Kerstin
te Heesen

Kerstin te Heesen is a post-doctoral researcher in the field of primary school teacher training in the Institute of Applied Educational Sciences. Trained both in the fields of History of Education and Adult Education, her research has been situated in the field of Social and Cultural History of Education with an emphasis on the Visual and Media History of Education guided by the question how knowledge is acquired.

More recently, she has focused on developing trainings for primary school teachers. In this scope, she combines her expert knowledge in analysing visual sources and their relevance for educational purposes as well as her background in methodologies of knowledge acquisition and adapts this to the context of teaching and learning in primary schools.

After her doctorate in Educational Sciences at the Ruhr-University Bochum, focusing on the media history of adult education (supervisor: Prof. Dr. Jürgen Wittpoth), and positions as research associate at the University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd and Augsburg University, Kerstin te Heesen was scientific collaborator at the University of Luxembourg in the University-funded project “The Renewal of the Family: Formative Representations in Portraits and Genre Paintings from the 16th to the 19th Century”, supervised by Prof. Dr. Karin Priem (2011 – 2015).


In 2017, she returned to the University of Luxembourg and joined Prof. Dr. Christina Siry and her team at the Science Teacher Resource Center (SciTeach Center).


Since January 2019 she is project coordinator of the latest project of the SciTeach team, entitled Sci2School (Science Teaching to Support Children Learning Science), a PSP flagship project funded by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), that aims to promote the teaching of science in Luxembourg’s primary schools, through contextualised resources and pedagogical support.

Research interests
Teacher Training
History of Education
Visual Studies
Knowledge Acquisition
Cultural History

Latest content Kerstin te Heesen took part in

Education & Social Work
Kuck elei! Digital Mikroskope fir Léierpersonal
Supporting primary teachers and students in exploring microworlds with digital microscopes.

This project supports the integration of innovative digital hand-held microscopes in science instruction in Luxembourg primary classes through the offering of a set of research-based science education workshops for teachers. In this way, this project will support teachers in engaging their students in discovering and investigating the microlevels of the world in which they live through the use of digital hand-held microscopes.
Faculty Blog
Discovering science phenomena at home through fun activities
With schools in Luxembourg currently closed, parents have to immerse themselves in their little one’s schoolwork. Multiplication tables, grammar, spelling, all this may not always bring back pleasant memories to parents and caregivers. Fortunately, there is one subject that allows for fun while learning: science. The SciTeach Center released a series of fun activities to stay curious about science phenomena, geared towards children and families at home due to COVID-19.
Education & Social Work
The SciTeach Centre: A Hub for Innovation and Research in Science Education in Luxembourg
The SciTeach Centre at the University of Luxembourg works with teachers and experts in science education to research innovative approaches to teaching science in the unique educational context of Luxembourg’s primary schools.
Orbilu