Naturwissenschaftsdidaktische Lernaufgaben, generatives Lernen und wahrgenommene Kohärenz im naturwissenschaftlichen Lehramtsstudium

A lack of coherence between the different fields of study is considered to be one essential problem of the German teacher education system, leading to the acquisition of rather isolated knowledge components. In order to remedy this problem, a pool of learning tasks was designed, requiring teacher students to work explicitly on links between these study components. The theoretical and empirical basis of this approach is explained: "Generative learning" on the one hand, and research on task-based learning and intelligent exercise as central elements of instructional quality on the other hand. The developmental process of the task pool is described, and the methodological approach and results of its evaluation in biology education courses at university are reported. The findings indicate that working with the tasks positively affects students' perception of coherence of the study components and their development of applicable professional knowledge. The study interest is generally on a high level and was not significantly raised by the intervention. In conclusion, the implementation of this task based approach may be considered as a valuable contribution for improving science teacher education at university.