. For example, the class starts in physics as early as the 6th grade and not as usual in 7th grade. Computer science there from 7th grade. In addition, these subjects are taught with an additional hour. This does not change until it reaches the rate system.

Up to and including grade 10 there is the so-called optional compulsory education ( WOU ), in which students can choose, in which the subjects of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and computer science, they want to be taught two hours per week in addition. This instruction is used for in-depth introduction to specific areas and targeted preparation for student competitions. Here independent and creative work in difficult and complex problems is practiced and learned a variety of new methods and tested. With the introduction of the new school profile of teaching in many subject areas is clearly collaborative aligned, as is the case in normal schools. This applies, for example, the synchronous treatment of certain topics, such as Nazism in various subjects.

From the course system of optional compulsory education becomes the seminar subject. In this seminar subject requires students to work on a scientific topic, led by external advisors. The eighteen-month study of the topic should lead to a scientific work that is defended before a committee of students. The result goes into the final grade with a. These groups of two to three students practice and individual work possible, as opposed to groups of three or four students who are required to normal schools.

The students were able to continue all science subjects in the rate system to high school reform, not all could be incorporated into the final grade. In general, the students had to complete 10 basic courses, ie one to two basic courses more than in normal schools. As the first advanced course in mathematics is required, the second advanced course had a natural science or computer science to be. In order to differentiate the students there every year a particularly intense math credit course as so-called tip mathematics course. Some students choose as an optional base class "English - addition" with the aim to acquire a Cambridge Certificate in English and take down the power -baccalaureate course in English.

The general instruction claim is that teachers make the lessons as flexible and adapt to the students. It is often not taught with standard textbooks, but with literature that is directly suitable for the study. In many subjects, students get the opportunity to help shape the teaching itself, if time permits and shall be complementary, which applies mainly to the profile subjects. It happens now and then that student teachers hold teaching experiments to a very special advanced topic, which are often carried out at leisure.

Projects as part of the school's profile

In the ninth grade each year there is a project in which the work is six months and the results will be defended in a presentation at the end. The project work is below a predetermined upper topic that is specified by the departments. The topics must relate to the main topic (eg: colors) have. This project serves as preparation for the seminar subject work.

At the end of ninth grade, there is a biology and geography field trip to topics which are specifically addressed in both subject areas (eg soils). During this field trip, students must hold lectures. At the end, students must demonstrate their learning with tasks.

In the tenth grades, a computer science project takes place. The students have to document the task to create a software to a particular problem of a self- selected topic in groups, and defend it. This project also serves as preparation for the seminar subject work. The first half year, algorithmic and program-technical basis will be presented in the, is used to prepare the second half year, the project phase itself in the twelfth classes of computer science basic course, another project is also carried out, but the work is much lower. In the twelfth grades of the computer science course performance then a project is carried out, which is supported by the entire course in order to simulate a situation in professional software development.

In some subjects the upper presentations must be partly held in English. The most important project in the last four years of schooling is the seminar subject work. Here the requirement level is also higher than normal high schools. The aim is to submit a job that meets all the standards of a scientific paper. For this, the students spend one and a half years in institutions and deal with scientific issues. The seminar research papers are often so good that many researches of them filed in youth and many in the Federal round win them prizes.

Non - science projects

Many projects in the non- scientific field are held by interdisciplinary teaching. This applies, for example, the social project in the sixth classes in which so-called soft skills are trained, aiming, for example, to the improvement of communication skills (communication theory, etc.). Many classroom projects (eg National Socialism, GDR history ) are supported by field trips and interdisciplinary teaching, so that in a block of many subjects as many facets of the subject area can be discussed. This requires within the school a good agreement between the different departments.

In regular intervals, currently every 2 years from the tenth and eleventh classes together, there will be a one-week internship culture in which design students along with various artists in different groups artistic projects. Groups are, for example, mime, dance, music, etc. The results will be presented to the parents in a presentation at the end of the week.

In the last two weeks of each school year the ninth grade traditionally lead by a two -week internship, the students should then critically evaluate during the summer.

Participation and success in student competitions

The students of the Carl- Zeiss -Gymnasium are invited to participate in student competitions of various kinds. Here, the number of participants has its limits, thus overloading is to be counteracted. Many students represented the school at the federal level and even at the international level successfully. Competitions are:

• International Mathematical Olympiad
• Central European Mathematical Olympiad
• International Physics Olympiad
• International Chemistry Olympiad
• International Biology Olympiad
• International computer science Olympiad
• Central European computer science Olympiad
• International Junior Science Olympiad
• European Union Science Olympiad
• Youth Research
• Federal Mathematics Competition
• Federal competition computer science
• Beaver competition computer science
• Online competition computer science
• Federal and State Mathematics Olympiad
• Thuringian Physics Olympiad
• Chemistry Is the

The success of the school ( which in other special schools is detectable ), lies on the motivation and performance of students. An important aspect is the fact that in many subjects working groups are installed, in their spare time (often even before the regular classes start ) the students - to prepare for these competitions and thus deal with issues that go far beyond - even with the help of former participants such competitions school curriculum beyond.

Special statements

Apart from the normal high school students of the Carl- Zeiss -Gymnasium write a special diploma. As is taught in high school credit courses in the much additive, which plays no role in the normal central high school, an additional examination is necessary. The additional tests differ significantly from the normal high school because all tasks have the nature of competition tasks and are thus much more difficult. The tests are designed to ensure that none of the special student completely solves all tasks. The students get so in addition to their high school diploma or certificates for their special high school diploma. Furthermore, it is possible to acquire a Cambridge Certificate, as the preparation and practice exams are offered by the school and are also carried out in cooperation with the folk high school in Jena, with the Carl -Zeiss- Gymnasium. In addition, the students receive a decision about the extra mediated in teaching content and their competitive performance of the school, which is useful, therefore, as students get quite bad marks for services that would be rated excellent in other high schools.

Requirement for teachers

Especially for the teachers of the profile of the school subjects is not so much the preparation of teaching the subject in the foreground, but the specific adaptation of the teaching speed on the performance of the course. This can be very inhomogeneous within the course depending on the subject, which is a particular challenge for teachers. Many teachers also indicate that it happens now and again that students bring unexpected good performances and make the performance of the teacher in the shade.

Some teachers tend to many students a good relationship and are often contact for further technical questions. It is expected that the teachers of the school organize regular events and educational projects and also be used outside of teaching for the school.

Reputation

The gymnasium is known mainly because of the success of students in student competitions. Many of the students fall through the intensive training of entry into the study much easier. In addition, the school in the academic institutions that are close, very well known, as students participate repeatedly in major scientific projects and achieve very good results.

1987 Jena hosted the 18th International Physics Olympiad. This was mitausgerichtet also of the special school. The Carl -Zeiss- Gymnasium is a regular nationwide school with the most submissions to the Federal Competition computer science and is therefore repeatedly honored as BWINF school.

Location and further education opportunities

The school is located in the north of Jena in the district Löbstedt, near a currently under development residential area. Important location factors for the school include the proximity to the Friedrich -Schiller- University Jena, Ernst -Abbe- University of Applied Sciences Jena, and to Beutenberg campus and the large number of medium- based technology companies.