Problem/Objective of the Special Interest Group (SIG)
Modern societies are increasingly characterized by scientific knowledge and technical achievements. While this development is, on the one hand, partly accompanied by a blind faith in science and technology, one can, on the one hand, observe a general lack of interest in STEM topics, or even a fundamental and unreflected rejection of scientific and technical knowledge in segments of society. Across different population groups, gaps or misconceptions become apparent, e.g., regarding scientific knowledge or the evaluation of (pseudo)scientific publications.
Against this background, teacher education in the STEM subject didactics (mathematics, computer science, natural science and technology), among other things, plays a central role in promoting scientific literacy. Since prospective teachers in the STEM subjects act as multipliers not only of knowledge but also of attitudes in the STEM field, it is crucial to enable them to get girls and boys alike excited about STEM-related issues at an early age and to engage with them in a reflective manner. To this end, the STEM subject didactics offer a wide range of research-based and practice-oriented courses, including courses in the STEM classroom, to optimally prepare teaching students in STEM subjects for their important social task of teaching in schools. In addition, continuing education formats for the third phase of teacher education and corresponding research projects complement subject didactics’ field of activity.
Against this background, the central concern of the Special Interest Group STEM Subject Didactics is the coordination of joint projects and the interdisciplinary cooperation of the STEM subject didactics in order to leverage existing potentials and to make synergies usable. Accordingly, the SIG STEM Subject Didactics sees itself as a collaborative association of scientists who deal with the concerns of STEM subject didactics, and aims to improve the visibility of joint work. In addition, it aims to strengthen the exchange not only within the STEM subject didactics, but also to promote the discourse with representatives of other disciplines and institutions to generate impulses for teacher education in Tübingen.
