Auswirkungen einer Intervention auf die Auseinandersetzung und Arbeit mit Bildungsstandards bei Mathematik-Lehrkräften

The introduction of educational standards in Germany forced teachers to change their perspective in order to achieve competence-oriented teaching. The initial representative surveys throughout Germany indicated that a short time after the introduction of the educational standards, teachers in various school forms were still very slow to implement the idea of competence-oriented teaching in their everyday school life. This article presents the effects of a newly developed intervention programme in which mathematics teachers familiarised themselves with educational standards for the first time. The teacher data and the performance data of the pupils of the schools participating in the project are compared in a longitudinal study with the data of schools which were not included in the intervention programme. The results indicate that after the intervention programme has run for one year, mathematics teachers in the project schools are more competence-oriented in their teaching and reflect more intensively on the concept of the educational standards than mathematics teachers in the comparison schools.     

How to Foster Active Processing of Explanations in Instructional Communication

In instructional communication settings, instructional explanations play an important role. Despite the very common use of instructional explanations, empirical studies show that very often, they have no positive effects on learning outcomes. This ineffectiveness might be due to mental passivity of the recipient learners that leads to shallow processing of the explanations. Against this background, we introduce several types of instructional assistance to foster active processing of written instructional explanations in asynchronous computer-mediated instructional communication settings. The findings of three experiments showed that prompts or training for focused processing regarding the central principles and concepts of the explanation are especially effective with respect to fostering learning outcomes.     

Using a Diagnosis-Based Approach to Individualize Instructional Explanations in Computer-Mediated Communication

To maximize the effectiveness of instructional explanations, they should be tailored to an individual learner. However, instructors are often not able to collect diagnostically relevant information about a learner to individualize their explanations. This is particularly true in computer-mediated settings where it is more difficult to thoroughly assess a learner’s understanding. We present an approach that provides instructors in asynchronous and text-based computer-mediated communication settings with information about a learner’s understanding that has sufficient diagnostic power to enable them to generate learner-tailored explanations. A series of experiments testing this approach suggest several conclusions. First, instructors need information about a learner to individualize explanations. Second, instructors are able to design explanations that are specifically adapted to a learner’s individual understanding. Third, learner-tailored explanations facilitate the processing of new information and make instructional communication more efficient. Fourth, learner-tailored explanations enhance a deep understanding of the information processed and make instructional communication more effective.     

Analyzing and attempting to overcome prospective teachers’ difficulties during problem-solving instruction

This article analyzes the experiences of prospective secondary mathematics teachers during a teaching methods course, offered prior to their student teaching, but involving actual teaching and reflexive analysis of this teaching. The study focuses on the pedagogical difficulties that arose during their teaching, in which prospective teachers lacked pedagogical content knowledge and skills. It also analyzes the experience of the course itself, which was aimed at scaffolding the work of prospective teachers on developing their pedagogical content knowledge and skills.     

Evaluation of Preanalytical Quality Indicators by Six Sigma and Pareto`s Principle

Preanalytical steps are the major sources of error in clinical laboratory. The analytical errors can be corrected by quality control procedures but there is a need for stringent quality checks in preanalytical area as these processes are done outside the laboratory. Sigma value depicts the performance of laboratory and its quality measures. Hence in the present study six sigma and Pareto principle was applied to preanalytical quality indicators to evaluate the clinical biochemistry laboratory performance. This observational study was carried out for a period of 1 year from November 2015–2016. A total of 1,44,208 samples and 54,265 test requisition forms were screened for preanalytical errors like missing patient information, sample collection details in forms and hemolysed, lipemic, inappropriate, insufficient samples and total number of errors were calculated and converted into defects per million and sigma scale. Pareto`s chart was drawn using total number of errors and cumulative percentage. In 75% test requisition forms diagnosis was not mentioned and sigma value of 0.9 was obtained and for other errors like sample receiving time, stat and type of sample sigma values were 2.9, 2.6, and 2.8 respectively. For insufficient sample and improper ratio of blood to anticoagulant sigma value was 4.3. Pareto`s chart depicts out of 80% of errors in requisition forms, 20% is contributed by missing information like diagnosis. The development of quality indicators, application of six sigma and Pareto`s principle are quality measures by which not only preanalytical, the total testing process can be improved.     

Die Körperzusammensetzung von Hobbygamern im Vergleich zu deutschlandweit erhobenen Referenzdaten

About two thirds of adults in Germany are overweight or obese. While an increase in the consumption of high-calorie food is considered the main cause, the influence of various forms of sedentary activities is still controversially discussed. The aim of the present study is to compare the body composition of hobby gamers with reference data collected throughout Germany and to examine the effects of intensive use of computer games (gaming) on body composition. A total of 68 male participants of a computer game event aged 18–46 years (27.9 years; 180.1?cm; 83.5?kg; BMI 25.7) were examined for fat mass, body cell mass, extracellular mass, body water and phase angle using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA, Nutriguard MS type, data input). Ten test persons were retested by means of segmental 8?electrode BIA after a 24?h interval during their visit to the event. As a reference sample, data from 278 male adults of the same age (27.9 years, 179.4?cm; 78.8?kg; BMI 24.5) were collected in 168 locations throughout Germany. The hobby gamers reported on average 37.1?h screen media usage per week. Compared to the reference sample, they showed a slightly higher body cell mass index (p?<?0.01, T?=?4.07), but no differences in fat mass index (p?=?0.96, T?=?0.05) and phase angle (p?=?0.90, T?=?0.12). A significant increase in body water (T₀: 48.2?l, T₀₊₂₄?_h: 49.3?l; p?=?0.04, T?=?2.39) and decrease in the phase angle of the lower extremities (T₀:?7.40, T₀₊₂₄?_h: ?6.85; p?<?0.01, T?=?5.40) was observed in the 24?h retest. Compared to the reference data collected throughout Germany, hobby gamers show no differences in health-relevant parameters of body composition. Nevertheless, after intensive gaming, a short-term increase in the amount of extracellular water in the lower extremities was found. Due to these disturbances in the water balance, the consequent execution of movement breaks during gaming is important.     

A Sportful History of Christianity: The Case of Twentieth-Century Sweden

Abstract

The sport movement was consolidated in Sweden during the first years of the twentieth century and grew rapidly from the 1920s and onward. Preceding and during these events, the Church of Sweden – the Lutheran state church – was losing its axiomatic position within Swedish society and church attendance was decreasing. In this situation, many perceived the sports movement as a rival to the church or even saw sport as a new religion. However, as the sport movement grew, prominent representatives within the Church of Sweden and other Christian denominations adopted a more pragmatic view of the sports movement in order to appeal to people outside the ranks of the church, especially male youth. The sport field soon became a missionary field. The aim of the current essay is to account for the collaborative as well as the sceptical voices not only in the Church of Sweden, but also within the substantial Swedish revival movements, i.e. the Pentecostal movement and the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden. Further, these events will be analyzed from a gender perspective, discussing what was simultaneously perceived as a secularization and feminization of Swedish Christianity.     

Forgeries of Fossils in “Amber”: History,Identification and Case Studies

The appeal of ancient fossilized tree resin, or amber, has made pieces with animal and plant inclusions particularly prized. Unfortunately, amber forgeries are more convincingly and routinely made than most other kinds of fossils, by embedding organisms in natural resins (e.g., copal) or synthetic resins (especially polyester) or by filling a carved niche in a natural piece of amber with resin and a modern inclusion. The confusion of organisms in copal (forged and natural) for ones in amber has a long history. Reviewed here are simple tests for discerning forgeries and natural inclusions in both substances. We discuss an old but sophisticated technique for crafting amber forgeries from authentic amber and present several new examples from old collections in two large museum collections. Also discussed is the widespread use of polyester resin forgeries in the Dominican Republic and Mexico.