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[22.04.24]
Dr. Valentina Nachtigall has taken up the interim professorship

Dr. Valentina Nachtigall has taken up the interim professorship of educational psychology and technology on March 1, 2024. She has been part of our department since November 2015, when she started her dissertation on the effectiveness of productive failure for learning in an out-of-school lab for social sciences. After obtaining her doctorate in July 2019 (summa cum laude), she moved to a postdoctoral position and has since been interested in empirically and conceptually determining the conditions and effects of authentic learning. Her current DFG project focuses on investigating and measuring students' conceptions of scientists as a condition likely to influence how students perceive and engage in authentic learning activities that attempt to emulate scientific ways of thinking and working. Her academic journey is complemented by prestigious fellowships and numerous research stays abroad. With her rich background, we are confident that she will bring valuable insight and leadership to our academic community. We look forward to the positive impact she will have during her tenure.

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[22.03.24]
Our team visited GEPF 2024 in Potsdam.

Prof. Nikol Rummel was invited as a discussant in the symposium: Lernprozesse im Kontext der Digitalisierung – Aktuelle Erkenntnisse aus Large-Scale Assessments (Chairs: Leonard Tetzlaff (DIPF, ZIB), Frank Goldhammer (DIPF, ZIB)

Our paper contributions are listed below:
Nachtigall, V., Yek, S., & Rummel, N. (2024). Auswirkungen von Emotionsregulation und Kollaboration auf die Verarbeitung geschichtsbezogener 360°-Videos. Vortrag auf der 11. Tagung der Gesellschaft für Empirische Bildungsforschung (GEBF), 18.03.-20.03.2024, Potsdam, Germany.

Brand, C., Loibl, K., & Rummel, N. (2024). Relevante Vorwissensaktivierung durch fehlerhafte Lösungsbeispiele als Vorbereitung auf das Lernen beim Problemlösen vor Instruktion. Vortrag auf der 11. Tagung der Gesellschaft für Empirische Bildungsforschung (GEBF), 18.03.-20.03.2024, Potsdam, Germany.

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[22.03.24]
New Journal Publication

Katharina Teich, Vanessa Loock, and Nikol Rummel have recently published a study addressing the challenges of continuing education online courses titled "Meeting the challenges of continuing education online courses: Can we promote self-regulated learning strategies with adaptive support?"

The study explores the difficulties faced by adult learners in managing learning resources such as time, attention, and learning environment in online courses. They developed an adaptive support intervention to address these challenges, finding that it significantly improved environmental structuring but did not affect other self-regulated learning strategies.

Teich, K., Loock, V.S., & Rummel, N. (2024). Meeting the challenges of continuing education online courses: Can we promote self‐regulated learning strategies with adaptive support? British Journal of Educational Technology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13453

Read more about it here.

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[16.02.24]
Self-Regulated Learning in Digitalized Schools: Summit Insights

SeReLiDiS Network Members Nikol Rummel and Sebastian Strauß delve into Hot Topics in Self-Regulated Learning in Digitalized Schools at Research Summit

In February 2024, Prof. Dr. Nikol Rummel and associated researcher Dr. Sebastian Strauß (Ruhr-University Bochum) participated in the Research Summit of the international and interdisciplinary network "Self-Regulated Learning in Digitalized Schools" (SeReLiDiS)" (funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Science, BMBF).

The summit meeting of the members of the SeReLiDiS network, led by Prof. Joachim Wirth (Chair of Teaching and Learning Research, RUB), aimed to examine current topics for educational contexts in which learners engage in self-directed learning with the help of teachers and digital technologies.

On the first day of the summit, participants engaged in academic discussions, tackling various facets of self-regulated learning (SRL) in technologically enhanced contexts. The second day of the summit was dedicated to identifying and evaluating pathways to continuing and expand the network's impact beyond the current funding cycle.

The heart of the research summit was the goal of exploring "hot topics" with the aim of incorporating them into future grant proposals. Nikol Rummel and Sebastian Strauß, with their expertise in computer-supported collaborative learning, contributed to the hot topic titled "Self-regulated learning orchestrated by peers, teachers, and digital tools." For this hot topic, three burning questions were discussed:

The first burning question concerned the "Modeling the Interplay Between Peers, Teachers, and Digital Tools". Besides questions of decision-making behavior and strategic disengagement, one core question was to identify those parts of the regulation process that are distinctive human in contrast those which can be most effectively achieved by an automated system. Another question worth considering is whether, and to what degree we must modify existing models of teaching SRL with adaptive digital learning tools. This question requires considering the competencies a teacher needs to support SRL in students effectively. Finally, there are questions regarding how we can best support the interaction between teachers, their learners (also in groups) with adaptive tools. For instance, we need to explore circumstances when on-loading (parts of) the regulation of learning will lead to desired outcomes, in contrast to situations when (momentarily) off-loading regulation. This also alludes to the trade-off between adaptivity and desirable difficulties during learning. Further, trust in automation should not be neglected when investigating the effects of computer systems in classrooms

Thanks for the wonderful organization go to: Joachim Wirth, Marie Vanderbeke, Flora Mehrabi, Hannah Wember & Laura Schmidt, Lisa Dautz

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[02.02.24]
OECD webinar on AI in education featuring Nikol Rummel

Professor Nikol Rummel was a featured panelist at the OECD webinar titled "Decoding the hype: can AI help create accessible and inclusive student learning?" which took place on February 6th, from 13:00 to 14:00 CET.

The webinar, which delved into AI's potential for creating inclusive learning environments, featured speakers including Nikol Rummel, Wayne Holmes from UCL, Emile Kroeger from the United Robotics Group, and Kevin Johnstun from the US Department of Education.

The discussion revolved around addressing the benefits, challenges, and future impacts of AI in education.

You can watch the webinar here.

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[02.02.24]
Invitation to Specialized Talks on Epistemic Education and Self-Regulation

Don't miss an informative event featuring two esteemed researchers: Allyson Hadwin from the University of Victoria, Canada, and Clark Chinn from the Rutgers Graduate School of Education in New Brunswick, NJ, USA.

Event Details:
- Date: Monday, February 5, 2024 - Time: 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM (s.t.) - Location: GA 2/41

Allyson Hadwin: Advancements in Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) Measurement

Hadwin's presentation focuses on advancements in SRL measurement and its impact on academic success. She will introduce developed instruments collecting data on students' tactical decisions, analyzing metacognitive beliefs, and providing timely feedback for both learners and educators.

Clark Chinn: Epistemic Education for a Post-Truth World

Chinn will address challenges for educators in a "post-truth" society and present effective strategies. His talk emphasizes "apt epistemic performance" as the goal of epistemic education, introducing design principles to enhance thinking abilities in a world characterized by conflicting information and skepticism.

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[17.01.24]
New Lore Agnes Equity Project for the Empowerment of Female STEM Teacher Students

With the beginning of 2024, a new Lore Agnes equity project starts. This project aims at developing a community-focussed empowerment training for female STEM teacher students. The training starts in spring semester 2024. By funding this project, Ruhr University Bochum supports a collaboration between the educational psychology and technology research group (Vertr.-Prof. Dr. Julia Eberle and Prof. Dr. Nikol Rummel) and the Professional School of Education (Dr. Henning Feldmann and Rüya Dönmez).

The project tackles the problems of high drop-out rates in female STEM students and teacher shortage in Germany. Both problems are often attributed to a missing fit between female students‘ values and ideas and the reality in higher education, as well as to unfavorable gender stereotypes. In the community-focussed empowerment training, female STEM teacher students receive support in developing social relatedness, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. Systemic coach Rüya Dönmez will work with participating students on challenging and reducing detrimental implicit beliefs and establishing a reliable peer support group to master challenges in higher education.

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[20.12.23]
Interview with Nikol Rummel about AI in the Classroom

On December 13, 2023, the ARD financial editorial team conducted a live online interview with Nikol Rummel in the program "Update Wirtschaft" on the ARD channel "tagesschau24". The topic was "AI in the Classroom".

Nikol Rummel shed light on various aspects, including potential possibilities of AI in the classroom, existing approaches, and how AI technologies could potentially support teachers.

The interview is available at the 1:50 minute mark via the following link: Tagesschau24 - "Update Wirtschaft".

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[20.12.23]
Heinefunk-Podcast with Sebastian Strauß

The Heinefunk-Team, known for the podcast of the Heinrich-Heine-Gymnasium in Oberhausen, ventured this time to the Ruhr-Universität Bochum.

During the interview with the moderators of the Heinefunk team, Sebastian Strauß delved into topics concerning the future role of AI. In particular, the discussion shed light on what students should consider when using ChatGPT, which job profiles could potentially be influenced by AI (or not), and how the digital transformation of schools could progress. This included an in-depth exploration of the issue of double standards, the ethical dimensions of these developments, the future of artificial intelligence and whether AI will take over the world.

The conversation provides valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities presented by the ongoing digitalization of the education sector.

You can listen to the Podcast on your browser or on Spotify.

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[13.12.23]
New Journal Publication by Valentina Nachtigall

Dr. Valentina Nachtigall has published a new journal entitled "Exploring the impact of authentic learning activities on school students’ epistemic beliefs in the social sciences and humanities".

The present two studies examined if students' beliefs about educational sciences and linguistics are influenced by authentic learning activities in an out-of-school lab (OSL). Despite expectations, these activities didn't notably impact students' beliefs. Beliefs about knowledge texture correlated negatively with perceived authenticity and situational interest in both studies, while beliefs about knowledge variability correlated positively with perceived authenticity and knowledge acquisition in Study A only. These results challenge assumptions about OSLs' influence on beliefs, requiring further exploration in relation to prior research on authentic learning in OSLs.

Nachtigall, V. & Firstein, A. (2023). Exploring the impact of authentic learning activities on school students’ epistemic beliefs in the social sciences and humanities. European Journal of Psychology of Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-023-00773-7.

Read more about it here.

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[13.12.23]
New Journal Publication by Julia Eberle

Prof. Dr. Julia Eberle has published a new journal entitled "The Role of Research Competence as an Influencing Factor for the Careers of Young Academics: Findings and Implications from Studies on Doctorates in Medicine and Life Sciences in Germany."

Background: When viewed internationally, Germany boasts a high rate of doctoral candidates. Fields such as medicine and life sciences have a notably high proportion of doctoral students, a trend rooted in historical factors. Despite this, comprehensive empirical studies concerning the doctoral phase and early-career researchers, especially in relation to the rise of structured doctoral programmes, have only recently gained traction.

Epstein, N., Eberle, J., Meuleners, J., Lachmann, D., Heuser, S., Herzig, S., Neuhaus, B., Prenzel, M., & Fischer, M. R. (2023). The role of research competence as an influencing factor for the careers of young academics. Findings and implications from studies on doctorates in medicine and life sciences in Germany. GMS Journal for Medical Education, 40(6): Doc70.

Read more about it here. // Click here for the German Version.

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[08.12.23]
Talk by Katharina Teich at the Joachim-Herz-Stiftung

Katharina Teich recently shared her insights at a conference on "Adaptive Learning and Artificial Intelligence in School and Continuing Education Contexts: Opportunities and challenges of technology-supported teaching and learning" at the Joachim-Herz-Stiftung in Hamburg (27th & 28th of November). The presentation focused on the design and evaluation of an adaptive support system developed within the WILLEN project.

The WILLEN project aimed to develop an adaptive support system tailored to adult learners in a work-related continuing education programme, applying a user-centred system design approach. The presentation provided details of the iterative development process and evaluation of the adaptive support system.

The presentation concluded with a discussion of the initial findings on the impact of the adaptive support on the self-regulated learning of adult learners and concluded with an outlook, outlining plans for further testing and implementation of the system, highlighting its potential to improve adult learners’ self-regulated learning.