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Various questionnaire-based studies were carried out to get an impression of the (pre-)concepts and understanding of the scientific term “energy” in different age groups. In addition to primary school pupils, secondary school pupils and pre-service teachers, the impressions of in-service teachers were also obtained using similar questionnaires. In this article, the results of the studies are brought together in order to identify a need for action at school teaching the scientific energy concept.

The future hunger for hydrogen in industry or for private cars will demand a growing production rate and will have to meet the requirements of sustainability. Photoreforming biomass to produce green hydrogen seems to be a promising way for fulfilling sustainable industrial processes. In this article the photoreforming of sugars is used as an example to implement this subject in science classes. For educational purposes an experiment is presented that demonstrates the photoreforming of a glucose solution with a TiO2/Pt-photocatalyst. The developed gas can be examined by gas chromatography or a detonating gas test. The aim of implementing this subject in school is to pick out an innovative way of producing (green) hydrogen. Photoreforming of biomass is also a suitable context to discuss and evaluate social, environmental and economical perspectives for sustainable energy resources and industrial processes in the chemistry classroom. Students can discuss different ways of how to reach the sustainable development goals presented by the United Nations in 2015 and learn to deal with contradictions by reaching these goals. This subject is therefore ideal for integrating education for sustainable development (ESD) in school education.

This paper underlines the ongoing necessity of innovating school chemistry curricula in Germany, while acknowledging that both regular chemistry and CLIL chemistry lessons rely on the same governmental guidelines. In order to achieve curricular innovation successfully, cutting-edge curricular innovation research should be combined with participatory action research (PAR). There is no network of collaborating bilingual chemistry teachers. Therefore, a database of CLIL chemistry in Germany is created and a needs analysis is conducted to identify possible topics serving as starting points for innovation. The needs analysis focusing on the teachers’ demands as regards bilingual teaching materials addressed teachers of bilingual chemistry throughout Germany. The questionnaire comprises an open and a closed part. Additionally, CLIL biology teachers from North Rhine-Westphalia were included. The research reveals the respondents’ great demand in many key topics in chemistry and/or biology curricula. There is a particular interest in material for photosynthesis/respiration. A topical database of bilingual chemistry provision in Germany and bilingual biology provision in NRW was created. The survey helped select one innovative topic. Based on this, teachers will be recruited for PAR. Moreover, the teachers’ answers have reaffirmed current efforts into the development of bilingual chemistry teaching materials.

A small questionnaire-based study was carried out in order to get an impression of the current placement of fuel cells in the chemistry classroom in Germany and to develop a research-based, practice-oriented didactical sequence for the teaching of fuel cells. Based on a participative action research-approach, chemistry teachers at schools with a focus on STEM answered a questionnaire. This article gives insight into our approach and results of this preliminary study.

The movement “Fridays for Future” is a good indicator for students not only having a very strong interest in sustainability, but also a high motivation to actively discuss this topic. For this reason, it is important for schools to provide the necessary basic knowledge and to give students insight into current research and application within the realm of sustainability education and SDGs. In this article digital learning tools for the concept “Alternative Solar Cells with Titanium Dioxide” (ALSO-TiO2) are presented, that can be used to implement the topic “Solar Cells” in regular chemistry classes. The concept bridges the gap between the galvanic cell as a compulsory subject and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), also known as Gratzel-cells. Thus didactic experiments, so-called photogalvanic cells, are explored with the help of an e-book. In addition, a small eye-tracking study is presented which was carried out in order to develop a new edition of an interactive animation.

Die Lehrkräftebildung in den Naturwissenschaften hat die Aufgabe, die angehenden Lehrkräfte der Biologie, Chemie und Physik auf die Gestaltung des Unterrichts der Zukunft vorzubereiten. Dabei wurden in den letzten Jahren verstärkt neue Lehr-Lern-Formate, Technologien und Methoden an einzelnen Hochschulstandorten entwickelt, um dieser Herausforderung gerecht zu werden. Dieses Buch gibt einen praxisbezogenen Einblick in Innovationen der Lehrkräftebildung in den Naturwissenschaften und macht sie damit auch für den Einsatz an weiteren deutschsprachigen Hochschulen zugänglich. Dazu präsentieren die Autorinnen und Autoren aus über 30 Hochschulen in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz neue Ansätze zu Unterstützungsmöglichkeiten der Kompetenzentwicklung, zum Einsatz von Medien und zur Förderung der Planung und Reflexion von Unterricht. Unterstützt wird die dies durch umfassende Onlinematerialien, was die Nutzung an anderen Hochschulstandorten begünstigen und damit die Weiterentwicklung der Lehrkräftebildung in den Naturwissenschaften insgesamt fördern soll.