Silke Luttenberger

Pre-service teachers’ personal epistemic beliefs and the beliefs they assume their pupils to have

In their workaday life, teachers are faced with multiple complex tasks. How they carry out these tasks is also influenced by their epistemic beliefs and the beliefs they assume their pupils hold. In an empirical study, pre-service teachers’ epistemic beliefs and those they assume of their pupils were investigated in the setting of teacher education for vocational schools in Germany. Results of the empirical study point at significant inconsistencies between pre-service teachers’ beliefs, the beliefs they assume of their pupils and beliefs conducive to the curricular and didactic concept preferred for vocational schools. Partly, these inconsistencies can be explained by pre-service teachers’ learning experiences in school and university. It seems important that the education of teachers in vocational education aims at scaffolding pre-service teachers in developing beliefs that are conducive for their future profession.

Spotlight on math anxiety

Anxiety disorders are some of the most widespread mental health issues worldwide. In educational settings, individuals may suffer from specific forms of test and performance anxiety that are connected to a knowledge domain. Unquestionably, the most prominent of these is math anxiety. Math anxiety is a widespread problem for all ages across the globe. In the international assessments of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) studies, a majority of adolescents report worry and tension in math classes and when doing math. To understand how math anxiety takes effect, it has to be regarded as a variable within an ensemble of interacting variables. There are antecedents that facilitate the development of math anxiety. They concern environmental factors such as teachers’ and parents’ attitudes toward their students’ and children’s ability in math, societal stereotypes (eg, on females’ math abilities), or personal factors such as traits or gender. These antecedents influence a number of variables that are important in learning processes. Math anxiety interacts with variables such as self-efficacy or motivation in math, which can intensify or counteract math anxiety. Outcomes of math anxiety concern not only performance in math-related situations, they can also have long-term effects that involve efficient (or not-so-efficient) learning as well as course and even vocational choices. How can math anxiety be counteracted? A first step lies in its correct diagnosis. Questionnaires for the assessment of math anxiety exist for all age groups, starting at primary education level. Help against math anxiety can be offered on different levels: by educational institutions, by teachers and a change in instructional approaches, by parents, or by the affected person. However, much more research is needed to develop effective measures against math anxiety that are tailored to an individual’s characteristics and needs.

Different patterns of university students’ integration of lecture podcasts, learning materials, and lecture attendance in a psychology course

Lecture podcasts are considered an efficient means for passing on learning contents to students, most notably in lectures with large numbers of students. Here, the lecturer’s presentation, combined with lecture slides, is recorded and broadcasted in video form. The present study investigates how students organize learning when they have the choice of different representations of content: face-to-face lectures, lecture recordings as video podcasts, and additional text material. Latent class analysis identified three groups with different patterns of integration of these representations of content: (1) students who focused on podcasts; (2) students who made little use of the different representations of content; (3) students who occasionally made use of the different learning opportunities. Students in group 1 with a focus on podcasts achieved best. They devoted more time to learning and made diligent use of a variety of learning strategies such as note-taking, generating summaries, or rehearsing with the podcasts. The results suggest providing different representations of content to take into account differences in learners’ preferences and abilities. They speak in favor of podcasts, especially in lectures with a large audience. However, the results also show a group of learners who make minimal use of the various representations of content. Instructional measures should be taken to engage and support these students.

Die Veränderung kognitiver Fähigkeiten über die Sommerferien

Studien aus dem US-amerikanischen Raum legen nahe, dass die Sommerferien den Rhythmus des Lernens unterbrechen und insbesondere bei Kindern aus Familien mit einem niedrigen sozio-okonomischen Status zu einem Verlust kognitiver Fahigkeiten fuhren konnen. In Europa wurden Ferieneffekte bislang jedoch kaum untersucht. In der vorliegenden Studie wird der Ferieneffekt in einer osterreichischen Stichprobe mit neunwochigen Sommerferien untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen sowohl Verluste als auch Gewinne fur Schulerinnen und Schuler der Sekundarstufe I. So stieg die Lesefertigkeit uber die Ferien an, wohingegen sich fur die Rechtschreibung, das rechnerische Denken und die Intelligenz Verluste ergaben. Die Leistungsgewinne bzw. -verluste scheinen vor allem davon abhangig zu sein, inwiefern die kognitive Beschaftigung angeregt wird. Im Gegensatz zu US-amerikanischen Studien konnten die Kinder innerhalb von neun Wochen nach Schulbeginn Verluste an kognitiven Fahigkeiten wieder aufholen und auch familiare Variablen, wie der Bildungsstand der Mutter, hatten nur einen sehr geringen Einfluss auf mogliche Ferieneffekte.