An extension to the internal/external frame of reference model to two verbal and numerical domains

Beside interindividual social comparisons, intraindividual dimensional comparisons in which students compare their achievements in one subject with their achievements in other subjects have an impact on their academic self-concepts. The internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model by Marsh (1986) assumes that dimensional comparisons lead to negative paths from achievement in one subject (e.g., math) to self-concept in another subject (e.g., English). In the present study, the I/E model was extended to two verbal domains (German as the native language and English as a foreign language) and two numerical domains (mathematics and physics). Grades and domain-specific academic self-concepts ofN=1440 students from 63 classes were assessed. In support of the extended I/E model, (a) math, physics, German, and English achievement were positively correlated, as were; (b) self-conceptswithin the verbal and numerical domains, while; (c) self-conceptsbetween the verbal and the numerical domains were almost uncorrelated; (d) positive paths were received from math, physics, German, and English achievement on the corresponding self-concepts; (e) negative paths were found from achievement in one domain to self-concept in the other; (f) positive paths were found from math (physics) achievement to physics (math) self-concept. Finally, (g), almost no effects were found within the verbal domain, i.e., from English (German) achievement to German (English) self-concept. Therefore, there is some support for the I/E model between domains; whereas effects from achievements on self-concepts within the domains were not negative.     

Statewide low-stakes tests and a teaching to the test effect? An analysis of teacher survey data from two German states

Governments worldwide are changing their educational policies to improve student performance. Some of these reforms involve the introduction of high-stakes testing, which often creates negative effects such as ‘teaching to the test’. This article deals with the use of low-stakes testing in the German states of Hesse and Bremen, and analyses whether statewide low-stakes testing produces comparable results to the use of high-stakes tests from the perspective of teachers. Moreover, it seeks to identify the factors responsible for the observable teaching to the test effect, above and beyond the use of statewide exams. The data come from surveys carried out in the framework of a longitudinal study funded by the German Research Foundation. Hesse and Bremen introduced statewide exit exams in several subjects in 2007 and 2008 as low-stakes tests. Our quasi-experimental study has been evaluating these implementations since 2007.     

(Empirische) Bildungsforschung – notwendig außeruniversitär?

In this paper, the so far hardly explored history of empirical educational research (Bildungsforschung) in West Germany between 1945 and the 1990s is examined and roughly surveyed. The focus is on the 1950/1951 established German Institute for International Educational Research (DIPF) in Frankfurt on the Main, whose foundation was closely linked to the policy of the US occupation forces in Germany. Also considered is the history of the Berlin Max Planck Institute for Human Development (MPIB), which was founded in 1963. It is suggested that the Frankfurt institute was a pioneer of educational research and that its foundation took place quasi-necessarily as a non-university institute due to the political and scientific context conditions at the time. Therefore, the history of the MPIB can be understood adequately only on the background of the DIPF’s history and the further development of educational research should be analyzed with special regard to the specific conditions of non-university research in Germany. Looking ahead, the desideratum of a transnational history of empirical educational research in West Germany is outlined which basically fathoms the development of science as a result of complex interactions with other social knowledge and action fields.     

Ecological understanding 2: Transformation - a key to ecological understanding

This article (the second of two) describes the structure and general features of the phenomenon ecological understanding. Qualitatively different ways of experiencing cycling of matter and flow of energy in the context of ecosystems are presented. In all, five different categories are identified in each of these issues. It is concluded that the idea of transformation is a key to development of ecological understanding. The structure of ecological understanding was also found to be hierarchical in terms of inclusion of critical aspects in more complex ways of thinking. The identified categories and their critical aspects indicate fruitful paths for learning and crucial dimensions to open up in teaching. Thus, the results concern teachers' professional object, i.e., an emphasis on what to achieve in teaching and learning. The results can also be used as contents of teaching, tools for planning and for diagnostic and assessment purposes.     

The relationship of value orientations,self-control,frequency of school–leisure conflicts,and life-balance in adolescence

The aim of this self-report study is to analyze proposed interrelations between value orientations, self-control, frequency of school–leisure conflicts, and life-balance in adolescence. Life-balance is defined as satisfying time investment in different life areas. The tested model posits that self-control is negatively related to conflict frequency and that the latter is negatively related to life-balance. Achievement and well-being value orientations, in turn, should be connected to the degree of self-control and the frequency of goal conflicts. In the study, 817 German 8th-graders with a mean age of 13.4 years participated. Results from structural equation modeling supported the proposed model. The results suggest that fostering self-control can be a promising approach to decrease the frequency of goal conflicts, and thus increase students' experience of life-balance.     

Explicit promotion of experimental skills. And what about the content-related skills?

Experimental skills should be acquired by learners at school and university alike. To promote experimental skills, various approaches exist within a spectrum between implicit and explicit instruction. Regarding these instructional approaches, numerous findings are available which predominantly relate to pupils. It is an open question whether it is better to instruct experimental skills explicitly or implicitly in university courses. And if experimental skills are fostered explicitly, what about the content-related skills? Especially in teaching programmes with both experiment-related and content-related objectives, it is questionable whether content-related objectives are achieved to a lesser degree via explicit instruction of experimental skills. Both questions are addressed in this paper. We present an intervention study involving 144 students. All students carry out the same experiments. The intervention groups differ merely in the degree of explicit instruction. Learning gains in experimental and content-related skills are assessed in a pre-/post-test design. The results show that the type of instruction does not significantly influence the acquisition of experimental and content-related skills in this target group. But by trend, the expected differences in learning gains can be observed. This leads to new research perspectives and implications for teaching which are discussed.     

Microfluidic chip system for the selection and enrichment of cell binding aptamers

Aptamers are promising cell targeting ligands for several applications such as for the diagnosis, therapy, and drug delivery. Especially, in the field of regenerative medicine, stem cell specific aptamers have an enormous potential. Using the combinatorial chemistry process SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential enrichment), aptamers are selected from a huge oligonucleotide library consisting of approximately 10¹⁵ different oligonucleotides. Here, we developed a microfluidic chip system that can be used for the selection of cell specific aptamers. The major drawbacks of common cell-SELEX methods are the inefficient elimination of the unspecifically bound oligonucleotides from the cell surface and the unspecific binding/uptake of oligonucleotides by dead cells. To overcome these obstacles, a microfluidic device, which enables the simultaneous performance of dielectrophoresis and electrophoresis in the same device, was designed. Using this system, viable cells can be selectively assembled by dielectrophoresis between the electrodes and then incubated with the oligonucleotides. To reduce the rate of unspecifically bound sequences, electrophoretic fields can be applied in order to draw loosely bound oligonucleotides away from the cells. Furthermore, by increasing the flow rate in the chip during the iterative rounds of SELEX, the selection pressure can be improved and aptamers with higher affinities and specificities can be obtained. This new microfluidic device has a tremendous capability to improve the cell-SELEX procedure and to select highly specific aptamers.     

Do touch: Sponges

Excerpted from Do Touch: Easy, Hands-On Learning Experiences for Young Children, by La Britta Gilbert. © 1989 Gryphon House, PO Box 275, Mt. Rainier, MD 20712.     

Value orientations as determinants and outcomes of conflicts between on-task and off-task actions in the classroom

Off-task behavior in the classroom was conceptualized as a manifestation of students pursuing goals they bring into the classroom aside from achievement goals. Regulation during on-task and off-task behavior in action conflict scenarios was elaborated on using the constructs motivational interference and flow. It was argued that achievement and well-being values that students hold can be determinants as well as outcomes of these conflict experiences. Data from 697 students (mean age 13.43) was collected at two time points within one school year. Results supported a reciprocal model in which value orientations (t1) lead to conflict variables (t2) as well as conflict variables (t1) to value orientations (t2).