TY - JOUR A1 - Westphal, Andrea A1 - Vock, Miriam A1 - Lazarides, Rebecca T1 - Are more conscientious seventh- and ninth-graders less likely to be retained? BT - effects of big five personality traits on grade retention in two different age cohorts JF - Journal of applied developmental psychology : an internat. multidisciplinary N2 - Previous research has identified students' personality traits, especially conscientiousness, as highly relevant predictors of academic success. Less is known about the role of Big Five personality traits in students when it comes to teachers' decisions about students' educational trajectories and whether personality traits differentially affect these decisions by teachers in different grade levels. This study examines to what extent students' Big Five personality traits affect teacher decisions on grade retention, looking at two cohorts of 12,146 ninth-grade and 6002 seventh-grade students from the German National Educational Panel Study. In both grade levels, multilevel logistic mediation models show that students' conscientiousness indirectly predicts grade retention through the assignment of grades by teachers. In the ninth-grade sample, students' conscientiousness was additionally a direct predictor of retention, distinct from teacher-assigned grades. We discuss potential underlying mechanisms and explore whether teachers base their decisions on different indicators when retaining seventh-grade students or ninth-grade students. KW - grade retention KW - personality KW - gender KW - socioeconomic status KW - educational KW - large-scale study KW - educational achievement Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2019.101088 SN - 0193-3973 VL - 66 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Westphal, Andrea A1 - Lazarides, Rebecca A1 - Vock, Miriam T1 - Are some students graded more appropriately than others? BT - student characteristics as moderators of the relationships between teacher-assigned grades and test scores in mathematics T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Background Building on the Realistic Accuracy Model, this paper explores whether it is easier for teachers to assess the achievement of some students than others. Accordingly, we suggest that certain individual characteristics of students, such as extraversion, academic self-efficacy, and conscientiousness, may guide teachers' evaluations of student achievement, resulting in more appropriate judgements and a stronger alignment of assigned grades with students' actual achievement level (as measured using standardized tests). Aims We examine whether extraversion, academic self-efficacy, and conscientiousness moderate the relations between teacher-assigned grades and students' standardized test scores in mathematics. Sample This study uses a representative sample of N = 5,919 seventh-grade students in Germany (48.8% girls; mean age: M = 12.5, SD = 0.62) who participated in a national, large-scale assessment focusing on students' academic development. Methods We specified structural equation models to examine the inter-relations of teacher-assigned grades with students' standardized test scores in mathematics, Big Five personality traits, and academic self-efficacy, while controlling for students' socioeconomic status, gender, and age. Results The correlation between teacher-assigned grades and standardized test scores in mathematics was r = .40. Teacher-assigned grades more closely related to standardized test scores when students reported higher levels of conscientiousness (beta = .05, p = .002). Students' extraversion and academic self-efficacy did not moderate the relationship between teacher-assigned grades and standardized test scores. Conclusions Our findings indicate that students' conscientiousness is a personality trait that seems to be important when it comes to how closely mathematics teachers align their grades to standardized test scores. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 853 KW - teacher‐ assigned grades KW - teacher judgements KW - Realistic Accuracy KW - Model KW - Big Five personality traits Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-563330 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Westphal, Andrea A1 - Lazarides, Rebecca A1 - Vock, Miriam T1 - Are some students graded more appropriately than others? BT - student characteristics as moderators of the relationships between teacher-assigned grades and test scores in mathematics JF - British journal of educational psychology N2 - Background Building on the Realistic Accuracy Model, this paper explores whether it is easier for teachers to assess the achievement of some students than others. Accordingly, we suggest that certain individual characteristics of students, such as extraversion, academic self-efficacy, and conscientiousness, may guide teachers' evaluations of student achievement, resulting in more appropriate judgements and a stronger alignment of assigned grades with students' actual achievement level (as measured using standardized tests). Aims We examine whether extraversion, academic self-efficacy, and conscientiousness moderate the relations between teacher-assigned grades and students' standardized test scores in mathematics. Sample This study uses a representative sample of N = 5,919 seventh-grade students in Germany (48.8% girls; mean age: M = 12.5, SD = 0.62) who participated in a national, large-scale assessment focusing on students' academic development. Methods We specified structural equation models to examine the inter-relations of teacher-assigned grades with students' standardized test scores in mathematics, Big Five personality traits, and academic self-efficacy, while controlling for students' socioeconomic status, gender, and age. Results The correlation between teacher-assigned grades and standardized test scores in mathematics was r = .40. Teacher-assigned grades more closely related to standardized test scores when students reported higher levels of conscientiousness (beta = .05, p = .002). Students' extraversion and academic self-efficacy did not moderate the relationship between teacher-assigned grades and standardized test scores. Conclusions Our findings indicate that students' conscientiousness is a personality trait that seems to be important when it comes to how closely mathematics teachers align their grades to standardized test scores. KW - teacher‐ assigned grades KW - teacher judgements KW - Realistic Accuracy KW - Model KW - Big Five personality traits Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12397 SN - 0007-0998 SN - 2044-8279 VL - 91 IS - 3 SP - 865 EP - 881 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kücholl, Denise A1 - Westphal, Andrea A1 - Lazarides, Rebecca A1 - Gronostaj, Anna T1 - Beanspruchungsfolgen Lehramtsstudierender im Praxissemester T1 - Demands of beginning teachers during first practical experiences JF - Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft N2 - Der Einstieg in die berufliche Praxis ist für Lehramtsstudierende verbunden mit einer Vielzahl von Anforderungen. Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen gelten als personenbezogene Ressource, um mit den vielfältigen Anforderungssituationen umzugehen. Die soziale Unterstützung durch Mentoring gilt demgegenüber als wichtige umgebungsbezogene Ressource. Ressourcen sind von hoher Bedeutung, um Belastungen beim Berufseinstieg zu bewältigen. Allerdings ist bislang wenig bekannt über das Zusammenwirken zwischen personen- und umgebungsbezogenen Ressourcen. Die vorliegende längsschnittliche Studie untersucht daher, welche Rolle Mentoring und Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen für den Umgang mit Beanspruchungsfolgen im Praxissemester spielen. Des Weiteren wird untersucht, inwiefern Mentoring den Zusammenhang zwischen Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen und negativen Beanspruchungsfolgen, in diesem Fall emotionaler Erschöpfung und reduzierter Leistungsfähigkeit, moderiert. Die empirische Grundlage der Untersuchung sind Fragebogendaten von 192 Lehramtsstudierenden, die zu Beginn und zum Ende ihres viermonatigen Praxissemesters befragt wurden. Multiple Regressionsanalysen zeigen, dass hohe Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen zu Beginn des Praxissemesters mit geringerer emotionaler Erschöpfung sowie mit höherer Leistungsfähigkeit zum Ende des Praxissemesters einhergehen. Der Zusammenhang zwischen den Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen und der Leistungsfähigkeit wird durch die von den Lehramtsstudierenden wahrgenommene soziale Unterstützung durch Mentoring moderiert. Die Implikationen der Ergebnisse für die Lehrkräftebildung werden diskutiert. N2 - For education students, the start of their professional practice can be a demanding time for a number of different reasons. Self-efficacy may help education students deal with these challenges and can be understood as a personal resource. Mentoring, on other hand, can be considered a significant social resource. Resources like these play an important role in helping education students deal with the demands of the practical phase of their training. However, little is known about the interaction between self-efficacy and mentoring. This longitudinal study investigates the role of mentoring and self-efficacy in dealing with demands of education students’ first experience of professional practice. We also explore the extent to which mentoring moderates the relationship between self-efficacy and the experience of the challenges that education students face during this time. We analysed questionnaire data from 192 education students at the beginning and at the end of their first semester of professional practice. Multiple regression analyses show that self-efficacy at the beginning of the semester is associated with less emotional exhaustion and a higher sense of personal accomplishment by the end of the semester. This relationship between self-efficacy and education students’ sense of personal accomplishment is moderated by mentoring. Implications of the study for training education students are discussed. KW - Beanspruchungsfolgen KW - Mentoring KW - Praxissemester KW - Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen KW - Beginning teachers KW - Demands KW - Mentoring KW - Self-efficacy Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-019-00897-x SN - 1434-663X SN - 1862-5215 VL - 22 IS - 4 SP - 945 EP - 966 PB - Springer CY - Wiesbaden ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wulff, Peter A1 - Buschhüter, David A1 - Westphal, Andrea A1 - Mientus, Lukas A1 - Nowak, Anna A1 - Borowski, Andreas T1 - Bridging the gap between qualitative and quantitative assessment in science education research with machine learning BT - a case for pretrained language models-based clustering JF - Journal of science education and technology N2 - Science education researchers typically face a trade-off between more quantitatively oriented confirmatory testing of hypotheses, or more qualitatively oriented exploration of novel hypotheses. More recently, open-ended, constructed response items were used to combine both approaches and advance assessment of complex science-related skills and competencies. For example, research in assessing science teachers' noticing and attention to classroom events benefitted from more open-ended response formats because teachers can present their own accounts. Then, open-ended responses are typically analyzed with some form of content analysis. However, language is noisy, ambiguous, and unsegmented and thus open-ended, constructed responses are complex to analyze. Uncovering patterns in these responses would benefit from more principled and systematic analysis tools. Consequently, computer-based methods with the help of machine learning and natural language processing were argued to be promising means to enhance assessment of noticing skills with constructed response formats. In particular, pretrained language models recently advanced the study of linguistic phenomena and thus could well advance assessment of complex constructs through constructed response items. This study examines potentials and challenges of a pretrained language model-based clustering approach to assess preservice physics teachers' attention to classroom events as elicited through open-ended written descriptions. It was examined to what extent the clustering approach could identify meaningful patterns in the constructed responses, and in what ways textual organization of the responses could be analyzed with the clusters. Preservice physics teachers (N = 75) were instructed to describe a standardized, video-recorded teaching situation in physics. The clustering approach was used to group related sentences. Results indicate that the pretrained language model-based clustering approach yields well-interpretable, specific, and robust clusters, which could be mapped to physics-specific and more general contents. Furthermore, the clusters facilitate advanced analysis of the textual organization of the constructed responses. Hence, we argue that machine learning and natural language processing provide science education researchers means to combine exploratory capabilities of qualitative research methods with the systematicity of quantitative methods. KW - Attention to classroom events KW - Noticing KW - NLP KW - ML Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-022-09969-w SN - 1059-0145 SN - 1573-1839 VL - 31 IS - 4 SP - 490 EP - 513 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wulff, Peter A1 - Buschhüter, David A1 - Westphal, Andrea A1 - Nowak, Anna A1 - Becker, Lisa A1 - Robalino, Hugo A1 - Stede, Manfred A1 - Borowski, Andreas T1 - Computer-based classification of preservice physics teachers’ written reflections JF - Journal of science education and technology N2 - Reflecting in written form on one's teaching enactments has been considered a facilitator for teachers' professional growth in university-based preservice teacher education. Writing a structured reflection can be facilitated through external feedback. However, researchers noted that feedback in preservice teacher education often relies on holistic, rather than more content-based, analytic feedback because educators oftentimes lack resources (e.g., time) to provide more analytic feedback. To overcome this impediment to feedback for written reflection, advances in computer technology can be of use. Hence, this study sought to utilize techniques of natural language processing and machine learning to train a computer-based classifier that classifies preservice physics teachers' written reflections on their teaching enactments in a German university teacher education program. To do so, a reflection model was adapted to physics education. It was then tested to what extent the computer-based classifier could accurately classify the elements of the reflection model in segments of preservice physics teachers' written reflections. Multinomial logistic regression using word count as a predictor was found to yield acceptable average human-computer agreement (F1-score on held-out test dataset of 0.56) so that it might fuel further development towards an automated feedback tool that supplements existing holistic feedback for written reflections with data-based, analytic feedback. KW - reflection KW - teacher professional development KW - hatural language KW - processing KW - machine learning Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-020-09865-1 SN - 1059-0145 SN - 1573-1839 VL - 30 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - THES A1 - Westphal, Andrea T1 - Diagnostische Kompetenzen von Lehrkräften BT - Urteilstendenzen, Zusammenhänge mit dem Unterrichtshandeln und Entscheidungen zum Klassenüberspringen Y1 - 2015 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Westphal, Andrea A1 - Gronostaj, Anna A1 - Vock, Miriam A1 - Emmrich, Rico A1 - Harych, Peter T1 - Differentiation in Mathematics and in German Lessons on Grammar School Level Is it to be found mainly among good diagnosticians and in heterogeneous classes? JF - Zeitschrift für Pädagogik N2 - Das Anliegen der vorliegenden Studie ist es, zu prüfen, inwiefern eine differenzierende Unterrichtspraxis in den Fächern Mathematik und Deutsch im Zusammenhang mit der Wahrnehmung von Leistungsheterogenität und der Diagnosegenauigkeit von Lehrkräften steht. Der Untersuchung lagen Leistungsdaten aus den Vergleichsarbeiten (VERA-8) und Lehrerurteile über N = 1803 Schüler/innen der achten Jahrgangsstufe an Gymnasien im Land Brandenburg zugrunde sowie Schülereinschätzungen zur Differenzierung im Unterricht. Hierarchische Regressionsanalysen zeigen, dass Mathematiklehrkräfte aus Sicht der Schüler/innen umso stärker differenzierend unterrichten, je besser sie die Leistungsstände der Schüler/innen einschätzen können. Im Fach Deutsch findet differenzierender Unterricht in geringerem Umfang statt und es zeigen sich keine Zusammenhänge mit der Diagnosegenauigkeit. The aim of the present study is to examine in how far a differentiating teaching practice in Math and German lessons is linked with the perception of heterogeneity in student performance and with the teachers´ diagnostic accuracy. The study is based on performance data from comparative tests (VERA-8) and teacher assessments of N = 1803 students attending 8th grade at grammar schools in the federal state of Brandenburg and on student assessments on differentiation in teaching. Hierarchical regression analyses show that, from the students´ perspective, Math teachers differentiate the more in their teaching the better they are able to assess the students´ performance level. In German lessons, differentiating forms of teaching are less often applied and there are no links with diagnostic accuracy. KW - Differentiated Instruction KW - Diagnostic Competency KW - Heterogeneity of Abilities KW - Teaching Quality KW - Teacher Professionalization Y1 - 2016 SN - 0044-3247 VL - 62 SP - 131 EP - 148 PB - Beltz CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kretschmann, Julia A1 - Westphal, Andrea A1 - Vock, Miriam T1 - Does it pay to be one of the oldest in class? BT - Relative age effects on academic self-concept, peer relations, and teacher judgments in German primary schools JF - Learning and instruction : the journal of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction N2 - Several studies have revealed that older students in a year group reach higher achievement scores than younger students in that group. But less is known about how students' relative age in class relates to their self-perception of academic achievement, their social acceptance in class and to how teachers judge their abilities. Therefore, we examined relative age effects within class on students' academic self-concept, peer relations, grades, and teachers' secondary school recommendation. Analyses were based on a sample of N = 18,956 German fourth graders, who had never been retained or accelerated. We applied multilevel regression to control for covariates at the individual and classroom level. There were no substantial relative age effects within class across any of the outcomes, except for a small advantage for the youngest in their reading self-concept. Our findings therefore contradict the common assumption that younger students in class are disadvantaged compared to their older classmates. KW - Relative age effects KW - Month of birth KW - Academic self-concept KW - Peer KW - relations KW - Teacher judgments Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2021.101463 SN - 0959-4752 SN - 1873-3263 VL - 74 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jungbauer, Johannes A1 - Heitmann, Katharina A1 - Westphal, Andrea A1 - Vock, Miriam T1 - Erwachsene Kinder psychisch erkrankter Eltern T1 - Adult children of parents with mental illnesses BT - Ergebnisse einer explorativen Fragebogenstudie BT - Results from an exploratory survey JF - Zeitschrift für Familienforschung JF - Journal of Family Research N2 - Zielsetzung: In diesem Beitrag werden Ergebnisse der EKipeE-Studie vorgestellt, in der erwachsene Kinder psychisch kranker Eltern befragt wurden. Ziel war es, die von den Befragten wahrgenommenen langfristigen Auswirkungen auf ihre Biographie, ihre Persönlichkeit und ihre Sozialbeziehungen zu beschreiben. Außerdem sollten Zusammenhänge zwischen ausgewählten belastenden Kindheitserfahrungen und Problemen im Erwachsenenalter untersucht werden. Ferner sollten die Unterstützungsbedürfnisse und -wünsche der erwachsenen Kinder erfasst werden. Methode: Im Rahmen einer online-Fragebogenstudie wurden N=561 erwachsene Kinder psychisch kranker Eltern befragt. Die quantitativen Fragebogendaten wurden mit SPSS 23.0 statistisch ausgewertet; die freien Antworten und Kommentare wurden inhaltsanalytisch ausgewertet. Ergebnisse: Die Studienteilnehmer berichteten vielfältige emotionale und soziale Probleme, die sie als Folgen ihrer Kindheitserfahrungen wahrnehmen. Sehr häufig haben sie das Gefühl, in ihrer Identität und ihrem Verhalten negativ geprägt zu sein. Viele äußern deswegen einen Bedarf an professioneller Beratung und Unterstützung. Diskussion: Es handelt sich um die bislang umfangreichste Studie zu den langfristigen Folgen einer Kindheit mit einem psychisch kranken Elternteil im deutschsprachigen Raum. Die Ergebnisse verdeutlichen, dass frühzeitige Hilfe- und Präventionsangebote für betroffene Kinder, Eltern und Familien notwendig sind. Auch die Bereitstellung spezifischer Beratungsangebote für erwachsene Kinder psychisch kranker Eltern wird empfohlen. N2 - Objective: This paper presents the results of the EKipeE Study, which surveyed the adult children of parents with mental illnesses. The objective of the study was to extrapolate the long-term effects that parents’ mental illnesses had on their children’s biographies, personalities, and social relationships. The study also aimed to make connections between specific stressful situations in childhood and problems in later life. Additionally, the study aimed to understand what kind of support the adult children required and wanted. Method: Using an online questionnaire, N=561 adult children of parents with mental illnesses were surveyed. The quantitative survey data was statistically analyzed using SPSS 23.0; the qualitative data from answers and other remarks was evaluated using content analysis. Results: Participants in the study reported a diverse range of emotions and social problems that they perceived as having resulted from their childhood experiences. They often had the feeling that their identity and behavior had been affected negatively. Consequently, many expressed a need for professional counselling and support. Discussion: The study was the most extensive to date within German- speaking countries to survey the long-term effects of a childhood spent with a parent with mental illnesses. The results underline the need for early support and prevention services for affected children, parents, and families. The provision of specific counselling services for adult children of parents with mental illnesses is also recommended. KW - adult children KW - parents with mental illnesses KW - long-term effects KW - development risks KW - support for affected families KW - erwachsene Kinder KW - psychisch kranke Eltern KW - langfristige Auswirkungen KW - Entwicklungsrisiken KW - Hilfebedarf für betroffene Familien Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3224/zff.v30i2.05 SN - 1437-2940 SN - 2196-2154 VL - 30 IS - 2 SP - 216 EP - 229 PB - Budrich CY - Leverkusen ER -