Students, teachers and phenomena

Abstract

Based on the model of Educational reconstruction that was proposed by Kattmann et al. for Science Education in 1997, we derived a specific framework for the design and development of lessons in Computer Science (CS). We present and explain this framework that is constructed according to the specific goals, knowledge structures and teaching methods of Computer Science at schools. This framework is arranged around suitable "real world phenomena" in the sense of a teaching context. Thus, it may be applied as a road map for the "CS in context" approach as well as to other teaching approaches for CS at school. In order to validate this framework, we have conducted some empirical research in order to propose and test suitable methods for the empirical investigation and validation of the main working steps of our framework. For this purpose, we have conducted a survey that investigated which IT-phenomena would be particular interesting for students. Additionally, we asked about 100 students to describe their conceptions and beliefs about the functions and principles of computer viruses as an example for students' conceptions of a phenomenon.