MIT’s GTL – progam

In January 2026, we (Eleanor and Fiona) visited KOST from the United States as part of MIT’s Global Teaching Labs program. We spent two and a half weeks learning from the students and teachers at school and teaching some classes ourselves. Some of the biggest differences we noticed about KOST compared to US high schools was how small each grade was and how that led some classes to feel like a group of friends. We also enjoyed seeing the NwT class, as most US high schools do not have a mandatory engineering subject. It was cool and exciting to see topics such as renewable energy and hands-on building introduced even before university. Some of our favorite memories at KOST were doing a DNA extraction lab with Frau Frank’s biology classes, learning American history from a German perspective in Frau Nölle’s class, talking about Lego sustainability in Herr Rollmann’s NWT class, and interacting with Frau Heckelmann’s 12th-grade biology students. Although we originally thought we were only teaching STEM subjects, we are beyond grateful for the opportunity to learn perspective drawing in art class and lead some warm ups in sports class as well. We are also lucky to have wonderful host families who invited us into their homes and conversations. Fiona loved talking to her host family about differences between life in the US versus Germany, Italy, and Spain. She is very appreciative of their kindness and the activities they did together, whether climbing to the castle in Esslingen or playing board games. Eleanor also loved the meaningful cultural exchange with her host family and is especially grateful for their warmth and generosity, as well as the many precious memories they created together, from going ice skating together to sharing dinner-table conversations. Overall, our time at KOST was such an enriching experience that broadened our perspectives on education, culture, and community. We are incredibly thankful to the students, teachers, and our host families for making our visit so memorable and meaningful!