The German Physical Society (DPG) is planning on handing over the award in March 2022 during the annual DPG conference in Erlangen.

The Jury's Reasoning:

Horst Schecker has shaped and further developed the field of empirical physics didactics over a noteworthy period. It was and still is important to him that the highest methodological, scientific standards are upheld within all projects and that the relevance for school education is not neglected at the same time.

Horst Schecker has formed the field of didactics of physics over decades like no other. His analyses of pupils’ previous knowledge in the field of mechanics, the assessment of their experimental skills, as well as the determination of the explanation skills of teachers are outstanding. He has also contributed to several of the key works in physics didactics as both an editor and author. Most recently, the book “Unterrichtskonzeptionen für den Physikunterricht.”

Horst Schecker holds both state exams in secondary school teacher education for the subjects of physics and English. He completed his PhD on pupils’ perceptions of classical mechanics in 1985. In 1995, his habilitation in the field of computer use in physics lessons (with a focus on system-dynamic model formation in physics classes) followed. Horst Schecker was a professor of didactics of physics within the Faculty of Physics / Electrical Engineering at the University of Bremen until 2021. He remains active in the field of physics didactics as a pensioner.