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We report on a study on syllogistic reasoning conceived with the idea that subjects' performance in experiments is highly dependent on the communicative situations in which the particular task is framed. From this perspective, we describe the results of Experiment 1 comparing the performance of undergraduate students in 5 different tasks. This between-subjects comparison inspires a within-subject intervention design (Experiment 2). The variations introduced on traditional experimental tasks and settings include two main dimensions. The first one focuses on reshaping the context (the pragmatics of the communication situations faced) along the dimension of cooperative vs. adversarial attitudes. The second one consists of rendering explicit the construction/representation of counterexamples, a crucial aspect in the definition of deduction (in the classical semantic sense). We obtain evidence on the possibility of a significant switch in students' performance and the strategies they follow. Syllogistic reasoning is seen here as a controlled microcosm informative enough to provide insights and we suggest strategies for wider contexts of reasoning, argumentation and proof.
Es wurde vermutet, dass sich die kognitive Hemmung bei der Alzheimer-Krankheit verschlechtert. Während zahlreiche Studien mit unterschiedlichen experimentellen Paradigmen Hinweise auf eine gestörte Aufmerksamkeits- und Gedächtnishemmung fanden, wurde im Hinblick auf das Phänomen des abrufinduzierten Vergessens Hinweise auf eine intakte Gedächtnishemmung berichtet (Moulin et al., 2002). Hier haben wir das zuvor verwendete Paradigma angepasst, um den Beitrag nicht-hemmender Prozesse zu reduzieren und untersucht, ob bei einer Stichprobe von Teilnehmern mit diagnostizierter Alzheimer-Krankheit noch ein abrufinduziertes Vergessen beobachtet werden kann. Im Gegensatz zum vorherigen Befund fanden wir, dass ein abrufinduziertes Vergessen nur in einer altersangepassten Kontrollgruppe auftrat.
Sprache kommt im Mathematikunterricht eine tragende Rolle zu. Schülerinnen und Schüler mit und ohne sonderpädagogischen Förderbedarf können jedoch Schwierigkeiten beim Erfassen von in Schriftsprache dargebotener Informationen haben. Das Ziel dieser Studie besteht darin, herauszufinden, wie solche Lesebarrieren reduziert werden können. Ein erleichterter Zugang zu Arbeitsaufträgen könnte durch den Einsatz von Leichter Sprache und Piktogrammen erreicht werden. Auch die Visualisierung kompletter Sätze durch Fotos könnte hilfreich sein. Zentrale Fragestellung dieser Studie ist, inwieweit die Verwendung von Leichter Sprache bzw. Leichter Sprache und Piktogrammen oder Fotos die Performanz bei der Bearbeitung mathematischer Aufgaben verbessert. Die Stichprobe bestand aus Schülerinnen und Schülern mit einem sonderpädagogischen Förderbedarf im Bereich Lernen (N = 144) und Lernenden ohne sonderpädagogischen Förderbedarf (N = 159). Die Schülerinnen und Schüler bearbeiteten Aufgaben, in welchen es um die Einführung des Bruchzahlbegriffs ging, in einer der folgenden Versionen: Leichte Sprache (EG 1), Leichte Sprache +Piktogramme (EG 2), Leichte Sprache +Fotos (EG 3) oder keine Unterstützungsmaßnahme (EG 4). Die Lesefertigkeit und der IQ der Lernenden wurde vor der Bearbeitung der Aufgaben erhoben, um vergleichbare Experimentalgruppen bilden zu können. Es zeigte sich ein signifikanter Effekt der verschiedenen Bedingungen auf die Aufgabenbearbeitung. Eine Post-Hoc-Analyse verdeutlichte, dass die Signifikanz aus dem Unterschied zwischen EG 3 und EG 4 resultierte. Die Schülerinnen und Schüler in EG 3 bearbeiteten die Aufgaben erfolgreicher als die Lernenden in EG 4.
This thesis presents the results of a series of studies (on syllogisms, on the interpretation of mathematical statements and on probabilistic thinking) conducted with the idea that different, legitimate kinds of reasoning are used by humans in a contextual way, and that therefore no single logic (e.g., classical logic) can be expected to account for this diversity.
The crucial role of interpretation is highlighted, showing how intensional and extensional reasoning may be mobilized according to it. In particular, in communication settings, this depends on our adoption of a cooperative, credulous disposition, or on the contrary, of an adversarial, sceptical one.
In reasoning about mathematics in an educational setting, students (and teachers) may be enrolled in a back and forth between believing, doubting, making sense, giving arguments and proving. These changes in dispositions imply changes in the logics used. All the studies presented show, in different ways, evidence for cooperative, intensional reasoning and, in some cases, the possibility of a shift towards the acquisition of an extensional view. This suggest that if we expect as educators the adoption of specific norms and the development of reasoning skills from students, we need first to know well what the point of departure is where they are, and that it is often not at all “irrational”.
Erklären im Sprachfördersommercamp: eine Analyse von Erklärprozessen bei jugendlichen DaF-Lernenden
(2020)
Erklärhandlungen sind nicht nur ständige Begleiter unseres Alltags, sondern auch essenzieller Bestandteil von Lehr-Lernhandlungen. Das Wissen darüber, wie Erklärungen definiert, strukturiert und durchgeführt werden, ermöglicht uns Rückschlüsse zu ziehen, wie gelingende wissensvermittelnde Handlungen ablaufen und aufgebaut sind. An dieser Frage anknüpfend, verfolgt die Forschungsarbeit zunächst das Ziel einer theoretischen Auseinandersetzung über die bestehenden Konzepte des mündlichen Erklärens. Die gesprächsanalytische Untersuchung und Auswertung von wissensvermittelnden Handlungen innerhalb des Sprachfördersommercamps stellt den Mittelpunkt dieser Forschungsarbeit dar. Während eines zweiwöchigen Sommercamps begegnen sich Jugendliche unterschiedlicher Nationen und drehen gemeinsam Kurzspielfilme auf Deutsch. Das Erklären auf (der Fremdsprache) Deutsch spielt hierbei eine übergeordnete Rolle und wird bewusst in verschiedenen Phasen des Projekts in den Vordergrund gestellt, wodurch der Rahmen dieses Projekts eine einzigartige Möglichkeit darstellt, die Diskurseinheit des mündlichen Erklärens näher zu beforschen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen Strukturen und Verhaltensweisen auf, die zur Weiterentwicklung unterrichtlichen Erklärens, verbunden mit sprachförderlichen Aspekten, genutzt werden können.
In Germany, secondary school students differ greatly in their science achievement, a dispersion that is far above the OECD average (Schiepe-Tiska, Rönnebeck, & Neumann, 2019). Immigrant students tend to be at the lower end of the scale in Germany – on average, they achieve substantially less well in science than non-immigrant students (OECD, 2016d), which is partially due to the German school system (Zoido, 2013). These differences in achievement translate into underrepresentation of immigrants in science-related jobs in Germany (OECD, 2008). Achievement and career choices are closely intertwined with academic self-concept (for an overview see Marsh & Craven, 2006). Regarding science self-concept, the pattern that immigrant students tend to score lower is present in many countries (e.g. Riegle-Crumb, Moore, & Ramos-Wada, 2011).
The goal of the present research project was to investigate these inequalities between immigrant and non-immigrant secondary school students. This was done focusing on secondary school students’ chemistry self-concepts. Chemistry self-concepts were focused on because achievement in chemistry is an important factor for careers in natural sciences (Cohen & Kelly, 2019). Research on chemistry self-concept has concentrated on young adults (e.g. Bauer, 2005; Xu & Lewis, 2011) and so little is known about secondary school students. Besides the impact of students’ migration background, the research project analyses the role that gender plays because gender has important effects on science self-concepts (e.g. Jurik, Gröschner, & Seidel, 2013; Riegle-Crumb et al., 2011; Wan & Lee, 2017).
A big challenge in this context was that the prevailing methods in academic self-concept research are prone to yield biased data (Byrne, 2002; Byrne et al., 2009). Although this was pointed out more than 15 years ago, the problem persists in science self-concept research. The present research project addresses this issue and presents a new mixed methods approach to culture-sensitive academic self-concept research. The term ‘culture’ is used in the sense of migration background, a concept that categorizes people’s migration histories in Germany. A combination of qualitative interview data and quantitative data permit an investigation of certain types of bias defined by Byrne and colleagues (2009). The pilot study operated with a chemistry self-concept questionnaire (N=116) and qualitative interviews (N=43). The main study was based on an extended questionnaire comprising several other scales (N=585) and deeper qualitative interviews (N=48).
The hypotheses based on the literature were that in Germany, (h1) immigrant students would show more negative chemistry self-concepts than non-immigrant students. (h2) Female students would show more negative chemistry self-concepts than male students. The third hypothesis (h3) was that the home environment has an important impact on students’ chemistry self-concepts. The first two hypotheses (h1 and h2) were not confirmed. Gender and migration background did not show a significant effect on students’ chemistry self-concepts. Instead, gender relations differ depending on the students’ migration background. Among students without a migration background, boys tend to have stronger chemistry self-concepts than girls. In contrast, among students with a Turkish migration background, girls tend to have stronger chemistry self-concepts. Existing science self-concept literature did not explain this.
Literature on gender relations in science in Turkey suggests that this interaction effect could be due to a more gender-neutral conception of science in Turkey. Slightly more women than men work in science in Turkey (OECD, 2009a) and girls achieve substantially better (Batyra, 2017a, 2017b). According to the third hypothesis (h3), the gender conceptions in Turkey could potentially be transmitted to students with a Turkish migration background in the home environment, through their parents or other people.
Science education literature did not provide a satisfying model for conceptualizing the influence of the home environment on students in the field of chemistry that would allow investigating the third hypothesis (h3). Therefore, the concept of chemistry capital was introduced based on the analysis of the interviews in the main study. Chemistry capital was developed based on the concept of science capital by Archer and colleagues (2015). Chemistry capital conceptualizes the resources a person possesses that have value in the field of chemistry. This encompasses social networks (e.g. knowing a chemist) as well as emotional and cognitive resources (e.g. attitudes towards chemistry and chemistry knowledge), and the engagement in chemistry-related activities. In particular, the concept allows analyzing the transmission processes of chemistry from the home environment to the individual student.
The qualitative analyses in the main study showed that the chemistry capital home environment influences the students in the field of chemistry in multiple ways. This supports hypothesis 3 (h3). Further, the data suggest that structural inequalities in the German school system might foster differences in chemistry. Students who already possess little chemistry capital in their home environments are in addition found more often at the type of school (Hauptschule) in which the proportion of chemistry teachers who do not hold a university degree in chemistry is the highest, depriving these students of another possible source of chemistry capital. Vice versa, students who already possess a lot of chemistry capital in their home environments more often attend school types (Gymnasium, Realschule) where also more formally qualified chemistry teachers are available, thus potentially widening the gap.
The mixed methods analysis in the main study suggested that a simple linear relationship between student chemistry self-concept and chemistry capital in the home environment does not exist. A study based on quantitative (or mixed methods) analyses of data of a larger sample on chemistry capital in the home environment and students’ chemistry self-concepts could provide further insights. It is not yet clear if the third hypothesis (h3) is true.
To sum up, the present research project thus advances the field of chemistry education in three regards: (i) it provides an approach to culture-sensitive academic self-concept. This approach proved to increase both the validity and the explanatory power of chemistry self-concept research. It is not chemistry-specific and can, thus, be used in other areas of research as well. (ii) The research discovered an interaction effect of gender and migration background on chemistry self-concept that was unknown in science education literature. (iii) It introduces and defines the concept of chemistry capital which permits to analyze chemistry education from a sociocultural perspective. Employing the concept of chemistry capital helps to shift the focus from the individual student to the resources a student possesses in the sociocultural context that help him or her succeed in the field of chemistry. This allows uncovering social inequalities in the field that need to be addressed in educational policy. Moreover, it can inspire intervention studies and application-focused research (e.g. approaches to culture-sensitive chemistry teaching).