Leibniz Institute for Science Education at the University of Kiel

The IPN develop and promote science education through research. Research is focused on questions concerning teaching and learning in the sciences. At IPN, teams of scientists, experts in science didactics, pedagogues, and psychologists work together.

The departments of the institute are:

• Educational Sciences
  
  The projects of the department focus on empirical research on teaching and learning in the natural sciences. In co-operation with the other departments, the preconditions, processes and results of scientific education are being analyzed. Current research projects are concerned with science education, the surveying of scientific competency, the analysis of learning processes as well as teaching patterns. Other projects deal with the use of new media in science instruction and with quality development in schools.
  
  
• Didactics in Biology
  
  
• Department of Chemistry Didactics
  
  The research projects at this department focus on supporting the further development of science teaching in general and the teaching of chemistry as a school subject in particular. Research projects such as the ParCIS (and later ParIS) and Chemistry in Context projects are currently involved with issues on self-monitored learning.
  
  A focus of the department´s work lies in designing, implementing and evaluating innovative teaching concepts. A primary project of the department is Chemistry in Context. Not only does it consist of the more theoretically-oriented elaboration, realisation and evaluation of school results, but it is also involved in a BMBF-funded project dealing with implementation issues. Chemistry in Context also consists of a DFG-funded project which focuses on the effects of specific elements of in-service teacher training.
  
  An additional focus of the department can be found in studies on the conditions and effects of new teaching technologies. Besides analyses of the optimization of web-based learning environments in the project CHEMnet, research projects relating to representation and model formation are also being undertaken.
  
  The department regards contribution to the professionalization of teachers´ work in science instruction at primary schools as an important approach for future research projects in the field of primary science instruction. The department participates in a BLK-funded program on monitoring quality standards in schools and the school systems.
  
  
• Department of Physics Didactic
  
  The department of physics didactics deals with the analysis of teaching and learning processes in physics education as well as with the development of physics topics for school purposes on the basis of the theoretical model of didactical reconstruction. Surveys on how the problems of science teaching can best be tackled when teaching modern physics are covered besides research on acquiring expertise in physics. Additionally, the department is also working on an interdisciplinary project "System Earth", which aims at making complexity more understandable. The department of physics didactics is also involved in projects on educational monitoring and model programs for improving the educational quality of science teaching in Germany.
  
  
• Department of pedagogical and psychological Methods (PPM)
  
  The department for methods of pedagogy and psychology (PPM) is working on developing and applying methods for data analyses in educational sciences. The development of research methods is focused on Item Response Theory, the applications have an traditional focus in environmental education and another one in large scale assessment and monitoring educational outcomes.

The IPN is a member of the Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. It is closely affiliated to the University of Kiel.

Leibniz Institute for Science Education at the University of Kiel
Olshausenstraße 62
24098 Kiel
Tel: +49 (0)4 31 / 8 80 - 5084
Fax: +49 (0)4 31 / 8 80 - 5212
E-Mail: csec@ipn.uni-kiel.de

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Further Information: www.ipn.uni-kiel.de/