The Relationship between Different Criteria for Admission to Medical School and Student Success

The relevance of admission policy for educational outcome in medical schools is demonstrated by means of longitudinal data on the total population of several cohorts of students admitted to the German medical schools on the basis of a variety of criteria (n = 28,000 students). The correlations between the quantitative criteria for admission and performance on the First Medical Examination (which takes place after 2–3 years of study) were calculated. Secondly, the mean total scores on this examination that have been achieved at first attempt by groups of students admitted according to different selection criteria were compared. Thirdly, the rates of success on the medical examination at first attempt after two years of study were compared for the above‐mentioned groups of students. The most striking result is the large difference between the groups under comparison in terms of their success rates in the First Medical Examination. The highest pass rates (80%) are achieved by students selected on the basis of a combination of the average mark in the secondary school leaving certificate and the total score on the ‘Test for Medical Studies’, an aptitude test. Had the students been admitted at random, they would only have attained a pass rate of 48% (base rate). For those admitted on the basis of the result of an interview or on the basis of ‘waiting‐time’ (i.e. the number of semesters they had spent queuing) the pass rates are 49 and 45%. The results are interpreted in the light of different political and educational goals that are or can be envisaged when decisions on admission strategies are made.     

The potential of anchoring vignettes to increase intercultural comparability of non-cognitive factors

ABSTRACT

We investigate whether Anchoring Vignettes (AV) improve intercultural comparability of non-cognitive student-directed factors (e.g., procrastination). So far, correlation analyses for anchored and non-anchored scores with a criterion have been used to demonstrate the effectiveness of AV in improving data quality. However, correlation analyses are often used to investigate external validity of a scale. Nonetheless, before testing for validity, the reliability of the measurement of a construct should be examined. In the present study, we tested for measurement invariance across countries and languages and compared anchored and non-anchored student-directed self-reports that are highly relevant for the students’ self and their behaviour and performance. In addition, we apply further criteria for testing reliability. The results indicate that the data quality for some of the constructs can – in fact – be improved slightly by anchoring; whereas, for other self-reports, anchoring is less successful than was hoped. We discuss with regard to possible consequences for research methodology.     

Mathematikleistung und mathematischer Unterricht in Deutschland und Japan

Die TIMS-Studie war durch ihre Modellierung darauf angelegt, nicht nur ein „Ranking“ der teilnehmenden L?nder zu liefern, sondern auch Erkl?rungsans?tze für unterschiedliche Schulleistungen innerhalb und zwischen verschiedenen Kulturen. Die analytische Aussagekraft der TIMS-Studie ist in Deutschland u.a. besonders stark, weil sich Deutschland — neben Japan und den USA — an der erg?nzenden TIMS-VIDEO-Studie beteiligte. In zuf?llig aus der TIMSS-Stichprobe ausgew?hlten Schulen wurde jeweils eine Mathematikstunde im achten Jahrgang auf Video aufgezeichnet. In einem Teil der deutschen Stichprobe wurden darüber hinaus Zweit-und Drittstunden videographiert. Die videographierten Unterrichtstunden wurden digitalisiert, transkribiert und in einem iterativen Prozess zwischen Induktion und Deduktion je nach Fragestellung kategorisiert und unter Verwendung einer Software zur Analyse von Videomaterialien vercodet. Durch die Verknüpfung unterschiedlicher Datens?tze und insbesondere durch die Einbeziehung der Videos, die über Transkription, Codierung und Rating vielf?ltige interpretative, qualitative wie quantitative Auswertungen zulassen, bietet die TIMS-Studie ungew?hnliche M?glichkeiten für methodenübergreifende Analysen und somit für Triangulation. Die Nutzung quantitativer und qualitativer Auswertungsverfahren für Zusammenhangs-und Kausalanalysen, ist insbesondere durch Verknüpfung von Daten aus standardisierten Tests und Frageb?gen einerseits und qualitativen Kategorisierungen von Ereignissen in den videographierten Unterrichtssequenzen andererseits m?glich. In diesem Beitrag wird dieser Ansatz anhand der Frage. ob der Mathematikunterricht in verschiedenen Kulturen unterschiedliche inhaltliche und kognitive Schwerpunkte ausweist, im Detail verfolgt. Mit der von uns vorgenommenen Methodenkombination k?nnen verschiedene Arten der Triangulation skizziert werden. Neben den additiven Komponenten der Triangulation — die Untersuchung eines bzw. verschiedener Merkmale aus unterschiedlicher Perspektive unter Verwendung qualitativer und quantitativer Methoden — wird hier besonders die Prüfung von Erkl?rungsans?tzen durch die Kombination unterschiedlicher qualitativer und quantitativer Analysen dargestellt. Dabei steht nicht die Best?tigung der Ergebnisse des einen Verfahrens durch die Analysen des anderen Vorgehens im Vordergrund, sondern die wechselseitige Absicherung von Interpretationen durch den Einsatz verschiedener Forschungsdesigns unter Verwendung qualitativer und quantitativer Methoden.     

Kompetenzmodellierung: Struktur,Konzepte und Forschungszugänge des DFG-Schwerpunktprogramms

The assessment and modeling of competencies plays a key role in optimizing educational processes and improving educational systems. The DFG priority program “Competence Models for Assessing Individual Learning Outcomes and Evaluating Educational Processes” which was founded in 2007, aims at promoting and coordinating the scientific efforts in this field across disciplines. The present article describes the structure, concepts and research approaches and sketches the current state of research of the priority program.     

Stichwort: Vom Ehrenamt zum zivilgesellschaftlichen Engagement

In the context of various societal developments, civic involvement is receiving more and more attention from politics, science and society in general. Recently, the area of education has been looking to civic engagement because of the potential and capabilities expected of it. Research into civic engagement has made remarkable progress. The diverse studies give an elaborate picture of scope, direction and the development of this type of civic involvement. At the same time, it is clear that significant gaps and deficits in respect of knowledge and data exist. A systematic, theoretically and empirically founded body of research, which is interdisciplinary and integrates different strands of research, does not yet exist. The task remains of developing theoretical and empirical in-depth research. This research must integrate some areas of engagement which have been largely neglected until now and pay attention to the limits in the capabilities of such civic commitment.     

Quality of geometry instruction and its short-term impact on students' understanding of the Pythagorean Theorem

This article presents findings from a German–Swiss video-based classroom study. The research examines how three basic dimensions of instructional quality impact the development of students' understanding of the Pythagorean Theorem. The study sample comprised 19 German and 19 Swiss mathematics classes. A three-lesson introductory unit on the Pythagorean Theorem was videotaped in all classes. Multilevel analyses revealed both classroom management and cognitive activation to have positive effects on mathematics achievement. The results also provide empirical evidence that cognitive activation and a supportive climate moderate the relationship between mathematics-related interest and mathematics achievement.     

Promotion of self-regulated learning in classrooms: investigating frequency, quality, and consequences for student performance

An implication of the current research on self-regulation is to implement the promotion of self-regulated learning in schools. Teachers can promote self-regulated learning either directly by teaching learning strategies or indirectly by arranging a learning environment that enables students to practise self-regulation. This study investigates teachers’ direct and indirect promotion of self-regulated learning and its relation to the development of students’ performance. Twenty German mathematics teachers with their overall 538 students (grade 9) were videotaped for a three-lesson unit on the Pythagorean Theorem. Students’ mathematics performance was tested several times before and after the observed lessons. A low-inferent coding system was applied to assess the teachers’ implicit or explicit instruction of cognitive strategies (e.g., organisation), metacognitive strategies (e.g., planning), and motivational strategies (e.g., resource management). High-inferent ratings were used to assess features of the learning environment that foster self-regulation. Results reveal that a great amount of strategy teaching takes place in an implicit way, whereas explicit strategy teaching and supportive learning environment are rare. The instruction of organisation strategies and some features of the learning environment (constructivism, transfer) relate positively to students’ performance development. In contrast to implicit strategy instruction, explicit strategy instruction was associated with a gain in performance. These results reveal a discrepancy between the usefulness of explicit strategy instruction and its rare occurrence in classrooms.     

The significance of dealing with mistakes for student achievement and motivation: results of doubly latent multilevel analyses

European Journal of Psychology of Education - From a constructivist perspective on learning, mistakes are seen as natural elements of learning processes. A supportive and constructive way of...     

Interplay of formative assessment and instructional quality—interactive effects on students’ mathematics achievement

Formative assessment is considered to be a promising teaching practice for promoting teaching and learning processes. The implementation of teaching practices into instruction involves intervening with a learning environment that is characterised by certain features of instructional quality. Our study aims to contribute to the understanding of formative assessment by analysing the interplay between a formative assessment intervention and aspects of general instructional quality. In a quasi-experimental study design, 15 teachers participated in a control group (n = 361 students) and 20 teachers in the intervention classes (n = 498 students) implemented a curriculum-embedded formative assessment tool in their ninth-grade mathematics classes. No effects were found for the intervention on the assessed aspects of general instructional quality (process-oriented instruction, teacher–student relationship, effective use of instructional time). However, multilevel regression analyses revealed an interaction effect between the intervention and process-orientation and the effective use of instruction time. Our findings suggest that implementing formative assessment tools do not seem to suffice regarding changes in general instructional quality, but that an intervention with detailed material and guidelines can counterbalance effects of instructional quality, fostering students’ achievement in classes with lower degrees of process orientation and a less effective use of instructional time.