Third Community School Conference
12. Nov
There are plenty of good ideas - but what next? On November 12, at the next Community School Conference, we’ll use the Barcamp format to explore how innovative ideas for school development can be implemented in the long term.
Program
12:00 p.m. Arrival and welcome
12:30 p.m. Keynote by Kristin Döll (Schulzentrum Lohne) and Prof. Dr. Denise Demski (Leibniz Universität Hannover)
01:15 p.m. Introduction to the Barcamp format
02:15 p.m. Barcamp Session 1
03:15 p.m. Barcamp Session 2
04:15 p.m. Barcamp Session 3
05:15 p.m. Gallery Walk with results
05:45 p.m. Closing remarks
06:00 p.m. End
Thursday, November 12, 2026 | 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Leuphana Main Building (C40.606) | Leuphana University of Lüneburg
Universitätsallee 1 | 21335 Lüneburg
What to Expect
Almost every school has experienced this: The idea is there, the motivation too - and yet so much gets lost amid a busy schedule, the faculty, and the day-to-day routine. That’s exactly what the third Community School Conference is all about. It’s not about the next big idea, but rather the central question: How can we implement innovative ideas for school development in the long term? In doing so, we also want to document what we’ve already achieved.
In a Barcamp format, the program and speakers aren’t finalized in advance. An introduction to the method and collaborative program planning will take place on-site: Anyone who would like to present or discuss a topic related to school development can do so in their own sessions. Participants can then decide on the spot which program items they’d like to contribute to.
The idea behind this: the knowledge is already in the room. People who shape the school on a daily basis know a lot about successful and unsuccessful implementation. Together with our partner bewirken we want to make this knowledge accessible via the Barcamp format - through exchange on an equal footing, whether you’re from school management, the teaching staff, the administrative office, or academia.
Share your Topic
You don’t need a presentation or prepared answers - just one question you’re currently grappling with will do. Or an experience that might interest others, especially if something didn’t work out. You’ll then facilitate the discussion instead of giving a lecture.
So feel free to think about in advance whether you’d like to contribute a session. You don’t have to register your topic - and if you just want to listen at first, that’s perfectly fine, too.
KRISTIN DÖLL has served as Educational Director at the Schulzentrum Lohne secondary school since 2021. The Schulzentrum Lohne is a model project and observation school within the “Freiräume” initiative. Since 2021, the school has been on a path toward individualized and self-organized learning, incorporating elements such as learning coaching, a learning management system, levels of personal responsibility, learning offices, asynchronous performance assessment, and modern exam formats. Kristin Döll is well-versed in both approved and unapproved “Freiräume” (open spaces) for school and instructional development and supports other education stakeholders on their journey toward a transformed learning culture.
PROF. DR. DENISE DEMSKI is a professor of school pedagogy specializing in transformative school development at Leibniz University Hannover and heads the “Educational Innovation and Change” research unit at the Center for Empirical Educational Research in Lower Saxony, which was founded jointly with Leuphana University Lüneburg. Her work focuses on (data-driven) management and quality improvement in the education system, teaching and learning in a digital culture, and the removal of educational barriers. She considers collaboration between educational practice, administration, policy, and research to be particularly important for quality improvement in the education system.
