Practicum³ for University Student Mentors (PäMi)

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As a university advisor, you help students reflect on their experiences during the practicum and continue their professional development.

As part of Praxis³, you contribute a university perspective through your external evaluation. Together with the students’ personal development goals, as well as their self-assessments and school evaluations, this forms the basis for the counseling and reflection session.

What's Most Important to You

The students manage the Praxis³ process themselves. They initiate the self- and peer-assessments using the Praxis³ reflection tool and send you the personalized link for your peer assessment.

Your task is to conduct the peer assessment and address the different perspectives in conjunction with the students’ development goals during the counseling and reflection session.

The goal is not to achieve assessments that are as consistent as possible. Differences can provide important opportunities for feedback, counseling, and further goal development.

Here's How Your Participation Works

1. Address Development Goals

Address the students’ personal development goals throughout the practicum and use appropriate opportunities to reflect on their progress and further development.

2. Receive a link for the external assessment

Students will send you the personal link for your university peer assessment. You do not need to create the assessment yourself in the Praxis³ reflection tool.

3. Conduct an external assessment

Assess the students’ current level of development from your perspective, based on the criteria provided in the reflection tool.

4. Review the Results Together

Use the results of the self-assessments and peer assessments provided by the students to discuss similarities, differences, and potential areas for development together.

5. Conduct a reflective discussion

Relate the various assessments to the development goals established so far and the experiences gained during the practical phase.

6. Support Further Development

Help students put the insights from the conversation into concrete terms and use them to identify appropriate next steps for their development.

Your Role in External Evaluation

The external university assessment complements students’ self-perception and the perspective of their high school guidance counselors.

The goal here is not to produce an assessment that is as uniform as possible. Rather, differing perspectives can help identify which aspects should be examined more closely in the subsequent counseling and reflection session.

The external assessment thus serves primarily as a structured foundation for counseling and reflection.

The Counseling and Reflection Session

The following questions, in particular, can be helpful for the joint discussion:

▸ What developments does the student notice in their own progress?
▸ Where do the student’s self-assessment and others’ assessments align?
▸ Where do differing perceptions emerge?
▸ Which developmental goals set so far have been addressed?
▸ Which experiences from the practical training phase are particularly significant for further development?
▸ What next developmental goals can be derived from the discussion?

The key is not to reconcile differing assessments, but to reflect on them together. The results are intended to help students assess their development to date and formulate their next steps.

Practical Experience³ in University-Based Mentoring

Practicum³ can be incorporated at various stages of the university’s support program. Personal development goals and reflection on practical experiences can, for example, be integrated into the preparatory, ongoing, and follow-up phases.

In doing so, Praxis³ does not need to be treated as an additional, separate topic. Its elements can be integrated into the counseling and reflection sessions already scheduled for the respective practical phase.

The specific requirements for the practicum report, exam performance, or seminar continue to depend on the respective practical phase and the examination regulations.

Resources for University Support

An OpenMoodle course with materials for supporting student teaching placements is also available to employees.

The course “Handbook and Materials for Implementing the Curriculum for Supporting Students During Their School Practicums” brings together additional information and resources for university-level support.

Registration code: Handbuch2021

Alternative Approach

As a general rule, Practicum³ is conducted in the prescribed format.

If the implementation or documentation is to deviate from this, the alternative approach must be coordinated in advance with the respective seminar instructor and approved by them. Students should therefore not switch to an alternative format on their own.

Even in the case of an agreed-upon alternative, the core elements of Praxis³—personal development goals, self-assessments and peer assessments, as well as joint reflection on these—should be taken into account.

Clinical Training³ and the respective clinical training phase

The specific way in which the practical component is integrated may vary depending on the practical phase and the examination regulations.

Information on the scope and duration of the practical phase, examination requirements, internship reports, and other formal requirements can be found on the respective pages for the introductory internship, the practical semester, or the school-based practical studies.

If the link to the external evaluation is missing

You do not need to launch the Praxis³ reflection tool yourself to complete the peer assessment.
Students receive the links for the peer evaluations via the Praxis³ reflection tool and forward them to their mentors.
If you have not received a link, please contact the student in question first.

Questions or problems?

If you have any questions about implementing and integrating Praxis³, about self- and peer-assessments, or about the Praxis³ reflection tool, you can contact the Praxis³ team at:

praxis3[at]uni-kassel[dot]de