New Perspectives in Science Education

In the eye of the general public, research on fundamental principles is mostly intangible as it is mainly presented in ways only experts can understand [1, 2]. This creates a gap between science and society [2, 3] which in consequence raises the issue of the population’s lack of awareness and participation in scientific and educational-political debates.

Since 2009 the interdisciplinary Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 803 at the Georg-August-University Göttingen has conducted research on the ‘Functionality Controlled by Organization In and Between Membranes’. As proposed in the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020, and in accordance to the above mentioned problems, the CRC is placing great value on producing ‘Science with and for Society’ [4], trying to engage the general public in its research activities.

In this context, a science outreach project aiming to foster the communication between science and society, by didactically processing the complex and increasingly diversified fundamental research conducted within the CRC 803, was developed. In order to design corresponding activities as well as materials and to make the developed measures, methods and contents sustainably available to the three targeted groups of students, teachers and the general public, a coordinated and close collaboration between the involved scientific and the chemistry education groups is pivotal. Additionally, the integration of the developed activities into already existing public outreach structures and their further development, including design, implementation, evaluation and optimization, is essential.

In this contribution we will therefore present the outline of this science outreach project, describing the planned activities for the respective target groups as well as highlighting several of the activities already in existence.

References