Research
Working together with the department of the humanities and social sciences at ETH (namely the professorhips of Prof. Elsbeth Stern and Prof. Manu Kapur) CAL already supported - and still does - three PhD Candidates in their interdisciplinary projects in biology and the learning sciences.
Here you can find brief summaries of the projects.
Biological Thinking: Insights into the Misconceptions in Biology maintained by Gymnasium students and Undergraduates
Dr. Annie Champage-Queloz was supervised by Prof. Ernst Hafen and Prof. Elsbeth Stern. Her project explores misconceptions held by Gymnasium students in different cantons in Switzerland and undergraduates at two Swiss universities by using the Biological Concepts Instrument (BCI).
Publications
Diagnosing and Promoting the Understanding of Interdisciplinary Concepts in Life Science Education (ongoing)
Carina Känzig was supervised by Prof. Ernst Hafen and Prof. Manu Kapur. Her project tackled students' naïve conceptions with regard to interdisciplinary concepts by designing an assessment tool for physical and chemical concepts which are crucial for the understanding of fundamental biological concepts. Then students' naïve conceptions were assessed at several different time points during their studies in order to track changes in their performance. The project was part of the Future Learning Initiative at ETH.
Publications
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Addressing Naïve Conceptions in Life Science Education
Improving Conceptual Understanding in Biology through Storytelling (ongoing)
Samuel Tobler is supervised by Prof. Ernst Hafen and Prof. Manu Kapur. His research focuses on the potential of storytelling as a pedagogical tool to increase students' conceptual understanding in life science education. Thereby, he investigates whether students benefit more from narratives than conventional teaching approaches to grasp theories and overcome misconceptions. The project is part of the Future Learning Initiative at ETH.