Teacher expertise
Professional judgement, relationships, context sensitivity and responsibility.
Profile
Where research meets classroom practice.
I teach at Gymnasium Trossingen, a German academic secondary school, with subjects including mathematics, Latin, computer science/IMP and psychology.
I have also taught Ancient Greek up to the Graecum level and conducted Graecum examinations.
In parallel, I work as an educational adviser at ZSL, Freiburg regional office, with a focus on psychology, inclusion, artificial intelligence and integrated language education.
Programming for my own classroom
I do not merely use digital tools – I frequently build them myself. For specific learning groups and teaching sequences, I program web apps, create interactive learning pages through vibe coding, and configure custom GPTs. The starting point is always didactic value: visualisation, exploration, practice, differentiation, language support or targeted feedback.
Academic & international background
A broad academic foundation with a long-standing connection to Estonia.
2004–2010 · Heidelberg University
German State Examinations
Teacher education at Heidelberg University leading to the German State Examinations. I also completed an examination in archaeology.
2019–2022 · TU Kaiserslautern
Master's degree in School Management
Master's studies in school management, including organisation, leadership, school development and digital transformation.
University of Jena · Goethe-Institut
German as a Foreign Language · Certificate · 28 ECTS
Additional academic qualification in German as a Foreign Language.
Tallinn · Estonia
Four years in the German schools abroad programme
I spent four years teaching at TSG in Tallinn. During that period, I developed many professional and personal connections in Estonia that continued to shape my academic path.
Tallinn University · current
PhD · Technology-Enhanced Learning
Today, I continue this long-standing connection to Estonia through doctoral research at Tallinn University in the field of Technology-Enhanced Learning.
PhD & research
Teacher–AI Complementarity
My years in Tallinn shaped not only my perspective on digital education, but also a network of professional contacts in Estonia. These connections later became part of the path that led me back to Tallinn in an academic context.
I am pursuing a PhD at Tallinn University in Technology-Enhanced Learning. I conduct this research part-time alongside my professional work and without remuneration; it is an independent academic project rather than part of my official professional duties.
Within the TAICo project, my research focuses on Teacher–AI Complementarity: how can teachers and AI combine their different strengths in ways that improve educational processes?
My doctoral supervisor is Prof. Dr. Kairit Tammets.
Artificial intelligence
Analysis, generation, pattern recognition, scaling and adaptive support.
Complementarity
Combining human and AI capabilities where their respective strengths can meaningfully improve education.
Research perspective
How can teachers and AI be understood not as competitors, but as complementary partners?
Academic work · 2020–2022
Three studies, one continuing question: how can technology lead to better education?
During my Master's programme in School Management, I studied digital classroom practice, school leadership in Estonia and educational innovation. Many of these questions connect directly to my current research on Teacher–AI Complementarity.
2020
Portfolio study
Learning videos as a methodological complement to subject teaching
How can digital learning resources be designed to genuinely support classroom teaching?
60+original teaching videos
≈ 17 hof produced material
n = 59students in evaluations
- Short, clearly structured and group-specific videos proved particularly practical.
- 96% of the surveyed students preferred the teaching videos to Zoom lessons.
- The central conclusion: digital formats can effectively complement face-to-face teaching, but they cannot replace authentic personal interaction.
2021
Research paper
School leadership in Estonia
Which structures support change, professional autonomy and innovation in schools?
- The study describes the Estonian system as comparatively dynamic, flexible and open to change.
- Autonomy and lower bureaucratic barriers can create room for school development, while still requiring clear responsibilities and robust structures.
- Educational equity, early support, multiprofessional services and a strong societal value placed on education emerge as important contextual factors.
2022
Master's thesis
Digitalisation & Educational Innovation in Estonia
What explains the innovative capacity of Estonian schools – and what role did the pandemic play?
- In the study, the pandemic functioned primarily as a catalyst, not as the starting point of digitalisation.
- Innovation had already emerged through the interaction of leadership, innovation-oriented mindsets, autonomy, support structures and a connected educational ecosystem.
- Future-oriented themes included personalised and student-centred learning, learning-to-learn, changing teacher roles, research-informed teaching and the integration of AI.
Interested in the studies?
Some of the studies contain confidential or personally identifiable empirical data. On request, I am happy to discuss the work and, where data-protection requirements allow, provide suitable versions or further information.
Transfer
From research and professional development into the classroom – and back again.
Educational adviser
Focus areas: psychology, inclusion, artificial intelligence and integrated language education.
Classroom practice
Mathematics, Latin, computer science/IMP and psychology – complemented by Ancient Greek teaching up to the Graecum, custom web apps for mathematics and international school experience.
Digital workshop
From a didactic problem to a purpose-built digital tool.
I regularly program for my own teaching. What matters to me is not technical spectacle, but whether a tool genuinely improves something for a specific learning group.
Custom web apps
Interactive applications for mathematics and other classroom contexts – designed for visualisation, experimentation, practice and direct exploration of concepts.
Vibe-coded learning pages
Purpose-built learning pages that I can develop rapidly for a specific sequence, competency or group of learners and then refine didactically.
Custom GPTs
GPTs configured by me with clearly defined roles, materials and didactic guardrails – for individual practice, language support, feedback or structured learning guidance.
Contact · Talks · Keynotes
Perspectives on AI, education and Teacher–AI Complementarity.
I welcome invitations for talks, keynotes, workshops, panels and professional exchange in Germany, Switzerland and across the wider DACH region.
Invite me for a talk or keynote
Based in southern Germany, I can also reach events in Switzerland conveniently.
Keynote
Talk
Workshop
Panel
DACH
Switzerland
LinkedIn
Michael Bellinger on LinkedIn ↗