Reflection on the conception of the lesson
In sequences of half an hour, experiments were made, hypotheses were formulated and questions were raised and estimated under perspectives. Professor Lück showed how to explain to the young children the difference between the structure of salt and that of sugar: e.g. by a plan of people forming an arm in arm shield (salt) and another plan of people forming a stretched out arms shield (sugar). Through this illustration the chemistry is made accessible to the youngest and in the superiour classes, the chemical formulae can be introduced with a bigger complexity.
Besides the experiments and besides their reflection, Prof. Lück also spoke of the learning psychology, the cognitive sciences and about advantages of Storytelling in sciences teaching. „What arouses our emotional interest has a stronger effect on us, and results in a good learning. We should also take it into account during the transmission of the scientific contents of learning ", explained Prof. Lück.
The experiment protein-alcohol had the strongest effect on the participants. „If we think that the protein is here our brain ", explains Prof. Lück, " and here we add some alcohol "- Here we are, the protein is stopped. Thus, the illustration of the (irreversible) denaturation of the intellectual cells under alcohol influence.
After two days of varied training with numerous experiments, discussions and reflections, the participants hope for a continuation. „We experimented for the first time, to what extent it is more stimulating to raise questions and to discuss it out among one another through experiments.’’It was brilliant ", declared a participant. Another participant praised the training in these terms: „Having adopted the teaching by skills in our programs, we had so much theoretical training course. But it is only during these two days workshops with practical experiences that we realised what means competence orientation and that it is not a mythical science as that has always been theoritically”.
These two experimental trainings, which were organised in association with the Goethe Institute, the University of Bielefeld and the Cameroon Ministry of Secondary educations and were supported by the Marga and Kurt Möllgaard-foundation, will continue in the next two years in a more widened way. The purpose of the training is to help the teachers to incite the children and the young people to discover good learning in the exact sciences and to authorise them to solve their own problems on a daily basis.