Multidimensional Analysis of Knowledge-Linking within the Concept of Energy in Student Essays

In Germany there is a very conservative tradition to teach science in separated subjects during the secondary level of education. Considering the importance of knowledge-linking in all relevant learning theories of the 20th century, cross-curricular core concepts, like the concept of energy, found their way into German educational standards for biology, chemistry, and physics in 2005 (KMK, 2005a-c). The aim was to foster both more vertical (i.e. intra-subject) and more horizontal (i.e. inter-subject) linkage in subject-differentiated science education. Existing structural models or approaches to analysing and describing knowledge-linking focus exclusively either on the aspect of vertical or horizontal linkage. Based on existing models and approaches, we developed a theory-based model (MAVerBE) that allows a general analysis of the linking performance in essays. In this study, we investigate to what extent we can identify vertical and horizontal linkage structures in student essays on the cross-curricular core concept of energy in grade 9. Our results presented here give an empirical insight into students’ knowledge-linking in the sense of a normative survey. This survey should permit future comparative studies both on a national and international level to prove the popular assumption of the superiority of integrated-science teaching concerning knowledge-linking.