Coordination Funds

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Located at LMU and TUM in Munich, the research unit COSIMA (FOR 2385) includes researchers from teacher education, medical education, and educational psychology. Based on a conceptual framework, the research unit addresses fundamental questions regarding the instructional support within simulation-based learning environments aimed at fostering diagnostic competences. One research focus is the concept of scaffolding, i.e. supporting learners while they are working on a task, e.g. with worked-out examples, role-taking, prompts, or reflection phases. At the beginning of the first funding period subprojects 1 through 7 developed and validated simulation-based learning environments and, where necessary, new assessment instruments. Now, the subprojects are conducting experiments on the conditions under which certain types of scaffolding will benefit learning processes and the acquisition of diagnostic competences. Subproject M is responsible for the meta-analytic integration of results within the research unit and with the broader empirical research literature. Thus, it is possible to investigate the effects of scaffolding for a broad range of contexts. The first results, mainly based on meta-analyses, show large effects of simulations on the acquisition of complex competences. Moreover, scaffolding supports the acquisition of diagnostic competences with a medium effect size. However, this effect is moderated by learning prerequisites and context variables. The variation of effects due to different diagnostic situations (document-based vs. interaction-based diagnoses) is more pronounced than the one between domains (e.g. teacher education vs. medical education). The results of the meta-analyses further show that even advanced learners benefit from certain types of scaffolding. These results are used to formulate hypotheses about the sequence of types and amounts of scaffolding. Therefore, a focus of the second funding period is on adapting scaffolding for different or changing learning prerequisites. The research questions are: What are the effects of type and amount of scaffolding as well as the time of the adaptation and the adaptation means on diagnostic processes and the acquisition of diagnostic competences? It is a goal to continue all of the subprojects in the second funding period. As before, (quasi-)experiments will be used to answer research questions. Additional methodological foci are in-depth analyses of learning processes and longitudinal studies on the facilitation of diagnostic competences. Furthermore, the research unit will use recent meta-analytic methods and expand the aggregation of primary data from the subprojects to answer questions regarding the domain specificity of effects of instructions. The coordination project will use the requested funding to manage the collaboration within the research unit, for international networking, for equal opportunity measures, and for public relation tasks.