Self-organized learning
Using the example of the Soltau Vocational Schools (Germany)
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Soltau Vocational Schools (BBS)
The BBS Soltau are a regional competence center in Lower Saxony. There, around 2,000 students are trained in more than 25 occupational fields. The spectrum ranges from engineering to healthcare, IT, and hospitality/catering. Learners can obtain all regular school-leaving qualifications at the BBS, including the Abitur. The BBS use open learning formats and place value on relationship-building and student self-responsibility. The curriculum endeavors to reflect social changes and changes to workplace practice.
Where is Brian used?
At the Vocational School of Business (part of BBS Soltau), students with a lower secondary or intermediate school-leaving certificate are prepared for the world of work in a flexible, practice-oriented way. Regular, self-organized learning phases (SOL), which foster learners’ responsibility and independence, are firmly integrated. Here, Brian serves as a bridge between learners and teachers; it enables self-monitoring of competence acquisition and provides the basis for accompanying feedback conversations.
What challenge needed to be solved?
BBS Soltau actively sought a software solution to support the self-organized components of the training program. It had to meet several requirements:
Effective self-monitoring
In self-organized learning, learners often find it hard to judge whether and how well they have understood new concepts. They need ways to question connections independently, practice applying them, and deepen their competence. Because students plan and carry out large portions of project-based lessons on their own, they need continuous feedback. Teachers can only provide this kind of feedback with significant delay and workload.
„In the SOL phases of the dual business program, students worked individually on projects. They found it hard to assess their own level, and teachers could only offer delayed feedback.“
Adaptive skill development
In skill development, it is crucial that tools adapt to individual learners, who have very different starting points and need different support or challenges to keep them engaged. Only then can competence acquisition be truly sustainable.
Integration into the learning structure
The tool sought was not to be an “add-on” that existed separately from regular teaching, but to be flexible enough to integrate organically into the pedagogically designed learning structure. It was also important that the tool reflect the exact course content rather than drawing on external content with differing terminology and approaches, in order to ensure a coherent course of study.
Learning content and assessment remain under the teacher’s control
The intended software solution was not to restrict teachers’ agency: despite learners’ self-responsibility, the teacher was to remain a central figure in the learning process. They were to retain control over the selection of content, the pedagogical design of practice offerings and learning paths, and to receive immediate feedback on student progress. This would enable teachers to pinpoint the right starting points in feedback conversations and offer targeted support.
Ensure data protection compliance
The tool had to comply with Germany’s stringentnt data-protection laws (GDPR) and be designed from the ground up with data protection in mind. The use of AI within the tool had to be transparent and controllable, and ideally prompt learners to engage in critical reflection about AI.
Address heterogeneous learning groups
Like many educational institutions, BBS Soltau has highly heterogeneous learning groups across multiple dimensions. The software solution sought was to not only adapt to differences in performance levels but also to address individual learning deficiencies, such as weaknesses in German-language skills.
Save time so it can be invested in relationship-building
The tool was to be easy to use and reduce both the time spent creating practice materials and the workload of grading/feedback so effectively that it would allow teachers to shift their focus to individual conversations and relationship-building with students.
How does Brian meet these challenges?
Brian proved to be a software solution that meets all of the above requirements. Here is an assessment of Brian’s effectiveness in the words of Thomas Brost, deputy head at BBS Soltau:
Effective self-monitoring
Brian gives students immediate feedback on their learning status during SOL phases. It reveals individual competence gaps. Teachers use the system’s feedback data in structured feedback conversations to reflect on the approach to solving project tasks and, where needed, offer targeted support.
Adaptive skill development
Students do not receive a prepackaged standard solution; instead, they are guided adaptively and in a problem-oriented way. […] With Brian, it is possible to personalize SOL phases. The tool provides an opportunity for first-level feedback during the learning process.
Integration into the learning structure
During SOL phases, learners work on project tasks with actionable outcomes. The understanding of subject fundamentals are checked via tests. To prepare for these, they use practice exercises that are increasingly provided by Brian. In this way, Brian is firmly integrated into the learning process and supports individual, self-directed learning.
Learning content and assessment remain under the teacher’s control
The teacher determines the type of support for problem-solving tasks and the pathway through competence acquisition. […] The content in Brian is individually tailored to our project modules.
Ensure data protection compliance
Brian is used exclusively with school accounts and no private data. Only the necessary learning data is stored. All content comes from teachers; AI-generated questions are reviewed in advance. Students are informed about data processing and how the AI works, and they are encouraged to engage in critical reflection. Brian itself was developed in compliance with the GDPR.
Address heterogeneous learning groups
Brian enables learning at one’s own pace, which is especially helpful for performance-heterogeneous groups. Materials are made accessible to students with language or motor disadvantages and students with a migration background who can use Brian’s text-to-speech and translation functions on iPads.
Save time so it can be invested in relationship-building
Brian takes care of time-intensive routine tasks such as creating and correcting practice exercises. As a result, teachers gain valuable time for relationship work and, in tutorials, can use detailed learning analytics to address individual needs in a targeted way. This shifts the focus away from administration toward genuine learning support.
The result
Within one month of the introduction of Brian at BBS Soltau in August 2025, 41 students had already studied more than 228 hours independently on Brian and received individualized support there.
Thomas Brost, deputy head, BBS Soltau
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