A typology of preservice teachers’ confidence in educational competencies at German Institutes of Technology

Der Beitrag präsentiert Ergebnisse einer Analyse der bildungswissenschaftlichen Kompetenzeinschätzungen von Lehramtsstudierenden aus fünf technischen Universitäten (N = 590) in Deutschland. Als Grundlage für die Erfassung der Kompetenzeinschätzung in den Bereichen Unterrichten, Erziehen, Beurteilen und Innovieren dienen die KMK-Standards für die Bildungswissenschaften in der Lehrerbildung. Mittels Clusteranalyse wurde in einem ersten Schritt eine Typologie der Studierenden ermittelt, die zu drei Kompetenzclustern führt: Studierende, die sich in allen vier Bereichen überdurchschnittlich hoch (39 %), durchschnittlich (43 %) oder unterdurchschnittlich niedrig (18 %) einschätzten. Mithilfe von logistischen Regressionsmodellen wurde die Wahrscheinlichkeit der Zugehörigkeit zu diesen Kompetenzclustern in Abhängigkeit von Faktoren wie Geschlecht, Berufswahlmotiven und Persönlichkeitsmerkmalen analysiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass männliche, jüngere, intrinsisch motivierte, stabilere und kontaktbereitere Studierende eher dem mittleren oder hohen Kompetenzcluster angehören. Studierende aus Anfangsfachsemestern schätzten ihre Kompetenzen eher niedrig ein. Die aufgedeckten Muster verdeutlichen, welche Studierenden sich vergleichsweise niedrig einschätzen und durch Unterstützungsangebote im Studium in ihrer Selbstbeurteilung gestärkt werden könnten. (DIPF/Orig.)This article presents an analysis of pre-service teachers\u27 perceptions of their educational, psychological and sociological competencies (N = 590). The standards for teacher education were used to assess their competencies. Based on a person-centered approach students with similar patterns of self-evaluations were identified. A cluster analysis revealed that students evaluate their competencies either above average (39 %), average (43 %), or below average (18 %). Using ordinal logistic regression, the probability of cluster membership was predicted by several independent variables (e.g. personality traits, motivation). The results show that the membership of the average and above average cluster was predicted by gender (male), age (young), motivation (intrinsic), personality traits (stable and extraversive). Students of lower semesters were more likely to belong to the lower competency group. The results reveal that there is a group of students with low confidence who might be encouraged by supportive programs during teacher education. (DIPF/Orig.

Online-Rollenspiele in der Lehrkräfteausbildung

Online-Rollenspiele ermöglichen eine realistische Simulation von typischen Handlungsszenarien, in denen Lehramtsstudierende ihre kommunikativen Fertigkeiten mittels eines Avatars interaktiv erproben und reflektieren können. In diesem Beitrag werden die Unterschiede zwischen Online- und Präsenz-Rollenspielen sowie die Vor- und Nachteile beider Formate anhand von Rollenspielaufzeichnungen, Lernjournalen und Gruppeninterviews untersucht. Zusammenfassend scheint eine Kombination beider Rollenspielformate, beginnend mit den Online-Rollenspielen, ideal zu sein, um anfängliche Ängste zu verringern und die Komplexität der Übungen durch eine Zunahme der Kommunikationsebenen gezielt zu steigern.Academic online role-play facilitates a realistic simulation of typical professional scenarios in which pre-service teachers can train and reflect on their communicative skills by means of an avatar. This paper examines the differences between online and classroom role-play as well as the pros and cons of both formats on the basis of recorded role-plays, learning journals, and group interviews. In summary, a combination of both formats appears to be optimal, starting with online role-play in order to reduce initial fears and then, later on, switching to classroom role-play so as to increase the complexity of the training

Awakening the sleeping giant of urban green in times of crisis—coverage, co-creation and practical guidelines for optimizing biodiversity-friendly and health-promoting residential greenery

As multiple crises deepen existing inequalities in urban societies within and between neighborhoods, strategically integrating nature-based solutions into the living environment can help reduce negative impacts and improve public health, social cohesion, and well-being. Compared to public green such as parks, semi-public residential greenery is rarely studied, is regularly overlooked by planners, and often receives step-motherly treatment from architects and housing companies. We approximated the area of residential greenery of modernist multi-story apartment complexes in Berlin, Germany. We surveyed residents’ suggestions for improving their living environments in vulnerable neighborhoods, report on co-creation experiences, and provide a practical guideline for optimizing health-promoting residential green spaces. The semi-public open space on the doorstep of two-thirds of Berlin’s population is highly fragmented and, in total, has a similar area as the public green spaces and a great potential for qualitative development. Just as the suitability of different nature-based solutions to be integrated into the residential greenery depends on building types, resident demands differ between neighborhoods. Residents called for more involvement in design, implementation, and maintenance, frequently proposing that biodiversity-friendly measures be included. As there is no universal solution even for neighborhoods sharing similar structural and socioeconomic parameters, we propose, and have tested, an optimization loop for health-promoting residential greening that involves exploring residents’ needs and co-creating local solutions for urban regeneration processes that can be initiated by different actors using bottom-up and/or top-down approaches in order to unlock this potential for healthy, livable and biodiversity friendly cities.Peer Reviewe

Awakening the sleeping giant of urban green in times of crisis—coverage, co-creation and practical guidelines for optimizing biodiversity-friendly and health-promoting residential greenery

As multiple crises deepen existing inequalities in urban societies within and between neighborhoods, strategically integrating nature-based solutions into the living environment can help reduce negative impacts and improve public health, social cohesion, and well-being. Compared to public green such as parks, semi-public residential greenery is rarely studied, is regularly overlooked by planners, and often receives step-motherly treatment from architects and housing companies. We approximated the area of residential greenery of modernist multi-story apartment complexes in Berlin, Germany. We surveyed residents’ suggestions for improving their living environments in vulnerable neighborhoods, report on co-creation experiences, and provide a practical guideline for optimizing health-promoting residential green spaces. The semi-public open space on the doorstep of two-thirds of Berlin’s population is highly fragmented and, in total, has a similar area as the public green spaces and a great potential for qualitative development. Just as the suitability of different nature-based solutions to be integrated into the residential greenery depends on building types, resident demands differ between neighborhoods. Residents called for more involvement in design, implementation, and maintenance, frequently proposing that biodiversity-friendly measures be included. As there is no universal solution even for neighborhoods sharing similar structural and socioeconomic parameters, we propose, and have tested, an optimization loop for health-promoting residential greening that involves exploring residents’ needs and co-creating local solutions for urban regeneration processes that can be initiated by different actors using bottom-up and/or top-down approaches in order to unlock this potential for healthy, livable and biodiversity friendly cities

Thick Description of the Teacher-student Relationship in the Educational Context of School: Results of an Ethnographic Field Study

Complexities of essential aspects of the teacher-student relationship were identified in a group of German adolescents and their teachers through participant observation. It is already known that the determinants of the teacher-student relationship cannot be simply categorized and analyzed as univariate features. Using Clifford Geertz’s concept of “thick description,” empirical data were collected during a six-month field study at a secondary school in the south of Germany. Thematic analyses of the extant empirical database identified six sociological principles that constitute fundamental components of the teacher-student relationship: power, dualism, solidarity, productivity, sympathy, and identity. Analyses showed that meaningful ritualized structures limit teachers and students to institutional roles that are incongruent with the general aim of having productive interactions in educational settings. The complexity of educational settings can only be grasped if the teacher-student relationship is understood as an interpersonal process. When reduced to their institutional roles, both teachers and students experienced their relationship and educational settings as unsatisfactory

Thick Description of the Teacher-student Relationship in the Educational Context of School: Results of an Ethnographic Field Study

Complexities of essential aspects of the teacher-student relationship were identified in a group of German adolescents and their teachers through participant observation. It is already known that the determinants of the teacher-student relationship cannot be simply categorized and analyzed as univariate features. Using Clifford Geertz’s concept of “thick description,” empirical data were collected during a six-month field study at a secondary school in the south of Germany. Thematic analyses of the extant empirical database identified six sociological principles that constitute fundamental components of the teacher-student relationship: power, dualism, solidarity, productivity, sympathy, and identity. Analyses showed that meaningful ritualized structures limit teachers and students to institutional roles that are incongruent with the general aim of having productive interactions in educational settings. The complexity of educational settings can only be grasped if the teacher-student relationship is understood as an interpersonal process. When reduced to their institutional roles, both teachers and students experienced their relationship and educational settings as unsatisfactory

Combined analysis of gut microbiota, diet and PNPLA3 polymorphism in biopsy‐proven non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease

Background and aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a global health burden. Risk factors for disease severity include older age, increased body mass index (BMI), diabetes, genetic variants, dietary factors and gut microbiota alterations. However, the interdependence of these factors and their individual impact on disease severity remain unknown. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we performed 16S gene sequencing using fecal samples, collected dietary intake, PNPLA3 gene variants and clinical and liver histology parameters in a well-described cohort of 180 NAFLD patients. Principal component analyses were used for dimensionality reduction of dietary and microbiota data. Simple and multiple stepwise ordinal regression analyses were performed. Results: Complete data were available for 57 NAFLD patients. In the simple regression analysis, features associated with the metabolic syndrome had the highest importance regarding liver disease severity. In the multiple regression analysis, BMI was the most important factor associated with the fibrosis stage (OR per kg/m2 : 1.23, 95% CI 1.10-1.37, P < .001). The PNPLA3 risk allele had the strongest association with the histological grade of steatosis (OR 5.32, 95% CI 1.56-18.11, P = .007), followed by specific dietary patterns. Low abundances of Faecalibacterium, Bacteroides and Prevotella and high abundances of Gemmiger were associated with the degree of inflammation, ballooning and stages of fibrosis, even after taking other cofactors into account. Conclusions: BMI had the strongest association with histological fibrosis, but PNPLA3 gene variants, gut bacterial features and dietary factors were all associated with different histology features, which underscore the multifactorial pathogenesis of NAFLD