Teaching Chemistry about 'Stevia' - A Case of Cooperative Curriculum Innovation within PROFILES in Germany

Oct 15, 2026

Teaching Chemistry about 'Stevia' presents a detailed case of cooperative curriculum innovation under the PROFILES teacher education and science curriculum reform project in Germany. It explains how the University of Bremen supports curriculum implementation by organizing participatory networks for science teachers, using a Participatory Action Research-oriented design process. The paper illustrates module development for sugar and sweeteners, including a pedagogy that integrates advertising in science education, and describes the framework for iterative testing, refinement, and distribution through training and online resources.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

PROFILES-Bremen and collaborative curriculum development

Background and framework for the curriculum design

Teaching Chemistry about ‘Stevia’ – A Case of Cooperative Curriculum Innovation within PROFILESin Germany Marc Stuckey1, Marianne Lippel2 and Ingo Eilks*3 • PROFILES is a project of teacher education and curriculum innovation funded by the FP7-programme of the European Union. The aim of PROFILES is implementing innovative science teaching practices incorporating a societal perspective and compassing inquiry-based science learning. The University of Bremen, Germany, as one of the partners, combines teacher continuous professional development with the research-based design of new teaching and learning modules for science teaching. This paper presents – as an exemplary case – how the University of Bremen is operating PROFILES. This case is illustrated according to the development of a teaching and learning module on sugar and sweeteners, incorporating the use of advertising in science education. Keywords: Chemistry education, Curriculum development, PROFILES, Participatory Action Research, Sweeteners, Stevia, Advertising 1 PhD student at the Institute of Science Education, University of Bremen, Germany 2 Secondary school teacher, Bremen, Germany 3 *Corresponding Author. Institute for Science Education, University of Bremen, Germany; [eilks@uni-bremen.de](eilks@uni-bremen.de) 70 a case of cooperative curriculum innovation within profiles in germany O steviji pri pouku kemije – primer inovacije v okviru projekta PROFILES v Nemčiji Marc Stuckey, Marianne Lippel in Ingo Eilks* • PROFILES je projekt o izobraževanju učiteljev in kurikularnih inovacijah, ki ga je financirala Evropska unija v okviru programa FP 7. Eden izmed namenov projekta je bil vpeljevanje inovativnih pristopov v naravoslovnem poučevanju, v katere sta vključena družbeni vidik inučenje naravoslovja z raziskovanjem. Univerza v Bremnu, Nemčija, ena izmed projektnih partneric, združuje stalno strokovno spopolnjevanje učiteljev z oblikovanjem novih raziskovalno usmerjenih učnih modulov v naravoslovnem izobraževanju. V prispevku je predstavljeno – kot vzorčni primer –, kako projekt PROFILES poteka na Univerzi v Bremnu. Prikazan je primer razvijanja modula o sladkorju in sladilih z navodili za učitelje in učence, vključen pa je tudi pomen oglaševanja v naravoslovnem izobraževanju. Ključne besede: poučevanje kemije, razvijanje kurikuluma, PROFILES, akcijsko raziskovanje z udeležbo, sladila, stevija Introduction One of the central foci of activity in the PROFILES-project at the University of Bremen is to associate with school reform in the State of Bremen (one of the 16 states making up Germany) in the field of science education. In 2010, the State of Bremen implemented a school reform through the establishment of a new type of secondary comprehensive school: the Oberschule. In the Oberschule, science in the lower grades of secondary education (grades 5-8, age range 10-15) combines the previously independent disciplines of chemistry, biology and physics into one subject, namely ‘science’. At present, textbooks and official curriculum materials for teaching integrated science following the new syllabus are still unavailable. This means that since 2011, the science teachers in the State of Bremen have been developing their own curriculum materials for their teaching requirements. Unfortunately, most science teachers in Bremen are not trained in more than one of the science subjects, such as biology, chemistry and physics. The teachers feel they themselves are not particularly competent and self-confident enough in developing integrated science curriculum materials, especially in the areas where they consider themselves being non-experts. The University of Bremen, therefore, took the initiative to help science teachers in Bremen in their reform and curriculum implementation efforts within the PROFILES project (Schindler et al., 2014). PROFILES-Bremen assists the reform by forming networks of teachers and helping them in the development of their curr

FAQs

What is the main focus of PROFILES-Bremen at the University of Bremen?

The main focus is associating with school reform in Bremen’s science education and supporting teachers through collaborative, network-based curriculum development within PROFILES.

How are the teaching and learning modules designed and improved in PROFILES-Bremen?

Modules follow a Participatory Action Research model, with teachers meeting monthly in small groups, then conceiving, testing, and cyclically refining modules each year.

What exemplary curriculum module is highlighted in the paper?

The paper highlights development of a module on sugar and sweeteners, including a newly developed approach for incorporating advertising in science education.

Oct 15, 2026

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