As part of the Elite Graduate Program “MINT-Lehramt PLUS” of the Universities of Bayreuth and Würzburg, Dr. Mona Schönfelder-Beer offered a cross-university seminar with the title “Blogs, Podcasts and Explanatory Videos in science Class”. In the seminar students studied modern media and examined its use in science class using the project method.
Students of the Elite Graduate Program "MINT-Lehramt Plus" discussed different aspects of web 2.0 media, namely explanatory videos, podcasts, and blogs. They started with a literature research on the use of these media in class. An examination of different studies led to a theoretical foundation for the following practical phase. After their research, students agreed on a common goal: The creation of a blog about microplastics that contains different podcasts and explanatory videos for pupils of various grades.
At first, small groups of students created storyboards and looked for interview partners, followed by the practical realization of their plans. Despite an initial fear that “lacking skills [in creating the media] would be frustrating”, all groups contributed to the main project. In doing so, they consciously only used simple methods to be able to evaluate the possibility of an implementation in school. Choosing the topic microplastics and the content (e.g., consequences for humans, experiments) by themselves, the teacher students could follow their interests and introduce creative ideas. After finishing the project phase, the results were presented and reflected. The participants of the seminar reported they were surprised how easy and exciting it was to create digital media by themselves.
Another goal of the project was to create a handout for teachers. In that way, colleagues can profit from the results of the students in the Elite Graduate Program. In addition, the participants agreed on integrating the theoretical foundation and practical experiences in the basic course of subject didactics “Teaching materials in biology class” at university. Hence, students additionally designed a unit for this course.
Text: Dr. Mona Schönfelder-Beer, Elite Graduate Program "MINT-Lehramt Plus"
