Within the federal education system in Germany we find a broad variety of conceptualizations of school subjects in the respective states dealing with different aspects of society. Referring to the logic of the development of academic disciplines (e. g. Hedtke 2019; Fleck et al. 2019; Goodson et al. 1999) and based on the institutional organization of these reference disciplines we generally find a differentiation between the subjects history, geography, civics and, in some states, economy. Depending on the state and type of school we find these as separate, combined or integrative subjects. Meanwhile, the advocates of integrative concepts argue that complex problems within modern pluralistic societies need joint-up thinking and integrated perspectives, whereas their opponents warn against deprofessionalization and hybridization of discipline- and subject-specific approaches, research processes and knowledge production. With regard to teacher education, the organization of the course of studies and training also follows the structure of separate disciplines and school subjects, even if the pre-service teachers potentially have to impart interdisciplinary perspectives when teaching integrative concepts in their future practice (Busch/Mönter 2019; Duncker et al. 2005).

Against this background, we have set up an interdisciplinary research team which consists of scholars as well as practitioners of the didactic departments in the social sciences, geography, and history. The central aim of our joint work is not to discuss the organization of school subjects, syllabi or curricula but to identify shared objectives as well as subject-specific characteristics beyond political discourses. With regard to the identified gap between discipline-specific teacher education and the possibly integrative future teaching practice, we also intend to implement this discussion in contexts of teacher education. With this intention, we developed the idea of an integrative research and learning community in contexts of social science teacher education. The basic idea – which is inspired by the concept of “wisdom of practice” (Shulman 1986, 11) – is to underpin the discussion of integrative and subject-specific perspectives in the context of social science education with a joint research and reflection of teaching practice (Gautschi 2019). At first, this means to implement alternative course formats in teacher education which are embedded in various research processes.

In our contribution we will present one exemplary course format with a focus on the common teaching aims of judgment and argumentation (e. g. Arthur et al. 2008; Becker 2017; Reinhardt 2015; Henkenborg 2012; Lambert 1999). In a first phase of the project, we asked in-service social science teachers to plan specific lessons to foster competencies of judgement and argumentation in history and civic education and videotaped these lessons. Firstly, we analyzed the lessons together with the teachers involved. Secondly, we selected short sequences for more detailed analyses with regard to the teaching aim within our research team.  We use these video sequences in an interdisciplinary course format for pre-service social science teachers. The central aim of this course format is to develop a model to differentiate the specific integrative or subject-specific characteristics of judgment and argumentation in social sciences. At the end, the pre-service teachers discuss this model in a training course with in-service teachers and use it also for joint analyses of the classroom videos.

Presenting the results of this course format for pre- and in-service teachers and the research process involved, we will also discuss the potentials and limitations of an integrative research and learning community. With a focus of the model(s) developed in this course we will specifically address the question of how to integrate the perspectives of subject-specific didactics but at the time consider subject-specific views in contexts of social science education.

With regard to the development of the course formats and the reflection of the research process involved we combine various concepts of classroom videos analysis in didactic research and teacher education. In connection with the video production we established an action research approach in form of a “video club”-practice (e. g. Noffke/Somekh 2013; Sherin 2001). In order to establish a joint practice of reflection we organized meetings with the in-service teachers in which they could watch their respective videos and subsequently address the topics which seem relevant for them with regard to the teaching aim. Thus, we gained an insight into the teachers’ concerns with regard to organizing a teaching practice which promotes the students’ competencies of judgement and argumentation in history and civics courses. In addition, we analyzed the videos with a deeper focus on classroom communication and interaction within the research team. With reference to principles of ethnomethodology and conversation analysis (Breidenstein/Tyagunova 2012) we interpret the communicative processes as processes of negotiation of meaning in relation to the subject matter, and read them as processes of social-scientific and historical learning (Erickson 1986; Jehle/Blessing 2014). With the focus on competencies of judgement and argumentation, the analysis then addresses the teachers’ intentions and the students’ implicit perspectives within these judgements and argumentations in order to identify integrative or subject-specific characteristics of judgement, content and argumentation in contexts of civics and history courses. Finally, we implement the results of these phases into an interdisciplinary and integrative course format in social science pre-service teacher education. Using the results of video-analyses as well as subject-specific literature the course aims at the development of a model to differentiate the specific integrative or subject-specifics characteristics of judgment and argumentation in social sciences. The course format concludes with a workshop with in-service teachers where the developed model will be used to analyze the video sequences again. Combining these distinct formats of video analysis with a joint model development we intend to create opportunities for discussion between pre- and in-service teachers as well as researchers, if and how subject specific theories can be used to reflect and organize an integrative teaching practice. The evaluation of the format includes standardized questionnaires which were specifically developed for the purposes of the project as well as reflection talks with participants and the discussion of the model as a working result.

With our paper, we present an idea of an integrative research and learning communities in contexts of social science teacher education beyond the political discourses on institutional and curricular organization of disciplines and subjects. Based on the presentation of the specific course format and a report of the ongoing process evaluation we will address two perspectives within the discourse. First, – using the integrative teaching aim of judgment and argumentation as an example – we intend a clarification of distinct subject-specific (history, civics and geography) perspectives within an integrative social science subject. Second, based on the results of the course format and the ongoing process evaluation, we expect a critical reflection and constructive discussion on if and how to transfer the idea of “wisdom of practice” (Shulman 1986, 11) into the (academic) contexts of interdisciplinary teacher education and academic research.

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