Research
Research
In our research group, we pursue three independent yet interconnected research focuses. We work independently, in direct collaboration, or in (inter)national partnerships and are part of the collaborative projects CataLight, PolyTarget and Sensor_Space. A close connection to school practice is central to all our areas of focus.
Research Area 1: Didactic Transfer Research
The focus of our work is the didactic exploration of current chemistry topics for schools and student laboratories. In close collaboration with research groups, particularly at the University of Oldenburg, and other partners, we develop experiments and teaching materials on current and relevant chemistry topics. Currently, we are particularly interested in the fields of nanomedicine, photocatalysis, and green chemistry.
Current third-party funded projects in Research Area 1:
Research Area 2: Digital Tools and Teaching-Learning-Concepts
STEM education is currently undergoing a fundamental transformation due to advancing digitalization. This transformation is accompanied and facilitated by new digital tools and platforms, with numerous projects being introduced, ranging from 3D printers to virtual reality headsets. But which of these technologies will endure in classroom practice, and which are sustainable in the long term? Our second research focus is dedicated to answering these questions. In this context, we develop digital tools that provide real added value for teaching (LabPi) and create teaching-learning concepts to sustainably integrate these tools into school practice.
Ongoing third-party funded projects in Research Area 2:
Research Area 3: Digitalization in out-of-school laboratories
Digital media are attributed with the potential to make students experts in their own learning. If this potential is successfully utilized, significant contributions can be made to the improvement and individualization of teaching, which can then be transferred into practice. In our research group, we are expanding the student and teaching-learning laboratory ChemOL to include the research and use of digital media with accompanying teaching concepts. This digitalchemlab is a synergistic addition to the already existing classical student laboratory. The goal is to build a platform that leverages the potential of digital media for teaching and instruction, thereby promoting the improvement and transformation of current learning offerings.
Ongoing third-party funded projects in Research Area 3
Focus 4: TeachSynergy
As part of the digitalisation professorships, a project entitled "Improvement of teaching quality in resource-limited countries under the UN SDGs" (ITQ-SDG) was launched in mid-2023 and renamed TeachSynergy in 2024.
The aim of the project is to translate the teaching-learning labs that have already been successfully trialled at the University of Oldenburg and adapt them for resource-limited countries. This is closely linked to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, which have declared in their Agenda 2030 that they want to establish and improve sustainability goals worldwide.
