Beckmann then wrote her physics thesis, which dealt with resistance measurements on metallic compounds, at the Helmholtz Center for Materials and Energy (HZB).

Having successfully completed her teacher training in Darmstadt, she took up a position as a physicist in the Institute of Physics at Goethe University Frankfurt.

In 1989, Beckmann obtained a doctorate in mathematics at the University of Giessen with a thesis on teaching geometry proofs to 12- to 15-year-old students (supervised by Heinz Schwartze and Günter Pickert).

Beckmann's thesis addressed the development of a model concept for interdisciplinary teaching, with a focus on mathematics in connection to physics, language and computer science.

As a member of the LRK board, she also represented the Universities of Education in the Senate of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK).