Universität zu Köln

The first part of this doctoral dissertation centres on palaeobiogeographic aspects of stoneflies in Baltic amber. After an examination of over 200 stoneflies encased in the 40-50 Million years old Baltic amber, 4 new descriptions are added to the existing 14. With the help of the determined Eocene genera and the comparison of the distributional areas of their extant relatives, possible palaeobiogeographic routes across the Cretaceous Bering land bridge are hy-pothesised. On the basis of chosen aspects that are presented in the research part of this thesis, a teaching unit is developed on the basis of current school curricula for lower secondary classes, focus-sing on topics such as the physical properties of amber, the examination and identification of chosen inclusions of Baltic amber, the genesis of amber etc. This developed amber workshop was performed with several classes and evaluated on the basis of previously formed research questions that were examined with empirical data collected during (students’ written answers to the given tasks) and after the classes (qualitative interviews with students and teachers). The outcomes of the evaluation showed that the students not only enhanced their previous knowledge about amber (and its inclusions) but also formed new competencies, which all contribute to the continuous formation of scientific literacy. The results of this evaluation formed the basis for the development of a second, short teaching unit for senior high school students focussing on the palaeogeography, palaeoecology and evolutionary aspects of aquatic insects in Baltic amber.

English