Strengthening students' individual potential, raising awareness of sustainable development, and embedding the acquisition of digital skills in teaching—these are the goals pursued by the project line vielfältig.nachhaltig.digital (diverse.sustainable.digital). Every year, the University of Bonn supports particularly innovative individual or group projects within this framework. This year, the project “Digital Skills for Measurement and Data Acquisition in Physics Teacher Education” was selected for funding over three years, along with five other projects. In this project, Dr. Ulrich Blum, Dr. Bernadette Schorn (both from the Institute of Physics) and Dr. Frank Vewinger (Institute of Applied Physics) are developing a new module for teacher training programs that conveys the basics of measurement and data acquisition using single-board computers such as the Raspberry Pi or microcontrollers such as the Arduino.
Back in 2016, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs pointed out in connection with the Strategy for Education in the Digital World that digital skills should already be taught in teacher education. “With regard to teacher training in the natural sciences, the Orientation Framework for Digital Competencies for Teachers in the Natural Sciences (DiKoLAN) specifies seven key areas of basic competence, including the three subject-specific competencies of measurement/data acquisition, data processing, and simulation/modeling,” said Dr. Schorn, who, as the study program manager, is also responsible for teacher training, among other things. “Due to the widespread availability and low price of single-board computers, we felt it made sense to teach prospective teachers how to use them for data acquisition so that they can apply their skills in school,” said Dr. Blum.
Single-board computers and microcontrollers were chosen partly because of the wide range of sensors available for them. "There is a large selection of inexpensive sensors for Arduino or Raspberry, which means that experiments can be carried out by small groups of students rather than just as demonstration experiments. For example, a full-fledged weather station can be set up for just a few euros,“ says Dr. Vewinger, who is coordinating the project. ” This opens up a multitude of new possibilities for teachers at the school, provided that the threshold for using these systems is lowered." This is precisely where the new module aims to fill an existing gap. With the university's funding, the necessary teaching/learning materials will first be developed, and then the aim is to transfer them to other degree programs as the project progresses.
About the “vielfältig.nachhaltig.digital” project funding program
The funding program titled “vielfältig.nachhaltig.digital” was formed by the University of Bonn Rectorate in 2021 as a strategic funding source for individual and group projects relating to degree programs and teaching that help cultivate students’ individual potential, raise awareness on the importance of sustainable development and anchor the acquisition of digital skills within teaching. In each funding round, up to two million euros are awarded for projects chosen in a competitive process. The members of the judges panel are selected so as to be broadly representative of the various faculties and status groups. The next application phase opens in late 2025.