The ability to compose argumentative essays of sufficient quality is tantamount to the aptitude of thinking independently and critically, which is vital to playing an active part in one's society. Thus, the aim of teaching students this skill is incorporated into virtually every secondary school curriculum in almost all democratic countries around…

Purpose: This study aims to explore expectation gaps concerning the roles between educators and students in the context of venture creation courses at higher education institutions by investigating their mutual perspectives. The authors seek to answer the following research questions: (1) how is the role expectation toward the entrepreneurship…

This article presents the development and testing of a content-based video exchange model as a motivating means to introduce lower secondary English learners to English as the language of science. The central goal was that students reach the required curricular content knowledge despite learning some of the content in a foreign language. The model…

Students' achievement emotions have an impact on learning and academic success. Therefore research on learning and teaching in higher education should not only focus on cognitive outcomes but on students' emotions, as well. The aim of our quasi-experimental study was to analyze students' achievement emotions based on the control-value approach in…

Progress monitoring of academic achievement is an essential element to prevent learning disorders. A prominent approach is curriculum-based measurement (CBM). Various studies have documented positive effects of CBM on students' achievement. Nevertheless, the use of CBM is associated with additional work for teachers. The use of tablets may be of…

Mentoring is seen as one possible solution to support the individual development of competences in higher education. To allow this support for a large number of students, scalable technologies should be used and made available in a so called "Mentoring Workbench." In order to analyze the requirements for this "Mentoring…

Achievement goal theory is one of the most widespread motivation models within education research. Strong empirical support exists for the trichotomous model, comprising mastery-approach, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals. However, research also indicates problems with model transferability between contexts. In this study,…

This article describes a new competence-oriented teaching rationale for a science course, developed in Germany through close cooperation between teachers and researchers, that seeks to improve scientific literacy at upper-level secondary school (ages 15-17). Its aim is to help students become independent and competent experimenters by combining…

A concept for undergraduate mechanics courses at universities is introduced where traditional pencil-paper based exercises are partially replaced by experimental exercises, in which smartphones are used as measurement devices. A detailed guidance for practical realization and implementation of these tasks formats into the course is presented.…

Simulation games offer a safe space to experiment with system models and provide learning experiences about interdependencies and thus, are considered to foster the development of a deeper understanding of systems. This article describes the use of SimCity in the university course Infrastructure Management, which has been in continuous operation…

Studies have shown the potential of explainer videos. An alternative is a written explanation, as found in science textbooks. Prior research suggests that instructional explanations sometimes lead to the belief that a topic has been fully understood, even though that is, not the case. This 'illusion of understanding' may be affected by the medium…

In this study we examine the determinants of and the relationship among economic knowledge, epistemological beliefs, and extrinsic and intrinsic motivation over the course of undergraduate studies in a sample of students of business and economics at a university in Germany. We found economic knowledge increased over the course of studies,…

Research-based learning (RBL) is regarded as a panacea when it comes to effective instructional formats in higher education settings. It is said to improve a wide set of research-related skills and is a recommended learning experience for students. However, whether RBL in the social sciences is indeed as effective as has been postulated for other…

The present study examines future teachers' motivations for teaching using the FIT-Choice (Factors Influencing Teaching Choice) scale. The focus thereby is on subject interest, a factor that has rarely been accounted for by FIT-Choice studies although it is considered one of the most important factors to students for choosing teaching as a career.…

Setting tasks plays a key role in geography lessons, as they enable students to engage with the subject content, guide lessons towards predefined learning outcomes, and are therefore important for assessment. At the same time, the use of tasks is complex as numerous aspects regarding the content and the students have to be taken into account.…