Ellen Aschermann

The cognitive interview and the assessment of the credibility of adults' statements.

The authors examined whether a cognitive interview would negatively affect the accuracy of a criteria-based content analysis (CBCA) in distinguishing truthful and fabricated statements. Adults (N = 59 ) gave a truthful or a fabricated account of a blood-donation episode. They were interviewed with either a cognitive or a structured interview. The number of correct, incorrect, and confabulated details were counted from written transcripts of the accounts. The cognitive interview produced significantly more correct and confabulated details than did the structured interview. The transcripts were further evaluated according to a subset of CBCA criteria plus 6 additional criteria. The content characteristics reliably discriminated truthful and fabricated accounts. No interaction was found between truthfulness and the type of interview, indicating that the cognitive interview did not impair the potential of CBCA in distinguishing truthful and fabricated statements.

Effects of the cognitive interview on the recall of familiar and unfamiliar events

Thirty experienced blood donors and 30 nondonors were shown a videotape of a blood-donation event. They were later questioned about the event in either a cognitive interview or a structured interview. Results show that interviewees in the cognitive-interview condition recalled significantly more correct and incorrect information as compared with interviewees in the structured interview, whereas no overall differences were found between the familiarity conditions. Analyses with regard to script-inconsistent and omitted script-consistent and relevant details revealed that blood donors produced significantly more intrusion errors as compared with nondonors

Photographs as retrieval cues for children

The aim of this study was to evaluate photographs as an alternative type of retrieval aid suitable for pre-school children. Fifty-seven children (age 3;7–6;8 years) participated in a fishing game. Ten days later the children were questioned about the situation under three conditions: group 1 was interviewed only with a context-reinstatement instruction. Group 2 additionally received photos relevant to the game as well as distractor items. Group 3 received both of these aids and was trained in the use of photos. In the photo groups more correct details were remembered compared to the control group. Accuracy in both photo groups was also enhanced by props. These results show that multiple-choice photos combined with a reinstate context instruction are an effective retrieval aid for young children.

Differences in the Comprehension of Passive Voice in German- and English-Speaking Children

This study tested the understanding of sentences in active and passive voice in 60 German and 46 British preschool children. In German and English passive sentences, the object of the active phrase appears in the topic position. Whereas the German language also allows active sentences with the object as topic, English nearly always requires the sequence subject-predicate-object. Participants listened to 24 active and passive sentences that differed in plausibility (likely, neutral, or unlikely). Their understanding was tested by asking them to either choose a correct line drawing depicting the sentence or to act it out with dolls. Results showed no effect of the plausibility of an event. However, English children did not exhibit a full comprehension of passives until they were about 1 year older than German children. It is concluded that this is due largely to how the passive relates to the rest of a language’s grammar.

Metacognitive and multimedia support of experiments in inquiry learning for science teacher preparation

ABSTRACT Promoting preservice science teachers’ experimentation competency is required to provide a basis for meaningful learning through experiments in schools. However, preservice teachers show difficulties when experimenting. Previous research revealed that cognitive scaffolding promotes experimentation competency by structuring the learning process, while metacognitive and multimedia support enhance reflection. However, these support measures have not yet been tested in combination. Therefore, we decided to use cognitive scaffolding to support students’ experimental achievements and supplement it by metacognitive and multimedia scaffolds in the experimental groups. Our research question is to what extent supplementing cognitive support by metacognitive and multimedia scaffolding further promotes experimentation competency. The intervention has been applied in a two-factorial design to a two-month experimental course for 63 biology teacher students in their first bachelor year. Pre-post-test measured experimentation competency in a performance assessment. Preservice teachers worked in groups of four. Therefore, measurement took place at group level (N = 16). Independent observers rated preservice teachers’ group performance qualitatively on a theory-based system of categories. Afterwards, experimentation competency levels led to quantitative frequency analysis. The results reveal differing gains in experimentation competency but contrary to our hypotheses. Implications of combining scaffolding measures on promoting experimentation competency are discussed.