Enhanced feedback, flipped classrooms and digital innovations: Bucerius Law School on the benefits of digital assessment in Germany
Bucerius Law School was founded in 2000 by one of the largest private charitable foundations in Germany - the ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius. Bucerius was created with the intention to reform legal education in Germany and to represent the German legal community on the international academic stage. Known for its close ties to legal practice, strong research environment, and high teaching standards, the private law school in Hamburg now hosts around 500 students. The institution introduced WISEflow in 2016, and by 2019 its entire language programme had transitioned to fully digital assessment.
This case captures a conversation with Lezel Roddeck, Director, Foreign Language Communication. Lezel discusses Bucerius’s WISEflow journey, some of the benefits the institution has realised along the way, and joint innovation through transformation technology and digitalisation.
DRIVERS FOR CHANGE
Lezel Roddeck joined Bucerius as a lecturer in 2011 and became Head of the Language Programme in 2014. Her interest in educational technology and IT law shaped her early observations: traditional paper‑based exams created significant administrative strain and limited opportunities for responsive, modern teaching methods.
A pivotal moment in her thinking occurred during a visit to the Online Educa Berlin (OEB) conference, one of Europe’s leading events for digital learning and edtech innovation. At the time, digital exams had barely made their way into the German education system, and the concept was still unfamiliar to many institutions.
“Administratively, I knew the burden that paper-based exams posed. Pedagogically, I was excited by the idea of being able to monitor my students’ work and give immediate feedback.”
At OEB, Roddeck met Rasmus and Steffen, the co-founders of UNIwise, and their conversations helped her clarify how a digital assessment platform could benefit Bucerius. Speaking with them allowed her to understand the full potential of a unified digital ecosystem for assessment—not only as an administrative tool but as a driver of better learning. These exchanges reinforced a very practical motivation:
“At the time, I wasn’t trying to be innovative; I just wanted to reduce the administrative burden and work more efficiently.
Another important thing for Roddeck was reducing costs. Pen-and-paper exams are actually really expensive; when she looked at how much she was spending on photocopies alone, it was a big chunk of budget in comparison to other things. Having a digital platform meant a reduction in paper-based assessments, and therefore costs, as well as alleviating the administrative burden.
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE THE DIGITAL TRANSITION: DATA PRIVACY AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT
As Bucerius Law School began exploring digital assessment, one of the most significant considerations was Germany’s strong culture of data protection. Although the country is often seen as a leader in innovation, Lezel Roddeck observed early on that this reputation did not always extend to educational technology.
With a master’s degree focused on data protection law, Roddeck approached the transition with deep awareness of the legal and cultural sensitivities surrounding digital tools. GDPR compliance was essential, and she conducted a thorough review of UNIwise’s data practices, from server locations to access controls, before selecting WISEflow as a trusted partner.
Roddeck notes that the main law programme initially opted out of the digital transition. The reasoning was clear: as long as the state exam stayed paper‑based, there was little incentive to shift to digital assessments. Preparing students for a five‑hour handwritten exam naturally reinforced established methods.
However, this landscape is evolving. With the German state exam considering a digital option from 2024 onward, Roddeck anticipates greater motivation across the sector to modernise assessment practices.
These early reflections on data privacy and the traditional structures within German legal education shaped how Lezel Roddeck approached the transition to digital assessment at Bucerius. Recognising that concerns would naturally arise, she began by speaking with all relevant stakeholders to ensure every question was addressed openly and transparently.
“We looked into the data privacy concerns and felt reassured that WISEflow was GDPR compliant and had a secure server located in the EU, which was great and dispelled any worries,” she explains. Building this trust was a crucial first step.
But addressing data protection alone wasn’t enough. Roddeck knew that successful digital transformation required a clear strategy and a structured action plan. Change—even beneficial change—can be challenging, especially in an environment used to long‑established methods. Without an organised approach, she believed the project would struggle to gain momentum.
Another essential element was ensuring that students felt confident and involved. Understanding the importance of their perspective, Roddeck arranged for UNIwise to grant the school temporary access to WISEflow. This allowed her team to run small‑scale pilots, bring students into the process from the outset, and gather their feedback through a dedicated survey.
“we don’t have any real problems with WISEflow now from the students’ perspectives… after using it for so long, the students just know it inside out.”
By combining transparency, structure, and student engagement, Bucerius established a strong foundation for its digital transition, one that would support broader adoption across the institution.
GETTING STAFF AND FACULTY ON BOARD WITH THE PROJECT
As the student pilots demonstrated early enthusiasm, Lezel Roddeck also turned her attention to another crucial group: the external adjunct lecturers who form a significant part of the teaching team. To ensure that faculty felt confident and supported during the transition, she and her assistant organised a series of training workshops—compensating lecturers for the time they invested in learning the new system.
These sessions introduced WISEflow as a central tool within the language programme and demonstrated how it was already being used in the two compulsory courses. Every new teacher now receives the same hands‑on training to ensure consistency and reduce uncertainty around the platform.
Roddeck shared concrete examples of how she had integrated WISEflow into her own teaching and highlighted the practical benefits. Instructors appreciated the ability to monitor student performance more closely, which was particularly valuable in a programme where participation is graded. The platform also gave them clearer insight into learning gaps, enabling them to adjust lessons proactively and better support students throughout the course.
Reflecting on what ultimately drove faculty engagement, Roddeck emphasises that training, and patience, were essential. She made participation voluntary, allowing early adopters to experiment freely. Gradually, their experience influenced others.
It wasn’t long before students themselves began asking instructors, “Why didn’t you use WISEflow?” That gentle pressure accelerated adoption across the department. Roddeck describes her leadership approach with humour and candour: she simply kept the momentum alive.
“I just kept pestering people! I kept saying, ‘Have you tried it? Isn’t it great?’… ‘Do you want more training? Do you want to see examples of how I used it in my class?’ It just kept catching on.’”
For her, this inclusive, persistent style was key to guiding the programme through meaningful change and ensuring that digital assessment became embedded in everyday teaching practice.
BENEFITS OF THE PLATFORM: ENHANCED FEEDBACK CAPABILITIES
As the teaching team became more comfortable with the platform, one of the most transformative benefits soon became clear: the evolution of feedback. For Lezel Roddeck, this shift has been one of the strongest arguments for digital assessment. Before the transition, feedback was almost exclusively written and delivered on paper—effective, but often time‑consuming and limited in format.
With WISEflow, the language programme gained the ability to offer rich, multimedia feedback tailored to individual student needs. Roddeck explains:
“Before the digital switch, we mostly gave written feedback, but now we can use more multimedia forms… I can give students oral feedback immediately, include brief comments, or even add a voice memo.”
This flexibility has been particularly valuable in a programme where continual formative feedback is essential for language development. The system makes it easier for teachers to maintain that regular input without sacrificing quality or time.
Personalisation has improved as well. The added nuance of spoken explanations allows students to hear tone, emphasis, and detailed guidance as instructors talk them through specific issues or steps in their work. According to Roddeck, this immediacy makes feedback more practical and meaningful:
Over time, the team has observed that WISEflow not only streamlines feedback delivery but also enhances learning outcomes across the programme—strengthening the connection between teaching, assessment, and student progress.
BENEFITS OF THE PLATFORM: FLIPPED CLASSROOMS
Building on these improvements to feedback, the shift to digital assessment also opened new possibilities for teaching formats, particularly the flipped classroom model. Lezel Roddeck observed that students were not only eager for more opportunities to work online, but also increasingly expected digital learning to match the quality and learning outcomes of in‑person teaching. When implemented well, this approach can boost motivation and make students more comfortable engaging with new forms of technology.
WISEflow has become an essential tool in enabling this shift. By moving key content delivery outside the classroom, Roddeck and her colleagues are able to use class time more interactively. With administrative tasks streamlined, she can focus less on lecturing and more on guiding discussion, answering questions, and facilitating deeper engagement, an approach that aligns particularly well with language learning.
WISEflow now serves as the central hub for almost every assessment type within the language programme: essay submissions, take‑home exams, multiple‑choice tests, oral exams, and more. Roddeck uses the platform even for in‑class activities. Rather than handing out printed worksheets, she uploads reading or writing tasks directly into WISEflow, allowing students to work on them during class. She can then use the platform’s autocorrect tools or provide model answers for students to review as they complete the exercises.
This approach has reshaped the rhythm of teaching. While traditional lectures still have their place, Roddeck finds the flipped classroom particularly effective for seminars and tutorials, where the goal is to explore topics in depth rather than deliver surface‑level content. By shifting preparation outside the classroom, she is able to devote more time to discussion, practice, and personalised support, elements that are essential in language instruction.
In her view, these interactive moments are what make teaching fulfilling. Most instructors, she says, enjoy the dynamic back‑and‑forth with students, and digital tools like WISEflow simply create more space for that core aspect of the learning experience.
FURTHER ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE INSTITUTION
Beyond enabling new teaching formats, WISEflow has also strengthened the programme’s pedagogical approach through clearer insights into student learning. For Lezel Roddeck, the platform’s learning analytics tools have been particularly valuable. These insights allow instructors to adapt their teaching more precisely to students’ needs.
The digital setup has also improved communication with students. Instead of simply assigning a reading or task, instructors can clearly indicate which activities take place on campus and which are part of the online tutorial component. This shift has changed the language used within the programme as well: what was once “homework” is now framed as an integral part of the course delivered through the digital environment. This shift has made course expectations easier to understand and has helped students see how all parts of the course contribute to the same learning outcomes.
Administratively, WISEflow has streamlined processes across the programme. Roddeck can now access final exams directly within the platform, make edits immediately, and coordinate with teachers without relying on slow email exchanges. This has made exam management more efficient and significantly reduced administrative overhead.
INNOVATION AND EVOLVING WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIES
As digital tools became more embedded in the programme, Lezel Roddeck also began exploring how newer technologies, especially generative AI, should be integrated into teaching. She sees technological change as an ongoing opportunity to improve efficiency and free up time for more meaningful classroom interaction. For her, the key question is not whether to use new tools, but how teaching should evolve alongside them.
Roddeck explains that the programme has adopted a liberal, transparent approach to ChatGPT. Students are permitted to use it, but must reference it properly, follow a dedicated referencing guide, and disclose their prompts and search methods. Assessment rubrics have also been adjusted to place greater emphasis on skills that require human judgment, acknowledging that AI can assist with writing but cannot replace deeper analytical work.
To help students use AI responsibly, the team incorporates guidance directly into coursework. Classes include discussions about accuracy, source reliability, and common pitfalls when using generative tools. Students also complete an exercise comparing a teacher‑generated model answer with one produced by ChatGPT, analysing the strengths and weaknesses of each.
However, ChatGPT also raises questions for assessment design—particularly for take‑home exams. Roddeck is considering a partial shift back to closed‑book formats and sees oral examinations becoming even more important. For her, navigating AI in education is a shared process: one that involves evolving with the technology while also recognising its limits and potential risks.
THE FUTURE OF WISEFLOW AT BURECIUS
"I would also love to see even more variation in the feedback tool. For example, recording your feedback in the system via video, and then feeding this back to the student in a similar way to how we use voice recordings. This, again, would be great for personalising feedback, and would really be taking things to the next level!"
All photos courtesy of Jannik Matern | Bucerius Law School©
WORTH TO KNOW ABOUT WISEflow
Thinking about switching to WISEflow? Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about functionality, implementation, and why institutions choose UNIwise.
WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH AN EXPERT?
Book a demo to learn more about how UNIwise can support you on your digital assessment journey.