Research

Main research areas

I am working on research projects in the areas of biology education and plant ecology and the combination of the two. I am especially interested in how an effective education on ecology can help students understand the complex and emergent processes of ecosystems.

Ecology Education

Ecology Education

Climate change, biodiversity loss, and land-use change confront societies with decisions that require ecological literacy that is both conceptually robust and usable in complex socio-ecological contexts. My research in ecology education investigates how learners construct and apply ecological knowledge, with a particular focus on how they connect explanations across levels of organisation. A central strand examines chemical reasoning in ecological contexts—how students link molecular and biochemical mechanisms to organismal function and ecosystem dynamics. I also study how values and normative orientations interact with ecological knowledge in judgement and decision-making, and how ecological competence can be conceptualised, fostered, and assessed to evaluate the effects of educational interventions.

Student-AI interactions

AI in teaching and learning

I am interested in how students interact with AI and how these interactions shape learning processes and outcomes compared to learning without AI support, with a particular focus on opportunities for biology learning. Together with Paul Martin (JLU Giessen), I explore whether an interactive chatbot can serve as a learning companion for first-semester students in biology and chemistry. In collaboration with Detlef Urhahne at the University of Passau, we additionally examine how students regulate their learning in AI-supported contexts and how this relates to motivation, epictemic beliefs, effort, and achievement. I am also interested in how teachers integrate AI into their teaching and which competencies are most relevant in this context.

Data Literacy

Data

Together with colleagues from the Universities of Münster and Kassel, we are developing a comprehensive interdisciplinary framework for data literacy in biology and mathematics education. Building on this framework, our overarching goal is to design and empirically test a tool that supports students’ data literacy through AI-generated adaptive feedback. The project uses biological contexts such as health and biodiversity datasets; at Giessen, our focus is on the biodiversity component.

Plant Awareness

Plant Awareness

Trained as a botanist, I am strongly motivated to investigate how people perceive plants, how they engage with them, and how plant life can be made more accessible and meaningful to broader audiences. Plants provide essential benefits for humanity, and meeting global challenges such as food security and sustainable land use requires people who understand how plants function. My research examines visual plant perception in collaboration with Roman Asshoff (Münster), and Daniel Kaiser and Philipp Flieger (both Giessen). In parallel, together with Marcia Eugenio-Gozalbo and Inés Cubrero (both Valladolid), and Rafa Suárez (Salamanca), I investigate educational approaches aimed at increasing plant awareness among students.

Tree growth in cold climates

Tree growth in cold climates

Globally, tree growth declines abruptly at a growing-season mean temperature of approximately 6 °C, giving rise to arctic and alpine treelines. This threshold marks the functional limit of the tree growth form. Despite its global consistency, the physiological mechanisms underlying this sharp cessation of growth remain unresolved. My research therefore aims to identify the physiological processes that prevent trees from growing beyond this temperature limit. This work is conducted in collaboration with Mathias Zeidler (Giessen) and Christian Körner (Basel).

Collaborations