Learning processes and their mediating role between teaching quality and student achievement: a systematic review

This systematic literature review was conducted in order to further the understanding of how learning processes act as mediators between teaching quality and student achievement. Eighteen quantitative studies were included for analysis. In 24 of 53 mediation paths (45%) learning processes were identified and confirmed as mediators and in 29 mediation paths (55%) non-significant mediating effects were found. The complexity of the included studies’ context, methodology, conceptualization, and operationalization posed challenges for a quantitative synthesis. The findings provide some initial ideas for how to better design future research into indirect effects of teaching quality

Revisiting the Three Basic Dimensions model: a critical empirical investigation of the indirect effects of student-perceived teaching quality on student outcomes

The Three Basic Dimensions model, theorizes three mediators for the effect of teaching quality dimensions on student outcomes. However, the proposed mediating paths and their effects have largely not been empirically tested. This study investigated the mediating role of depth-of-processing, time-on-task, and need satisfaction between student-perceived teaching quality and student mathematics achievement and interest, expanding the TBD model to include mediation paths suggested by theories of motivation, cognition, and effort. Data from the TALIS Video Study for Germany, comprising 958 secondary school students in 41 classrooms, were used to run multilevel longitudinal and correlational mediation analyses. The results only found mediation effects at the student level; there were no mediating effects at the classroom level. Not all of the hypothesized relationships thought to exist between the mediators and achievement and interest outcomes were confirmed. The conceptual sequence of the variables, the choice of correlational vs. longitudinal evidence, and the level of analysis were all shown to have an impact on the results. The study thus confirms some of the assumptions of the TBD model, identifies new paths between teaching quality and student outcomes, and provides suggestions for how to proceed with further investigation of a model which should be expanded and more thoroughly empirically tested

Empirische Arbeit: der Einfluss des Einsatzes von Breakout-Räumen auf das Erleben von sozialer Eingebundenheit und intrinsischer Motivation von Studierenden im Onlineunterricht

Eine besondere Herausforderung im Onlineunterricht stellt die Aufrechterhaltung der intrinsischen Motivation dar, da viele Interaktionsmöglichkeiten unter Studierenden wegfallen. Bislang ist wenig bekannt, wie Lernumgebungen im Onlineunterricht gestaltet werden sollten, um zur Befriedigung des Grundbedürfnisses nach sozialer Eingebundenheit und dadurch zur Förderung der intrinsischen Motivation beizutragen. Diese Studie untersuchte die Wirksamkeit des Einsatzes von Breakout-Räumen bei Gruppendiskussionen auf die soziale Eingebundenheit und das Erleben intrinsischer Motivation. Eine Experimentalstudie mit Bachelorstudierenden (N=108) zeigte, dass der Einsatz von Breakout-Räumen bei Gruppendiskussionen im Vergleich zu Plenumsdiskussionen zu einer höheren Befriedigung des Grundbedürfnisses nach sozialer Eingebundenheit und einer höheren intrinsischen Motivation führte. Erwartungsgemäß wurde der positive Effekt des Einsatzes von Breakout-Räumen auf die intrinsische Motivation durch die Befriedigung des Grundbedürfnisses nach sozialer Eingebundenheit partiell mediiert. Praktische Implikationen sowie Limitationen der Studie werden diskutiert

The role of relatedness in the motivation and vitality of university students in online classes during social distancing

As part of the social distancing measures for preventing the spread of COVID-19, many university courses were moved online. There is an assumption that online teaching limits opportunities for fostering interpersonal relationships and students’ satisfaction of the basic need for relatedness – reflected by experiencing meaningful interpersonal connections and belonging – which are considered important prerequisites for student motivation and vitality. In educational settings, an important factor affecting students’ relatedness satisfaction is the teachers’ behavior. Although research suggests that relatedness satisfaction may be impaired in online education settings, to date no study has assessed how university lecturers’ relatedness support might be associated with student relatedness satisfaction and therefore, student motivation and vitality. This study tested this mediating relationship using data collected during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also investigated whether the relations were moderated by a high affiliation motive which reflects a dispositional wish for positive and warm relationships. The possible importance of the communication channel selected by the lecturers (video chat yes/no) and the format of a class (lecture/seminar) were also investigated. In a sample of N = 337 students, we tested our hypotheses using structural equation model (SEM). Results confirmed mediation, but not moderation. The use of video chat (video call) seems to facilitate the provision of relatedness support but our data did not show that the format of a class was associated with relatedness. Our findings indicate that both teaching behavior and the technical format used to deliver lectures play important roles in student experiences with online classes. The results are discussed in light of other research conducted during the pandemic. (DIPF/Orig.

Revisiting the Three Basic Dimensions model: A critical empirical investigation of the indirect effects of student-perceived teaching quality on student outcomes

The Three Basic Dimensions model, theorizes three mediators for the effect of teaching quality dimensions on student outcomes. However, the proposed mediating paths and their effects have largely not been empirically tested. This study investigated the mediating role of depth-of-processing, time-on-task, and need satisfaction between student-perceived teaching quality and student mathematics achievement and interest, expanding the TBD model to include mediation paths suggested by theories of motivation, cognition, and effort. Data from the TALIS Video Study for Germany, comprising 958 secondary school students in 41 classrooms, were used to run multilevel longitudinal and correlational mediation analyses. The results only found mediation effects at the student level; there were no mediating effects at the classroom level. Not all of the hypothesized relationships thought to exist between the mediators and achievement and interest outcomes were confirmed. The conceptual sequence of the variables, the choice of correlational vs. longitudinal evidence, and the level of analysis were all shown to have an impact on the results. The study thus confirms some of the assumptions of the TBD model, identifies new paths between teaching quality and student outcomes, and provides suggestions for how to proceed with further investigation of a model which should be expanded and more thoroughly empirically tested

Task Duration and Task Order do not Matter: No Effect on Self-Control Performance

The strength model of self-control proposes that all acts of self-control are energized by one global limited resource that becomes temporarily depleted by a primary self-control task, leading to impaired self-control performance in secondary self-control tasks. However, failed replications have cast doubt on the existence of this so-called ego depletion effect. Here, we investigated between-task (i.e. variation in self-control tasks) and within-task variation (i.e. task duration) as possible explanations for the conflicting literature on ego depletion effects. In a high-powered experiment (N = 709 participants), we used two established self-control tasks (Stroop task, transcription task) to test how variations in the duration of primary and secondary self-control tasks (2, 4, 8, or 16 minutes per task) affect the occurrence of an ego depletion effect (i.e., impaired performance in the secondary task). In line with the ego depletion hypothesis, subjects perceived longer lasting secondary tasks as more self-control demanding. Contrary to the ego depletion hypothesis, however, performance did neither suffer from prior self-control exertion, nor as a function of task duration. If anything, performance tended to improve when the primary self-control task lasted longer. These effects did not differ between the two self-control tasks, suggesting that the observed null findings were independent of task type

The role of relatedness in the motivation and vitality of university students in online classes during social distancing

As part of the social distancing measures for preventing the spread of COVID-19, many university courses were moved online. There is an assumption that online teaching limits opportunities for fostering interpersonal relationships and students’ satisfaction of the basic need for relatedness – reflected by experiencing meaningful interpersonal connections and belonging – which are considered important prerequisites for student motivation and vitality. In educational settings, an important factor affecting students’ relatedness satisfaction is the teachers’ behavior. Although research suggests that relatedness satisfaction may be impaired in online education settings, to date no study has assessed how university lecturers’ relatedness support might be associated with student relatedness satisfaction and therefore, student motivation and vitality. This study tested this mediating relationship using data collected during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also investigated whether the relations were moderated by a high affiliation motive which reflects a dispositional wish for positive and warm relationships. The possible importance of the communication channel selected by the lecturers (video chat yes/no) and the format of a class (lecture/seminar) were also investigated. In a sample of N = 337 students, we tested our hypotheses using structural equation model (SEM). Results confirmed mediation, but not moderation. The use of video chat (video call) seems to facilitate the provision of relatedness support but our data did not show that the format of a class was associated with relatedness. Our findings indicate that both teaching behavior and the technical format used to deliver lectures play important roles in student experiences with online classes. The results are discussed in light of other research conducted during the pandemic