The Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN) is one of the leading scientific institutes in the field of empirical educational research in Germany. It belongs to the Leibniz Association, an association of more than ninety German research institutions from different disciplines. The IPN deals specifically with questions of learning and teaching science and mathematics inside and outside schools. It focuses on mathematics and science education processes across the lifespan, considering not only the individual environment, but also learning groups, institutions, and educational systems. The IPN’s school-related research projects focus on student-related questions and on the professionalisation of teachers, the quality of mathematics and science education, and the conditions of the educational system.
The Department Biology Education works on fundamental questions of teaching and learning in biology and on questions that arise in educational contexts through the application of new biological knowledge.
Prof. Moritz Krell is an internationally recognized expert in the field of scientific reasoning and modelling in science education.
From 2013 to 2021, he worked as a researcher and lecturer for pre-service biology teachers at the Free University of Berlin. In this role, he regularly developed courses for pre-service biology teachers at both the Bachelor’s and Master’s program, including courses on models and modelling in biology education.
Since 2021, Moritz Krell has been Deputy Director of the Department of Biology Education at the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN) in Kiel and Professor of Biology Education at Kiel University.
Kim Eleni Lobner has been working as a research assistant and doctoral candidate at the IPN since May 2023, while also teaching at a secondary school.
From 2012 to 2021, she studied Biology and German for teaching profession at the Universities of Potsdam, Freie Universität Berlin, and Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, and graduated in summer 2021 with a Master of Education. She then completed her teacher training for secondary schools in summer of 2023.
As a research assistant and doctoral candidate, she has been working since May 2023 on the German Research Foundation (DFG)-funded project “DiMCo” (Investigating the relationships between the dimensions of modeling competence, project number 510978671), which focuses on the dimensions of modeling competence in pre-service biology teachers.
Felicitas Haupts started working at the IPN in February 2025 as a research assistant and doctoral candidate on the German Reserach Foundation (DFG)-funded project „MoKoKo“ (Modelling Competences in Context, project number 541190827). It focuses on the dependency of modelling competence on the task context in pre-service biology teachers.
From 2017 to 2023, she studied Biology and English for teaching profession at the University of Münster and Newcastle University, graduating with a Master of Education. She then worked at the Centre for Teacher Education and the Centre of Biology Education at the University of Münster.
