Constanze SaundersView profile
Researcher
Dr. Constanze Saunders is a Researcher at the Professional School of Education (PSE) at Humboldt University of Berlin, specializing in Language Education and German as a Second Language. She has been in this position since January 2021 and plays a key role in bridging university research with school practice through collaborative projects. Her work focuses on developing research-based approaches to language-sensitive teaching and teacher professionalization. Dr. Saunders' educational background includes: Dr. Phil. from Universität Leipzig (2015) with dissertation on "Online-Sprachlernberatung im universitären Kontext" Master of Arts in German Studies from University of Arizona (2006) with focus on Second Language Acquisition Magister in Deutsch als Fremdsprache and Amerikanistik from Universität Leipzig (2004) Her primary research interests center around language-sensitive subject teaching , research-based learning in teacher education , and multilingualism in educational contexts . She investigates how teachers and students can develop professional vision through collaborative school-university research projects. Her work emphasizes the importance of reflective practice, language awareness, and interprofessional collaboration in developing effective teaching approaches for linguistically diverse classrooms. Dr. Saunders' recent publications reveal a consistent focus on bridging theory and practice in language education. Her work demonstrates how research-based learning approaches can be effectively implemented in both university teacher education and school settings. She has made significant contributions to understanding how teachers develop language-sensitive teaching practices and how multilingualism can be leveraged as a resource in subject teaching. Her scientific recognition includes: SPUR Honorable Mention Award (2020) for research on pre-service teachers becoming reflective practitioners Dr. Saunders actively supervises student research projects through the StuROPx program, collaborating with Berlin schools on language education initiatives. Her current projects, funded by the Berlin University Alliance, focus on developing language-sensitive teaching approaches in diverse school settings. She has secured multiple research grants supporting her work on school-university collaboration and language-sensitive subject teaching. As coordinator of the sub-working group "Forschendes Lernen in der Lehrkräftebildung" and spokesperson for the research group "AG Forschendes Lernen" in the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hochschuldidaktik, she plays a leadership role in advancing research-based learning approaches in German teacher education.









