Design, development and validation of a model of problem solving for Egyptian Science classes

Educators and policymakers envision the future of education in Egypt as enabling learners to acquire scientific inquiry and problem-solving skills. In this article, we describe the validation of a model for problem solving and the design of instruments for evaluating new teaching methods in Egyptian science classes. The instruments were based on an established model for problem solving and were designed to assess seventh grade students’ problem solving, experimental strategy knowledge, achievement and motivation towards science. The test for assessing students’ knowledge has been developed based on the topic, density and buoyancy which will be taught in seventh grade in a later intervention study. The instruments were partly self-developed and partly adapted from newly performed studies on strategy knowledge and problem solving in Germany. All instruments were translated into Arabic; the translation process and quality control are described. In order to determine the quality of the instruments, 44 students in Egypt completed the questionnaires and tests. The study’s aim to develop and validate the instruments did require an ad hoc and typical sample which was drawn from an accessible population. Accordingly, the characteristics of the sample are described. Data were analysed according to the classical test theory, but to underpin the results, the instruments were additionally analysed using the even stronger Rasch model. The findings demonstrated the reliability of the items and aspects of validity. In addition, this study showed how test items can be successfully developed and adapted in an international study and applied in a different language

Teachers’ diagnostic competences and their practical relevance. Special issue editorial

“Studies and their results about teachers’ diagnostic accuracy are very heterogeneous. While some papers focus on motivational and self-related learning outcomes, most studies investigate the accuracy of teachers judging students’ performance.” This editorial provides a short introduction of the articles in this journal according to teacher diagnostic competencies. (DIPF/Orig.

Text-Bild-Integration - Einstellungen, Motivation und selbstbezogene Kognitionen von Lehrkräften im Bereich Diagnostik

Especially in secondary school, students need to learn from multi-representational material. For integrating information from different sources, students need specific competencies, which are seldom explicitly fostered. Teaching and learning with text-picture material is not systematically embedded in teacher education at German universities, but teachers have to deal with this material and its inherent challenges. For initiating successful learning processes teachers need to judge students’ learning prerequisites and the level of difficulty of text-picture material. This raises the need for investigating teachers’ attitudes, motivation and their self-related cognitions in diagnostics, which are assumed to impact teachers’ diagnostic activities. The presented study aims at examining teachers’ attitudes towards diagnostics, motivation towards diagnostics, self-efficacy beliefs and self-reflection in diagnostics with regard to teaching with multi-representational learning material. CFAs support the superiority of a four-factor model. Structural equation models reveal that teachers’ experience is positively related to their motivation in diagnostics. Teachers’ attitudes and self-related cognitions are positively related to their diagnostic behavior. The study provides evidence of the structure and importance of teachers’ attitudes, motivation and self-related cognitions. (DIPF/Orig.)Besonders in der Sekundarstufe werden Schülerinnen und Schüler mit multirepräsentationalen Lernmaterialien konfrontiert. Um Informationen aus zwei verschiedenen Quellen zu integrieren, benötigen Schülerinnen und Schüler spezifische Kompetenzen, die selten explizit gefördert werden. Lehren mit Bild-Text-Material ist nicht systematisch in der Lehrerausbildung verankert, dennoch müssen Lehrkräfte mit diesem Material unterrichten. Um erfolgreiche Lehr-Lernprozesse zu initiieren, müssen Lehrkräfte die Lernvoraussetzungen der Schülerinnen und Schüler und das Schwierigkeitsniveau des Bild-Text-Materials diagnostizieren. Als Voraussetzung für akkurate diagnostische Urteile werden Einstellungen, Motivation und selbstbezogene Kognitionen von Lehrkräften untersucht. Die hier vorgestellte Studie zielt auf die Analyse von Einstellungen zur Wichtigkeit von Diagnostik, Motivation bei der Diagnostik, diagnostischen Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen und Selbstreflexion bei der Diagnostik im Bereich Bild-Text-Integration ab. Konfirmatorische Faktorenanalysen bestätigen die Überlegenheit eines 4-Faktoren-Modells. Strukturgleichungsmodelle weisen auf positive Zusammenhänge zwischen der Erfahrung von Lehrkräften und ihrer Motivation hin; Einstellungen und selbstbezogene Kognitionen stehen in positiver Beziehung zu diagnostischen Aktivitäten der Lehrkräfte. Die Studie liefert damit Evidenz für die Bedeutung von Einstellungen, Motivation und selbstbezogene Kognitionen von Lehrkräften. (DIPF/Orig.

Students’ Text-Picture-Integration: The Role of Teacher Competence and Instructional Quality

Learning material often consists of texts and instructional pictures, meaning the reader must extract and integrate information from two sources. Research shows that students’ skills in integrating texts and pictures already vary in early secondary school. Teachers’ professional competence and quality of instruction are important influences on the development of student’s skills. Therefore, this study examines teachers’ professional competence in teaching with texts, instructional pictures, and instructional quality as predictors for developing students’ text-picture-integration skills. Data from 136 fourth-grade teachers were collected in Germany. A subsample of 34 teachers and 646 fourth graders participated in a video study investigating instructional quality. In a longitudinal study, we assessed teachers’ competence in teaching with texts and instructional pictures via questionnaires and tested students’ text-picture-integration-skills. In between, three lessons involving texts and instructional pictures were videotaped and analysed. Multilevel regression models showed a small positive direct effect of teachers’ knowledge about student abilities on students’ text-picture-integration-skills. Furthermore, aspects of teachers’ competence were positively related to instructional quality, whereas “clarity and structure” positively predicted students’ text-picture-integration-skills. The presented paper contributes to research on text-picture-integration in primary school and how teachers and instruction can facilitate it

Teachers’ assessment competence: Integrating knowledge-, process-, and product-oriented approaches into a competence-oriented conceptual model

In this article, we present a new model of teachers' assessment competence. The model is based on the educational competence concept, thus defining competences to be context-specific, learnable cognitive dispositions that are needed to successfully cope with specific situations. Integrating research on assessment processes, practices, and products, we specify the range of situations our model applies to, and discuss how its elements may become involved and measurable in a variable assessment process. The model aims to inspire future integrative research on the description, explanation, prediction, and promotion of teachers' assessments in various situations