Despite the tremendous efforts which have been made over the last few years, inquiry-based learning (IBL) has not become an established practice in science education yet. Even if teachers consider IBL an important and valuable approach, they still refrain from implementing it in their own science classes. Research findings suggest that the teachers’ beliefs and attitudes have a crucial influence on their classroom practice. Only if they are compatible with the approach of IBL, the teachers will be willing to implement IBL in their own classes. This article demonstrates how the beliefs and attitudes of three Austrian chemistry teachers changed over the period of a 9-monthly professional development program (PDP). In order to ascertain their beliefs and attitudes regarding IBL previous to and after the PDP, we conducted a group discussion and three individual interviews. The statements from both dates were analyzed using a qualitative content analysis and indicate substantial changes concerning the teachers’ beliefs about the efficacy, capability and practicability of IBL. After participating in the PDP, the teachers took a more positive attitude regarding both IBL in general and its implementation. Considering the findings from this study, we formulate implications for designing PDP at the end.

Teaching with and about technology is part of science teachers’ 21st century skills. To foster technology-enhanced practice, teachers need to acquire both technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK on action) and positive behavioral orientations toward technology exploitation. However, it remains unclear if the gained knowledge is applied in practice (TPACK in action). Therefore, studies are required to investigate the interplay of programs promoting TPACK on action, behavioral orientations, and resulting TPACK in action. This paper presents an approach that explicitly links pre-service science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) with TPACK development in two undergraduate modules, following the transformative view of TPACK. TPACK on action and behavioral orientations are captured through a questionnaire at three points in time. Additionally, lesson plans are analyzed to evaluate the quality of technology use and cognitive engagement, approximating TPACK in action. The results show a significant increase in pre-service science teachers’ (N = 133) self-rated TPACK on action and behavioral orientations between pre- and post-test, with moderate to large effects. Moreover, the analyses of lesson plans reveal a high quality of technology exploitation in the planned lessons, indicating distinctive TPACK in action after attending the modules. This theory-based approach is supported by empirical data, and highly regarded by participants, making it a successful model for course redesign at other universities.

Als geschichtlich und fachwissenschaftlich zentraler Reaktionstyp stellen Säure‐Base‐Reaktionen einen wichtigen Bestandteil fachdidaktischer Forschung dar. Zu diesem Thema sind vielfältige Vorstellungen bei den Lernenden bekannt, die oftmals im Widerspruch mit den fachwissenschaftlich adäquaten Konzepten stehen. Gleichzeitig sind aber die historische Entwicklung der Säure‐Base‐Konzepte und ihre Vielfältigkeit und Kontextabhängigkeit im Chemieunterricht relevant. Diese Vielfältigkeit der historischen, sich teilweise widersprechenden Säure‐Base‐Konzepte erschwert in Kombination mit den alternativen Vorstellungen der Lernenden, das Thema auf eine konsistente und anschlussfähige Art zu unterrichten. Um dieser Herausforderung gerecht zu werden, werden Säure‐Base‐Reaktionen im vorliegenden Beitrag mittels didaktischer Rekonstruktion aus der fachwissenschaftlichen und Lernendenperspektive untersucht, um eine für die Lernenden der Sekundarstufe II nachvollziehbare, an andere Reaktionstypen (z. B. Redoxreaktionen, organische Reaktionsmechanismen) anschlussfähige didaktische Strukturierung vorzunehmen.

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