Nadine Großmann

IntroductionDissecting animal organs is a method of biology teaching that offers a direct and authentic view into morphological structures and enables hands-on activity and multisensory experiences. However, the dissection process is often associated with certain (negative) emotions that might hinder successful learning. One such emotion that is particularly common during dissection is disgust. Experiencing disgust can negatively affect emotional experiences. Consequently, alternatives for dissection in biology lessons are being sought.MethodsIn this study, the method of dissection is compared with two common methods of teaching the anatomy of the mammalian eye: watching a video and working with an anatomical model. The focus of the comparison is on the influence on the following emotional qualities of experience: perceived disgust, perceived interest, well-being and boredom. Two hundred and eighteen students (Mage = 14.19, SDage = 1.02 years, 52% female) from secondary schools in Germany participated in a two-hour lesson on the anatomy of the mammalian eye using one of the three aforementioned teaching methods.FindingsOur results show that perceived disgust was higher for the dissection group than in the ones that worked with a video or a model. We found that dissecting and watching a video led to a similar level of interest, well-being, and boredom. The anatomical model was perceived as less disgusting but more boring than the dissection. The detailed videos of a dissection seem to offer similar positive emotional experiences when compared to dissecting in class and may be an alternative approach when teachers …

When it comes to biology lessons in Germany, girls generally exhibit higher levels of self-determined motivation than boys. Previous research suggests that fostering student autonomy could be a way to effectively address this gender gap. To investigate gender-related effects in biology education, a sample of 303 sixth-grade students (Mage = 11.31 years, SDage = 0.58 years) participated in a 3-h teaching unit on harvest mice that was taught in either an autonomy-supportive or controlling manner. The results revealed a significant effect of the treatment on self-determined motivation, with the effect being stronger for the boys. In the treatment with controlling teaching behavior, gender-related differences in self-determined motivation became apparent. In contrast, the gender gap was mainly smaller in the treatment with autonomy-supportive teaching behavior. Thus, the results suggest that satisfying the need for …

Enhancing students‘ intrinsic motivation by using digital incremental scaffolds during experimentation in biology class Universität Bielefeld Universität Bielefeld Click a name to choose. Click to show more. PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld Enhancing students‘ intrinsic motivation by using digital incremental scaffolds during experimentation in biology class Kleinert S, Großmann N, Kaiser LM, Kirchhoff T, Wilde M (2023) Presented at the 8th International Self-Determination Theory Conference, Orlando, Florida. Kurzbeitrag Konferenz / Poster | Englisch Download Es wurden keine Dateien hochgeladen. Nur Publikationsnachweis! Details Zitieren Export / Suche PUB EnglishEN Autor*in Kleinert, Svea UniBi ; Großmann, Nadine; Kaiser, Lisa-Maria UniBi ; Kirchhoff, Tim UniBi ; Wilde, Matthias UniBi Einrichtung Fakultät für Biologie > Biologiedidaktik (Zoologie/Humanbiologie) Erscheinungsjahr 2023 …

All over the world, educational science outreach programs in which students can perform laboratory work have been developed. A common goal of these programs is to counteract students' decreasing motivation in STEM education. In Germany, several outreach science labs have been established over the last 20 years. It is assumed that the characteristics of these labs foster students' basic need satisfaction and qualities of motivation such as intrinsic motivation and flow. However, research in this field often lacks comparisons of motivation between the learning environments outreach science lab and school. Thus, the current study investigated students' perceived need satisfaction (relatedness, competence, and autonomy), intrinsic motivation, and flow experience during experimentation at an outreach science lab (n = 231) and at school (n = 203). We found that experimentation in the two different learning …

This field study combined self-determination theory and instructional quality research to complement existing approaches on how to facilitate students' perceived competence. Specifically, model comparisons were first conducted to establish a comprehensive model of structure, autonomy support, and instructional quality. Second, the retained model was used to predict students' perceived competence, applying an exploratory structural equation model-within-confirmatory factor analysis. The study included 277 10th grade students who completed 372 questionnaires in mathematics and biology. Results-wise, the comprehensive model met common evaluation, dimensionality, and reliability criteria. The general factor predicted students' perceived competence. Our integrative approach thus helps support students’ perceived competence.

Teachers need research competence to reflect on their teaching and to interpret and implement research-based recommendations. However, many pre-service teachers have critical attitudes toward research, little motivation to engage in research, and comparatively low knowledge of research methods and thereby consequently indicating a low research competence. Flexible online modules in university teaching could be a promising approach to address these issues. Online modules can potentially promote self-determined motivation, but should be sufficiently structured to support learners’ need for competence. We designed two learning environments with different types of structure: a non-restrictive structured environment and a restrictive structured environment. A total of N = 108 pre-service biology teachers were randomly assigned to the two learning environments. Contrary to our assumption, the restrictive type of structure of the learning environment did not lead to a higher perception of competence. This might be a consequence of external pressure, for example, the examination at the end of the course. Regarding pre-service teachers’ research competence, we found a decrease in the affective-motivational domain and an increase in the cognitive domain in both learning environments. These results suggest that fostering pre-service teachers’ research competence should focus on the affective-motivational domain. In order to positively affect this domain, care must be taken to ensure that structuring elements are not experienced as control and that given choices are meaningful to students.

Out-of-school student labs have been established in the field of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) to support students’ motivation regarding science by giving the opportunity for inquiry-based learning in an authentic learning environment. However, previous research most often lacks to explain and investigate determinants of the reported positive effects of such labs on motivation. Therefore, we investigated predictors of students’ intrinsic motivation during a visit to the out-of-school student lab. 170 secondary school students (58% female; Mage = 16.55 years, SDage = 0.58 years) from 12 courses took part in this study. Our results reveal students’ perceived autonomy and competence as predictors of their intrinsic motivation, but not their gender, grade in biology and preparation beforehand. Out-of-school student labs therefore seem to be an important opportunity to foster intrinsic motivation regardless of individual student characteristics. Since our results show a crucial role of students’ perception of autonomy and competence for their intrinsic motivation in the out-of-school lab, opportunities to implement autonomy and competence support are outlined as practical implications.

Kinder und Jugendliche, die in Armut leben, befinden sich in einem Teufelskreis der sozialen Benachteiligung, aus dem sie vornehmlich durch Bildung potenziell ausbrechen könnten. Der Bereich der Naturwissenschaften liefert im Laufe der Schulzeit die Ausbildung einer „scientific literacy “als Teil einer grundlegenden Bildung. Diese soll allen Lernenden zuteilwerden.„Scientific literacy “führt dazu, dass Lernende sich (zukünftig) an gesellschaftlichen Diskursen und Entscheidungsprozessen beteiligen können. Das Netzwerk inklusiver naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht (NinU) hat ein Raster entwickelt, mit dem „scientific literacy for all “in der Unterrichtsplanung realisiert werden kann. Unter anderem spielen in diesem Raster die Kontexte, in denen Kompetenzen erworben werden, eine große Rolle für den Lernerfolg, da sie sich auf den Wissenserwerb und die Lernmotivation auswirken. Es müssen im Unterricht also Kontexte gefunden werden, die für alle Lernenden relevant und motivierend sind, damit alle an einem ko-konstruktiven Lernprozess partizipieren können und niemand ausgegrenzt wird.