The secondary analytical project “Effects of the Corona Pandemic on Adult Learning” investigates how the pandemic and the numerous changes it brought about have affected participation in various forms of adult education and training (AET), which learning barriers and opportunities the crisis has brought, and how patterns of social inequality in AET have changed as a result. As AET will be a key component in mitigating pandemic-induced disruptions in the labor market, a prompt response to these questions is important to derive targeted educational strategies. The project is funded within the focus funding program “Education and Corona: Effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Educational Processes across the Lifespan” by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The focus funding program enables the addressing of particularly pressing scientific questions. It aims to analyze pandemic-induced influences on people’s educational pathways and consider the long-term implications for societal developments (e.g., social inequality). The funded one-year evaluation projects therefore focus on longitudinal studies.
BiLev
The aim of the project was to examine the returns to formal educational careers and general basic cognitive skills in three dimensions that are of great importance in adulthood, both for the individuals themselves and for their social environment, and are additionally highly correlated:
- subjective well-being
- social capital
- social and political participation
Beside the returns to education, the correlation between education and personality in childhood and adult age will be investigated
One finding of the study was that a high level of education favors both volunteerism and high social trust, although this relationship is relatively weak and mainly indirect.
Higher educated people are likely to volunteer or show high social trust mainly because they have good literacy skills, favorable personality traits in this regard, and other valuable resources. This showed that competencies and basic cognitive skills are more important prerequisites for social and political participation than educational qualifications.
DIFA
The goal of the DiFA project is to combine methodological perspectives from the fields of psychometrics and learning analytics to support learners through automated feedback. Using digital trace data in online courses, DiFA will develop new forms of non-invasive measurement (so-called “stealth assessment”) and explore the possibilities of automated feedback that supports learning. The research results are significant for a better understanding of learning behavior and outcomes, as well as for the automated provision of individualized feedback to learners in digital environments.
Data will be collected from a specially developed online course for student teachers on digital literacy. Based on the data obtained from the course, automated learning support feedback will be developed in the pilot phase of the research project. The evaluation phase will then examine whether the feedback has a positive effect on students’ learning progress.
MULTITEX TRANSFER
In the previous project MultiTEX, a computer-based test was developed to assess students’ competence in understanding multiple documents (Multiple Document Comprehension, MDC).
In the MultiTEX Transfer project, the test will be made available to students of the humanities and social sciences in the introductory phase of their studies. The research question is which conditions have to be fulfilled in order to support a sustainable use of the MDC ability of students in the course of the first semester.
In a two-stage approach, the MDC test is first provided with accompanying introductory courses so that students can check their own MDC skills and identify and work on any deficits.
Researchers then identify conditions for the optimal use of the MDC test as a diagnostic, feedback, and support tool.
Finally, they develop a concept for the sustainable use of the test for students, teachers and student advisors.
Multi-DES
The aim of Multi-DES is to investigate systematic design parameters and assessment measures of intervention studies in education in the multi-level context of the German school system. The research results are intended to contribute to the evidence base in education.
For the first time, design parameters and assessment measures are examined in a multi-level context in the german school system.
This is done in four studies based on representative data from three longitudinal large-scale assessment studies conducted in Germany: The National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), the national extension of the international PISA 2003 study (PISA-I+), and the DESI study (Assessment of Student Achievements in German and English as a Foreign Language).
- Study 1 examines design parameters for cluster-randomized studies for the general student population and for different school types.
- Study 2 analyzes the extent to which different covariates improve the statistical power and estimation accuracy of cluster-randomized studies.
- Study 3 examines average skill growth as an assessment measure of effect sizes for the general student population and separately by school type.
- Study 4 looks at differences in competency between low-performing and average schools as an assessment measure.
VideT
The aim of the project “VideT: Communicating the research process – a video-based transfer tool for students” is to clarify the influence of various parameters on the understanding of research processes and scientific findings, on attitudes and on the credibility of science and researchers. In order to achieve the project goals, this interdisciplinary joint project combines competencies from the natural and social sciences as well as from educational research. The aim of the joint project is to develop a video-based transfer instrument for communicating empirical scientific research processes and to test it prototypically in school laboratories with schoolchildren. In addition to testing the instrument in schools and student laboratories, the accompanying scientific research will analyze parameters that condition and influence the success of the transfer. The topic of the videos is the research of the Leibniz Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) on the ecology of bats and the effects of human activities on these animals.
ALICE
The Coronavirus Crisis has spurred an urgent need to support students’ learning via digital technologies. Digital technologies can also adapt to learners’ knowledge and skills and can adaptively provide them with learning materials and instruction that are tailored to their competence. However, this requires that the digital learning environment is able to model learners’ understanding and performance during the learning process and make predictions about each individual learners’ potential progress during the learning activity.
This project aims at establishing theoretical and methodological foundations for providing learners with adaptive support during mathematics and science education. To this end, the project combines four research strands, that are
1) developing digital learning materials that is based on learning-progressions in mathematics, biology, chemistry or physics.
2) Collecting authentic data from students who are engaging with this learning material in order to develop predictor models of how learners’ competence develops over time.
3) Reconstructing learners’ learning trajectories, and finally
4) investigating the effectiveness of different learning trajectories and developed instructional support that helps learners achieve their learning goals.
Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB)
The Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) investigates the causes and consequences of demographic change.In an advisory capacity, the BiB is in contact with the federal government and federal ministries and advises them on the basis of scientific research. As part of the advisory cooperation, the BiB supports the Federal Government in international cooperation on population issues within the framework of the United Nations. Informing the public about demographic change and the Institute’s research findings is another important task. The Institute was founded in 1973 and is since then is based in Wiesbaden, Hesse.
As part of the advisory cooperation, the BiB supports the Federal Government in international cooperation on population issues within the framework of the United Nations.Informing the public about demographic change and the Institute’s research findings is another central task.
The Institute is a federal departmental research institution and is part of the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Home Affairs.
Important works and tasks:
- Research: Research is a central task at the BiB. It is the basis for sound advice and information. One of its core tasks is the continuous monitoring of demographic trends. Other areas of focus include the three research areas of family and fertility, migration and mobility, and demographic change and ageing. In addition, the Education and Human Capital research group, which was newly formed in 2021, investigates the importance of education for population development in Germany. One example of this is the study “Why children from potentially disadvantaged families are less likely to attend daycare – even if they need it” which was conducted on behalf of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
- Policy advice: On the basis of the institute’s own research findings, the institute advises the federal government and federal ministries. Information, interpretation of demographic trends and the preparation of scientific expertise represent core competencies in policy advice. At the level of international cooperation within the framework of the United Nations, the BiB advises and supports the federal government on population issues.
- Information: The BiB publishes the results of its research in numerous publications. In more than 430 charts, maps and tables, the BiB regularly publishes information on demographic facts for Germany, Europe and the world.
SchuMaS
In the federal-state initiative SchuMaS – “Schule macht stark”, researchers from 13 institutions are working with a total of 200 schools to develop measures to improve the learning conditions and performance of socially disadvantaged students. The common feature of the selected 200 schools is the socially challenging situation in which the schools find themselves and the more difficult conditions for teaching and learning that accompany this. These conditions are: Increased language support needs, high staff turnover, parent homes at risk of poverty. The current pandemic situation is also not ignored.
The actual success of the students is the main focus of “SchuMaS”. The overall goal of the project is to improve the educational opportunities of socially disadvantaged students and thus reduce social inequalities.
Particular attention is paid to improving the basic mathematical skills, learning motivation and social skills of the students.
In relation to the special requirements of the schools, four thematic fields of action are in the foreground, for which individual measures are to be developed in close scientific and practical cooperation. These are:
1. to further develop teaching – with a special focus on mathematics and German,
2. to qualify the pedagogical staff working at the schools in a more targeted way, taking into account the specific conditions of schools in socially challenging situations,
3. further develop schools as an organization, school culture and leadership, and
4. to promote learning outside the classroom and support in the social environment.
In four regional centers of the interdisciplinary research network, the 200 participating schools are advised and supported in mastering their challenges in close cooperation with the state institutes, quality development agencies and school supervisory authorities. The scientific monitoring and evaluation is carried out by other working groups of the project network, the results of which are to be used to produce a recommendation for action after five years, which can be used as a handout to other schools in challenging situations.
Ada*Q
The aim of the research project “Adaptivity and Quality of Teaching in Individualized Classes” (Ada*Q) is to generate scientific and practical knowledge on the productive use of heterogeneity in class together with the award-winning schools of the German School Award of the Robert Bosch Foundation.
Most interesting for the research interest is the adaptivity of teaching. In other words, it is to be examined to what extent teaching concepts of differentiation and individualization can help to create the best possible fitting between teaching offers and the individual learning requirements of pupils. Therefor the importance of teaching quality will also be examined.