Hofer, Elisabeth

"Chemistry education is not only a central component of the training and continuing education of chemistry teachers, but also plays an essential role in communicating current scientific findings. Chemistry educators work to make (complex) chemical issues accessible to different target groups, present them in an appealing way, explain them clearly, and examine the strategies and materials used in the process.

The overarching goal is to promote a broad basic education in science while recruiting people interested in chemistry-related fields of study and careers. Chemistry education must therefore take all learners into account and challenge and support them according to their abilities and needs. Age- and target group-appropriate insights into the material world are a prerequisite for understanding the ideas of sustainable development and recognizing the contribution of chemistry-related innovations to ecological, economic, and social prosperity."

• Practical work with students at extracurricular learning locations
• Inclusive design of learning environments for chemistry lessons
• Chemistry lessons with a focus on sustainability
• Research-based learning
• Teacher professionalization

• 2008-2013 Teacher training for general secondary schools (diploma), subjects: chemistry and mathematics, University of Graz
• 2013-2020 Teacher in federal and state service, Education Directorate for Styria
• 2015-2019 University assistant (PraeDoc), University of Vienna, Austrian Competence Center for Chemistry Education
• Since 2019 Member of the working group for the development of new curricula for chemistry for secondary level I and upper secondary schools, Federal Ministry of Education, Science, and Research
• 2019-2020 Research project assistant, IMST initiative, Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research
• 2020 Dissertation in the field of chemistry education, University of Vienna
• 2020-2025 Research assistant (postdoc), Leuphana University Lüneburg, Institute for Sustainable Chemistry, Didactics of Natural Sciences
• 2023-2024 Administrative professor for didactics of natural sciences, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Institute for Sustainable Chemistry
• Since April 2025 Professor of Chemistry Didactics at the University of Vienna