Ist die Identifikation Begabter schon im Vorschulalter möglich? Ein Literaturüberblick

"Es besteht breiter Konsens, dass eine Identifikation Hochbegabter zum frühestmöglichen Zeitpunkt wünschenswert wäre. In diesem Artikel wird es um die Frage gehen, ob Hochbegabung schon im Vorschulalter reliabel erfassbar ist. Dazu werden Forschungsbefunde zu Identifikationsverfahren anhand der Intelligenz, effektiver Informationsverarbeitung, der Motivation sowie des Schlafverhaltens, besonderer Leistungen wie frühes Lesen und des häuslichen Lernumfeldes besprochen. Insgesamt bieten diese Informationsquellen lediglich eingeschränkte diagnostische Möglichkeiten. Es werden zwei Verbesserungsansätze diskutiert und es erfolgt ein Plädoyer für eine neue Zielsetzung früher Identifikation." (Autorenreferat)"There is wide consensus that the identification of gifted students should take place as early as possible. In this article we will review the research literature to determine if this is possible at preschool age, including the research relating to the identification based on intelligence, effective information processing, motivation, sleeping behaviour, exceptional achievements such as early reading and the learning environment at home. We conclude that these sources of information only provide limited diagnostic possibilities. Finally, we offer two strategies for improving the diagnostic quality and advocate a new conceptual approach to the early identification of gifted students." (author's abstract

Nine years of online mentoring for secondary school girls in STEM: an empirical comparison of three mentoring formats

Online mentoring can be useful for supporting girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Yet, little is known about the differential effects of various online mentoring formats. We examine the general and relative effectiveness of three online mentoring formats, one‐on‐one mentoring, many‐to‐many group mentoring, and a hybrid form of the two. All three formats were implemented in different years in the Germany‐wide online‐only mentoring program, CyberMentor, whose platform enables communication and networking between up to 800 girls (in grades 5–13) and 800 women (STEM professionals) each year. We combined longitudinal mentee data for all first‐year participants (N = 4017 girls, Mage = 14.15 years) from 9 consecutive mentoring years to evaluate and compare the three mentoring formats. Overall, all formats effected comparable increases in mentees’ STEM activities and certainty about career plans. However, mentees’ communication behavior and networking behavior on the mentoring platform differed between the three formats. Mentees in the hybrid mentoring format showed the most extensive STEM‐related communication and networking on the platform. We also analyzed the explanatory contributions of STEM‐related communication and networking on interindividual differences in the developmental trajectories of mentees’ STEM activities, elective intentions in STEM, and certainty about career plans, for each format separately

Online mentoring for girls in secondary education to increase participation rates of women in STEM: A long‐term follow‐up study on later university major and career choices

An important first step in talent development in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is getting individuals excited about STEM. Females, in particular, are underrepresented in many STEM fields. Since girls’ interest in STEM declines in adolescence, interventions should begin in secondary education at the latest. One appropriate intervention is (online) mentoring. Although its short-term effectiveness has been demonstrated for proximal outcomes during secondary education (e.g., positive changes in elective intentions in STEM), studies of the long-term effectiveness of STEM mentoring provided during secondary education—especially for real-life choices of university STEM majors and professions—are lacking. In our study, we examine females’ real-life decisions about university majors and entering professions made years after they had participated in an online mentoring program (CyberMentor) during secondary education. The program's proximal positive influence on girls’ elective intentions in STEM and certainty about career plans during secondary education had previously been demonstrated in several studies with pre–post-test waitlist control group designs. Specifically, we compared the choices that former mentees (n = 410) made about university majors and entering professions several years after program participation with (1) females of their age cohort and (2) females of a group of girls comparably interested in STEM who had signed up for the program but then not participated (n = 71). Further, we examined the explanatory contribution to these later career-path-relevant, real-life choices based on (1) mentees’ baseline conditions prior to entering the program (e.g., elective intentions in STEM), (2) successful 1-year program participation, and (3) multiyear program participation. Findings indicate positive long-term effects of the program in all areas investigated

The effectiveness of a one-year online mentoring program for girls in STEM

Although the performance of girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is continually improving and is no longer below that of boys in most domains, girls' interests in STEM and participation rates are still too low. Online mentoring may help ameliorate this situation. To test this assumption, a one-year personal mentoring program for eleven to eighteen-year-old female college-preparatory students was evaluated. Mentee and mentor communicate with one another and with other program participants via email, online chat, and forums. To measure program effectiveness, we randomly assigned participants (N = 312) to either a treatment group (N = 208) or a waiting-list control group (N = 104). We collected questionnaire data at three points in time. In comparison to the waiting-list group, the treatment-group participants showed greater levels of desirable short-term and long-term developments. Our findings indicate various advantages for online mentoring for promoting girls' interests in STEM. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Measuring Implicit STEM and Math Attitudes in Adolescents Online with the Brief Implicit Association Test

Despite societal efforts toward enhancing gender equality, females are still underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). Prominent explanations draw on gender differences in attitudes about STEM (with females holding more negative attitudes than males), which result from the gender stereotype that STEM is a male domain. While a lot of research has focused on explicit attitudes, little is known about implicit attitudes toward STEM. The present research sought to examine implicit attitudes among adolescents, and how they relate to other STEM cognitions. We measured implicit attitudes about the STEM concept as a whole, and about math in particular. For this purpose, we developed two Brief Implicit Associations Tests (BIATs) and administered them online in a sample of adolescents (N = 517). We additionally measured a variety of self-reported motivational and social-psychological variables (interest, aspiration, self-concept of ability, and sense of belonging to the math and STEM community, respectively), which previous research has identified as factors contributing to the gender gap in STEM participation. Our findings confirm the reliability and validity of both the STEM BIAT and the Math BIAT. Moreover, implicit STEM attitudes predicted interest in and aspiration for STEM, self-concept of STEM ability, and sense of belonging to the STEM community. Similarly, implicit math attitudes predicted interest in and aspiration for math, and sense of belonging to the math community (but not self-concept of math ability). Our findings confirm that our novel online BIATs are efficient measurement tools of implicit attitudes in adolescents. Moreover, our findings underscore the significance of implicit attitudes in the STEM domain

Measuring Implicit STEM and Math Attitudes in Adolescents Online with the Brief Implicit Association Test

Despite societal efforts toward enhancing gender equality, females are still underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). Prominent explanations draw on gender differences in attitudes about STEM (with females holding more negative attitudes than males), which result from the gender stereotype that STEM is a male domain. While a lot of research has focused on explicit attitudes, little is known about implicit attitudes toward STEM. The present research sought to examine implicit attitudes among adolescents, and how they relate to other STEM cognitions. We measured implicit attitudes about the STEM concept as a whole, and about math in particular. For this purpose, we developed two Brief Implicit Associations Tests (BIATs) and administered them online in a sample of adolescents (N = 517). We additionally measured a variety of self-reported motivational and social-psychological variables (interest, aspiration, self-concept of ability, and sense of belonging to the math and STEM community, respectively), which previous research has identified as factors contributing to the gender gap in STEM participation. Our findings confirm the reliability and validity of both the STEM BIAT and the Math BIAT. Moreover, implicit STEM attitudes predicted interest in and aspiration for STEM, self-concept of STEM ability, and sense of belonging to the STEM community. Similarly, implicit math attitudes predicted interest in and aspiration for math, and sense of belonging to the math community (but not self-concept of math ability). Our findings confirm that our novel online BIATs are efficient measurement tools of implicit attitudes in adolescents. Moreover, our findings underscore the significance of implicit attitudes in the STEM domain

The effectiveness of a one-year online mentoring program for girls in STEM

Although the performance of girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is continually improving and is no longer below that of boys in most domains, girls' interests in STEM and participation rates are still too low. Online mentoring may help ameliorate this situation. To test this assumption, a one-year personal mentoring program for eleven to eighteen-year-old female college-preparatory students was evaluated. Mentee and mentor communicate with one another and with other program participants via email, online chat, and forums. To measure program effectiveness, we randomly assigned participants (N = 312) to either a treatment group (N = 208) or a waiting-list control group (N = 104). We collected questionnaire data at three points in time. In comparison to the waiting-list group, the treatment-group participants showed greater levels of desirable short-term and long-term developments. Our findings indicate various advantages for online mentoring for promoting girls' interests in STEM. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved