Biology Education in the Great Outdoors

The ÖBG is a supra-regional educational institution open to the public, as well as a centre for science communication and education for sustainability. With its naturalistic habitats – ranging from tropical to boreal zones – its subject-specific expertise, its connection to the university, and a strong network of educational partners, the ÖBG is particularly well suited as an extracurricular learning site for all age groups. This potential has prompted those responsible at the ÖBG and in subject didactics to expand the teacher training programme at the University of Bayreuth with two innovative seminars, which were offered for the first time in the past summer semester and will be available again in summer semester 2026.

At the heart of the two seminars under the umbrella title Biology Education in the Great Outdoors lies the question of how teaching and learning processes can be purposefully improved. Two parallel courses are offered. In the course Expanding a Learning Programme at the ÖBG (Dr Jana Messinger, ÖBG, and Justus Braune, Biology and Chemistry Education), students focus on designing educational programmes for school classes. After an initial observation phase, participants gradually expand or revise existing programmes from a subject-didactic perspective. The second course, Improving Learning Processes through Evaluation and Empirical Research (Dr Tessa-Marie Baierl, Biology and Chemistry Education), systematically evaluates these programmes. The two courses are interlinked, with evaluation results feeding back into the further development of the programmes. The aim is to better tailor the programmes to the needs of pupils and to reflect on the effectiveness of the learning processes. Towards the end of the semester, students independently implement the revised programmes with a school class. These two courses thus contribute to a modern and practice-oriented teacher training programme, in line with the concept of the “Third Mission” – the ongoing exchange between school practice and university.

Theory Meets Practice

Theory Meets Empirical Research

The second course offers students deeper insights into subject-didactic research practice. They not only gain an overview of key empirical approaches but also have the opportunity to engage with current research areas in subject didactics. This provides a valuable foundation for developing their own research questions, for example in the context of a final thesis, and offers initial impulses for potential academic advancement. Students learn how empirical research is designed and conducted, and how it can contribute to the further development of teaching. The connection between theory and practice becomes tangible and opens up perspectives for evidence-based design of future teaching and learning processes.

Teacher training students reflected on the ESD projects after their observations and developed didactic approaches for their own implementation.

Long-Term Perspectives Included

Students have the opportunity to continue contributing to the educational work of the ÖBG beyond the seminar and to actively help shape the teaching programmes. This creates a synergistic and sustainable added value – both for teacher training and for the ÖBG itself.

The collaboration between the Chair of Biology and Chemistry Education and the ÖBG has proven to be extremely fruitful – especially the synergies between subject-didactic research and practical educational work demonstrate how innovative teaching formats can emerge and be sustainably developed at the University of Bayreuth.