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.

ReCo

The project “Automatic Response Coding” (ReCo) centers around text responses in tests. The computer programme ReCo automatically assesses whether a text response is correct, for example “The author aims at saving the trees.” as an answer in the PISA test. Moreover, ReCo extracts further features, for example whether a student adds knowledge to their response beyond the explicit information in the text.

The computer programme ReCo was originally developed at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the ZIB. In cooperation with both institutions, the Centre for Technology Based Assessment (TBA Centre) at DIPF is now developing the software package further. The project comprises the general software development as well as scientific studies employing ReCo. For this, TBA is responsible for the conceptual and technical development on the one hand and acts as the project manager for projects such as ReCo-Multi on the other hand. Also, TBA supports external research groups using the program.

REACH

The cooperation project “REAching young adults with low ACHievment in literacy” (REACH), which was sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), was led by the Stiftung Lesen (German Reading Foundation). REACH was aimed at young adults between 16 and 35 years old who are on the so-called alpha-level 3 – a special group among adults with poor literacy: They profit most strongly from remedial programs for their long-term professional life.

Focus of REACH

The project focused on young adults between 16 and 35 because …

  • They can have the greatest and most sustainable benefit from remedial programs,
  • Addressing them early will hopefully lead to maintaining and strengthening their reading competence,
  • Addressing them will motivate and empower them to become reading role models for their children.

To find ways of access, there was a necessity to identify …

  • (Key) persons and locations through which target groups can be reached,
  • Communicative approaches and pathways such as the media,
  • Content-related links: topics, fields of interest, and activities.

Goals of REACH

  • Reviewing the suitability of access ways, which can already be derived from practical experience,
  • Identification and review through characterizing the target group in the most differentiated and precise way possible,
  • Analysis of living conditions, features, habits, and mindsets (e.g., media usage, activities in social media, living situation, family situation, interests and habits during leisure time, etc.)

To achieve this, no new data was collected, but rather existing data was used as effectively as possible, and linked with each other. Subsequently, a small number of potential ways of accessing and addressing was tested by way of a pilot study and simultaneously evaluated.

BRISE

The Bremen Initiative to Foster Early Childhood Development (BRISE) is a longitudinal study that systematically investigates the effects of early childhood intervention. Early childhood programs for children from socially and culturally disadvantaged families aim to prevent future disparities in cognitive and social abilities. The insights gained in Bremen will inform policy on early childhood and be constructive in providing equal opportunities for all children, protecting children, and promoting their development and participation in society.

BRISE is the first longitudinal study to investigate the effects of a program fostering early childhood development that is broadly implemented within a specified region. BRISE systematically links early childhood and preschool programs into a chain of interventions. The programs forming that chain — home-based as well as center-based interventions — are all integrated into everyday life and most of them are already established in Bremen. The intervention begins in the prenatal period and ends after the children start elementary schooling.

Research within the scope of BRISE examines the cumulative effects of a coordinated intervention program on the participating children’s cognitive, social and emotional development. The first four years of funding come from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF); a subsequent 4-year grant period is planned. Families participating in the intervention chain will be compared with families who decide for themselves in which and in how many of Bremen’s programs they enroll. Over a period of up to two years, approximately 1,000 disadvantaged families in Bremen will be included in our sample. Linking BRISE to the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) as well as to the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) further enables comparative analyses with additional high-quality data.

National Report on Education

The national report on education periodically presents a major empirical review which covers the entire German education system. Published every two years, each report provides indicator-based information about the general conditions, features, results and output of education processes.

The reports analyse the entire structure of the education system from early childhood education and school education to vocational training, higher education and adult education.
As a data-based, problem-centred analysis the reports do not include assessments and recommendations. What is special about these reports is that they are mainly based on selected indicators, i. e. combined statistical parameters, each representing a central feature of education processes or a central aspect of education quality. These indicators are derived from official data and representative socio-scientific assessments and wherever possible, they are compared as regards developments over the past years and decades, broken down by the federal states (Länder) and compared internationally. However, this claim to quality and explanatory power of the data also renders evident the limits of the educational report. It can only take into account current problems in the development of education to the extent that reliable data have been ascertained. The core set of indicators remains the same in each report, hence a comparison of developments is guaranteed while the accentuation differs. Educational reporting receives its specific informative power from this consistency. Moreover, each volume includes further indicators for additional subject areas.

Acquisiton of Knowledge in Geometry

How do basic competencies in geometry develop?

The project of the Leibniz Center of Excellence for Early Childhood Education focused on the promotion of children’s basic geometry competencies in preschool and the first years of school. The focus was on recognition and categorization of geometric figures as well as spatial navigation. The overarching question was how these basic geometry competencies can be enhanced and which role linguistic interactions play in this process. The project also seeked to identify whether promoting geometry competencies has an effect on processing of quantities and numbers or on arithmetic skills.

Digi-EBF

The framework program empirical education research of the BMBF contributes with its research focus on „Digitalization in Education” in the field of „Creating and Using Technological Developments in Education” to the “Education Offensive for the Digital Knowledge Society”. The meta project is coordinated by the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) which accompanies the projects of the research area.

It presents the results of the projects in an overall scientific and social framework, analyzes the developments in the research area in a scientific manner, identifies research gaps, and promotes the networking of researches with each other as well as the exchange with educational practice. For successfully handling these divers and extensive tasks the University of Duisburg-Essen works closely together with DIPF, DIE, and IWM. The meta project thus contributes to the further development of the research field and promotes the quality of the research area “Digitalization in the Field of Education”. The work done within the meta project strengthens the relevance of the research project for the educational practice, promotes collaboration between science and practice, and transmits central research results for the public.

COLD

For actively participating in school, daily life or at work excellent German language skills are needed. While learning a new languague teachers have a key role in teaching German as a second language. The project COLD (Competencies of school teachers and adult educators in teaching German as a second language in linguistically diverse classrooms) focuses on the following questions:

  • What skills and knowledge do teachers have?
  • How do they structure their lessons?
  • Are there any differences between school teachers and adult educators?

The project is a cooperation between DIE and the MI and is led by the DIE.

From April 2019 until September 2022 researchers will focus on professional competencies of school teachers and adult educators in teaching German as a second language in linguistically heterogeneous groups. The project adresses the special needs in teaching and didactics which occured through the immigration of children, teenagers and adults. The surveys take place in real teaching situations in preparatory classes and integration courses.

The interdisciplinary project team includes experts in adult education, subject-related didactics German/German as a second language, empirical educational research, linguistics, computer lingustics, and psychology. The project is mainly performed by PhD students so that a special focus on promoting young researches is set.