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Implementing History and Philosophy in Science Teaching: Strategies, Methods, Results and Experiences from the European HIPST Project

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Abstract

This paper presents a rationale for utilizing HPS to teach physics and the NoS developed in the course of a project funded by the European Union. A core feature of this approach is formed by the development of historical case studies for the use in lessons. Furthermore, the learners’ perspectives are explicitly taken into account. Teaching methods comprise student-centered activities as creative writing for understanding science and scientists and role-play activities. Emphasis is laid on experimental work which is performed with the help of true-to-the-original replications of historical apparatus, especially built for this purpose. A new characteristic for NoS learning is introduced, namely the reflection corner giving the opportunity to explicitly discussing the relationship between history, knowledge acquisition, and the application of scientific findings. In order to make use of the special skills, creative potentials and experiences of teachers a symbiotic strategy for the development and evaluation process of the teaching material was adopted where a close and long-standing cooperation between science teachers and science educators could be established. On this basis the German partners were able to complete numerous case studies from the fields of mechanics, electricity, magnetism and heat.

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Notes

  1. http://hipstwiki.wetpaint.com/.

  2. Abd-El-Khalick and Lederman (2000), Lederman (1992, 2007), McComas et al. (1998).

  3. Eflin et al. (1999), Irzik and Nola (2010), Osborne et al. (2003), Niaz (2001), Smith and Scharmann (1999).

  4. Abd-El-Khalick and Lederman (2000), Galili and Hazan (2001), Howe and Rudge (2005), Irwin (2000), Lin and Chen (2002), Lin et al. (2002), Kubli (1999), Mamlok-Naaman et al. (2005), Olson et al. (2005), Rudge and Howe (2009), Solbes and Traver (2003), Solomon et al. (1992).

  5. See also the activities for teaching about the role of expertise in science advocated by Zemplén (2010).

  6. Preliminary result of an interview study of the authors.

  7. E.g. Heering (2007), Höttecke (2001), Sibum (1995), Sichau (2000a, b).

  8. The instruments mentioned here are those assembled for HIPST. Several others from different branches of science and different centuries have been replicated earlier. See http://www.histodid.uni-oldenburg.de/22139.html.

  9. Please apply to any of the authors for getting a copy. Further films have been produced by the European projects STeT (http://www.histodid.uni-oldenburg.de/30702.html; 10-05-2010) and MAP(http://www.histodid.uni-oldenburg.de/22886.html; 10-05-2010).

  10. Eilks et al. (2004), Lindner (2008), Ostermeier et al. (2010).

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Acknowledgments

This work has been funded by the 7th Framework Program of the European Commission. We are also thankfully indebted to the teachers and collaborators in the German thematic working group namely Ulf Drüding, Wolfgang Engels, Olaf Kramer, Anna Launus, Veronika Maiseyenka, Christina Mocha, Michael Nienhausen, Harald Schütt, Roland Steiner, Till Stephan and many others. They all have contributed a lot to the development of case studies and the success of the HIPST project in general. Intensive discussion among the HIPST partners on national as well as on international level has contributed to this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education, Physics Education, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Dietmar Höttecke

  2. Institute for Science Education, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Andreas Henke

  3. Working Group on History of Science and Science Education, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany

    Falk Riess

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  1. Dietmar Höttecke
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  2. Andreas Henke
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Correspondence to Dietmar Höttecke.

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Höttecke, D., Henke, A. & Riess, F. Implementing History and Philosophy in Science Teaching: Strategies, Methods, Results and Experiences from the European HIPST Project. Sci & Educ 21, 1233–1261 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-010-9330-3

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