Inspiration for data-driven school and teaching development

How can data help to develop schools in a more targeted way, improve teaching and support pupils on a more individual basis? This question is addressed by an educational trip to Alberta, Canada, in which Prof. Dr. Ulrike Cress, Director of the Leibniz Institute for Knowledge Media (IWM), is one of the participants. The trip, taking place from 26 April to 2 May 2026, was initiated by the Deutsche Telekom Foundation and the Wübben Foundation for Education.

Together with representatives from the education ministries of several German federal states, the Federal Ministry of Education, the Standing Scientific Commission of the Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (SWK), and other stakeholders in the education sector, Cress is visiting Canada to learn about data-driven quality development in the Canadian education system. The programme includes discussions with Alberta’s Minister of Education, Demetrios Nicolaides, and school authorities, as well as visits to schools and universities. The focus is on issues relating to the use of data in educational administration, resource management, curriculum development, individual support and teacher training.

Canada has been systematically using school data across various levels of the education system for several decades. The province of Alberta is regarded as having a particularly high-performing education system. The aim of the trip is to gain insights into how data-driven school and teaching development can also be designed in Germany in an evidence-based and learning-promoting manner. Prof. Cress brings her academic expertise in digital learning, knowledge processes and educational innovation to the delegation.