Understanding is a human right!

The exhibition in Karo 5 about the life and work of Martin Wagenschein is the result of a cooperation between the Historical Archive, the Institute of General and Vocational Education and the Physics Education Working Group of the Department of Physics. In the summer semester of 2023, this exhibition was designed and developed as part of a seminar by teacher education students of all subjects with the support of the interdisciplinary project team „Martin Wagenschein 2.0: A Darmstadt classic of education – rethought “. It was made possible by working with the legacy of Martin Wagenschein (1896-1988), which has been stored and catalogued in the Historical Archive since 2021. Using selected topics as examples, visitors gain an actively engaging access to Wagenschein's core pedagogical and didactic ideas. It shows how biographical experiences and scientific thinking were combined in Wagenschein's life, true to his saying: Understanding is a human right!

Although Wagenschein is a well-known figure beyond the boundaries of his subjects of physics and mathematics, especially within the field of scientific pedagogy, his work is paradoxically still considered a ‚hidden gem‘ among teachers today. His fundamental objections to West German educational policy as well as the didactic approach at schools and universities since the 1950s made him a controversial scientist who stood up for both the cause and its understanding. He therefore viewed with great concern the ‚divisive effect‘ of scientific teaching between a few enthusiastic people and a majority of intimidated and discouraged people and recognized the danger this posed to society and democracy. For this reason, his method of „genetic teaching” also takes seriously the children's primary thinking and scientific laypeople. This thinking should be the focus of the teacher's attention and science should constantly emerge from it anew.

Exhibition opening

The exhibition is opened at 31 October 2023 at 05.00 p.m. in Karo 5.

Organiser

Institut für Allgemeine Pädagogik und Berufspädagogik
Arbeitsgruppe Didaktik der Physik im Fachbereich Physik
Universitätsarchiv

Venue

Technische Universität Darmstadt
Gebäude S1|01 – Karo 5 Lounge
Karolinenplatz 5
64289 Darmstadt

Contact

Dr. phil. Arne Luckhaupt
Dr. phil. Annegret Holtmann-Mares M.A.