How do German primary school teachers prepare students for science standards? Findings from a video study of the Professional Development Program SINUS for Primary Schools

The German professional development program SINUS for Primary Schools (2009-2013) aimed to enhance the quality of science and mathematics instruction in primary schools. The implementation was coordinated and evaluated by the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN) in Kiel, Germany. About 870 schools and 5440 teachers participated. In this article we take a closer look at the scientific methods in science instruction and analyse how these are implemented in instruction to address upcoming science standards in secondary school. The results presented refer to the descriptive video data from eight lessons of SINUS teachers and three lessons of teachers from a control group. The findings from the video study show that the scientific methods geared towards the standards in science for secondary school can also be observed in primary school. The results are discussed in terms of cumulative learning and the importance of coordinating educational content between different types of schools.