Many science educators have argued in favour of including socioscientific issues (SSI) in general, and ethical issues in particular, in school science. However, there have been a number of objections to this proposal, and it is widely acknowledged that such teaching places additional demands on science teachers. This study examined the curricula,…

Primary school students often do not have differentiated conceptions of human organs and organ systems. As understanding the inner structure of the human body is an elementary prerequisite for the development of health awareness, appropriate forms of teaching must be developed to modify students' fragmented preconceptions about the inside of their…

Texts and instructional pictures are widely used for facilitating students' understanding of complex content, especially in science subjects. International large-scale assessments repeatedly reveal differences in students' science achievement between countries. Since text-picture material (TPM) plays an essential role in science education, it is…

General Studies (Sachunterricht) lesson, which includes social and science themes because of its interdisciplinary form, takes place in the curriculum of each class level at primary schools in Germany. The aim of this descriptive case study is to examine how the teaching process of third-grade General Studies lesson is run in terms of learning…

At the end of the nineteenth century, biology as an academic discipline was as young as its corresponding school subject. Now nature itself was analysed as a complex (eco)system consisting of animals, plants, and man. The dramatic conceptual shift and subsequent development of school curricula called for teaching aids representing the new…

This volume features current, innovative, and effective ways of developing instructional materials for diverse English Language Teaching (ELT) contexts. It is divided into four sections, each featuring pedagogical materials designed for specific groups of learners. The sections focus on materials for general English, ESP and EAP, CLIL, and ELT…

Social media are a highly visible factor in the daily lives of our students. Why should teachers not take advantage of this and develop teaching and learning materials that use the designs found in such media to contextualise science learning? This article suggests some ideas for creating lab instructions using social media design as an innovative…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's 'open-door' policy towards the recent wave of migrants and refugees to Europe shows promise for expanding the workforce and increasing diversity, yet opens up some significant cultural and religious differences. Although the government has created programs to aid in their transition, little attention has been paid…

The German science project "NAWI-Interaktiv" is an example of innovative use of E-Learning and new media education. Since 2009, the learning platform provides learners and teachers with high-quality learning tools, teaching material, useful information and E-learning programs for free. This is to raise the pupils' motivation to learn…

Satellite navigation is widely used for personal navigation and more and more in precise and safety-critical applications. Thus, the subject is suited for attracting the interest of young people in science and engineering. The practical applications allow catching the students' attention for the theoretical background. Educational material on the…

This paper presents a rationale for utilizing HPS to teach physics and the NoS developed in the course of a project funded by the European Union. A core feature of this approach is formed by the development of historical case studies for the use in lessons. Furthermore, the learners' perspectives are explicitly taken into account. Teaching methods…

Describes the Practising Integration in Science Education (PING) project that develops teaching and learning materials aiming to change the philosophy of German science education as well as teaching strategies. Discusses the collaborative approach used within the project and the outcomes from the study undertaken by the Organisation for Economic…