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Due to its constructivist nature, interdisciplinary teaching appears ideal for increasing students' interests in subjects (Brassler, 2020; Kramer & Wegner, 2021). Although many argue in favor of a more comprehensive implementation of interdisciplinary teaching in schools, many practical barriers arise during the realization that need to be resolved following the design-based research approach (DBR) (Kramer & Wegner, 2022b). Especially at the upper secondary school level, implementation seems to be difficult. The question arises of how interdisciplinary instruction can be usefully implemented in the upper grades. As a first potential solution, interdisciplinary project days were developed in the subject combination of biology and physical education and evaluated with the help of an initial study. The prototypes developed increased both students' situational interests and their perceptions of the utility value of the subjects involved (Kramer & Wegner, 2021; 2022a). However, the implementation process could be optimized, as it currently depends on reducing other school subjects. Therefore, following the iterative cycle of DBR, a new prototype was developed involving interdisciplinary units within the regular subject lessons. The second prototype was empirically evaluated with a control-group design. In contrast to the first prototype, only descriptive trends were found, indicating that the interdisciplinary units trigger situational interest and stabilize individual interest. However, this cannot be supported statistically. Due to a high data dropout, the sample size should be increased, and the trends should be further investigated. In terms of practical feasibility, the second prototype has an advantage as it does not require any cancellation of subject lessons. However, implementing a second subject may reduce the time available for subject-specific content.

Attachment theory proposes that young children's experiences with their caregivers has a tremendous influence on how children navigate their social relationships. By the end of early childhood, intergroup contexts play an important role in their social life and children build strong ties to their ingroups. Although both domains relate to the same psychological processes--children's affective ties to others--surprisingly very little research has addressed how children's attachment relates to their intergroup attitudes and behavior. In this study, we investigate the link. For that purpose, 5-year-old children (n = 100) first underwent the German Attachment Story Completion Task (GEV-B). Then we allocated children into minimal groups based on T-Shirt color and assessed their intergroup attitudes and intergroup behavior. Results showed that while most children showed a strong and robust ingroup bias in their attitudes and behavior, children with an insecure-ambivalent attachment representation treated in- and outgroup similarly. Overall, this study provides novel perspectives on the relationship between children's attachment representation and their interactions in the social world.

Autonomous motivation for self-set goals (pursuing goals for more intrinsic and less extrinsic reasons) has been linked to affective well-being. Using intensive longitudinal data, the present article examines the link between university students' autonomous study motivation with affective well-being and targets fulfillment of the basic psychological needs as a potential mediating factor of this association on the within-person and the between-person level. University students in Germany (N = 488) completed an online questionnaire once a week over up to two semesters, indicating their weekly study motivation, need fulfillment, and affective well-being. Multilevel structural equation models were employed to target (a) the structure of autonomous study motivation and (b) the associations of autonomous study motivation with need fulfillment and affective well-being. Autonomous study motivation was associated with students' positive and negative affect on both levels. In line with predictions by self-determination theory, multilevel mediation models suggested indirect effects via need fulfillment on both levels. Results highlight the central role of autonomous study motivation and need fulfillment in university students' socioemotional adjustment. A better understanding of this socioemotional adjustment of university students may be an important step for increasing overall study satisfaction and developing interventions to reduce study dropout.

In a diagnostic context of reasoning about instructional quality, scientific reasoning skills can be described as diagnostic activities, which require professional knowledge. Different approaches to enhance pre-service teachers' professional knowledge (PCK, CK, PK), as well as diagnostic activities exist. However, results about their effectiveness are still inconsistent. We systematically investigated the effectiveness of self-directed knowledge acquisition via texts on PCK, CK, PK, and diagnostic activities of 81 pre-service biology teachers following an experimental design. Paper-pencil tests, measuring PCK, CK, and PK, and the video-based assessment tool DiKoBi Assess, measuring diagnostic activities in the context of diagnosing instructional quality, were used pre and post an intervention. Intervention included four treatments on self-directed knowledge acquisition via texts on: (1) PCK; (2) CK; (3) PK; and (4) combination PCK/CK/PK. Treatment (5) served as control. Mixed ANOVAs showed large time effects for PCK and CK, but no interaction effect concerning knowledge facets between time and treatment for any of the treatments. Time effects might be due to pre-service teachers' scientific reasoning on biology instruction that activated knowledge. An ANCOVA showed no significant effect of treatment on diagnostic activities either. We conclude that scientific reasoning about instructional quality is more effective for knowledge acquisition than text-work.

Teachers' diagnostic competences are essential with respect to student achievement, classroom assessment, and instructional quality. Important components of diagnostic competences are teachers' professional knowledge including content knowledge (CK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), their diagnostic activities as a specification of situation-specific skills, and diagnostic accuracy. Accuracy is determined by comparing a teacher's observation of classroom incidents with subject-specific challenges to be identified from scripted instructional situations. To approximate diagnostic situations close to real-life, the assessment of science teachers' diagnostic competences requires a situated context that was provided through videotaped classroom situations in this study. We investigated the relationship between professional knowledge (PCK, CK, PK) of 186 pre-service biology teachers, their diagnostic activities, and diagnostic accuracy measured with the video-based assessment tool DiKoBi "Assess." Results of path analyses utilizing Rasch measures showed that both PCK and PK were statistically significantly related to pre-service teachers' diagnostic activities. Additionally, biology teachers' PCK was positively related to diagnostic accuracy. Considering higher effect sizes of PCK compared to PK, the findings support previous findings indicating the importance of PCK, thus demonstrating its importance in the context of subject-specific diagnosis as well.

Over many years of research, a decline in interest over the school years is repeatedly described. To address this decline, the value of content or a specific subject should be promoted. To increase content relevance, task value interventions can be conducted which are related to the theory of subjective task values by Wigfield & Eccles (2020). These values consist of intrinsic, attainment, and utility value. Due to its constructivist character, interdisciplinary interventions may meet preconditions to promote interest and could initiate situational interest and influence subject-specific values (e.g., utility value). The present study investigates whether and to what extent interdisciplinary interventions in biology and physical education influence the development of interest. A total of 73 students (mean age = 17.7 years) from four secondary schools took part in a one-day interdisciplinary intervention called "learning through movement," which combined physical education and biology. The intervention was accompanied by a modified quantitative questionnaire based on predescribed subjective task values. Mixed ANOVAs with repeated measures showed that the interdisciplinary intervention positively influenced situational intrinsic and utility values for both physical education and biology. By examining potential interaction effects, it was found that students with a low initial situational interest were positively affected by the intervention. Our study supports the notion that interdisciplinary interventions have an impact on subjective task values in biology and physical education and therefore have the potential to influence interest development, especially for lower interested students.

Diagnosing is an important aspect of teachers' professional competence. To successfully diagnose classroom situations, one has to apply pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in diagnostic activities (DA). Simulated classroom situations with embedded scaffolding can be an effective way of practising skills needed to foster diagnostic competences. In an intervention study with pre-post-test design using the video-based learning environment DiKoBi, we investigated the effects of scaffolds on the diagnostic competences of 57 pre-service biology-teachers in an early stage of university education. For the intervention, we developed two types of scaffolds: one providing additional PCK (PCK-scaffold) and one focusing on the diagnostic activities (DA-scaffold). Pre-service teachers were divided into four groups depending on the type of scaffold they received during the intervention (PCK-, PCK + DA-, DA- and control group). Pre-service teachers receiving PCK-scaffolds showed statistically significantly higher diagnostic competences in the post-test than in the pre-test. This includes the PCK- as well as the PCK + DA-group. For the other two groups, no significant improvement can be reported. Thus, we assume that the diagnostic competences of pre-service biology teachers can effectively be fostered by including PCK-scaffolds in "DiKoBi" and hence a minimum of PCK is necessary for successfully diagnosing in simulated classroom situations.

To slow down the spread of the COVID-19 virus, schools around the world were closed in early 2020, transferring children's scholastic activities to the homes and imposing a massive burden on parents and school-age children. Using data of a 21-day diary study conducted between March and April 2020 in Germany, this work examined whether (a) distance learning and (b) parents' involvement therein were associated with negative parent--child interactions and affective well-being of parents and children, over and above the effect of daily stressors. Participants were 562 parents (489 mothers, M[subscript age] = 42.79, SD[subscript age] = 6.12, range = 25-63) most of whom were married (n = 382, 68.0%). They responded to the daily items with respect to the youngest child living in their household (M[subscript age] = 9.74, SD[subscript age] = 2.81, range = 6-19). On days when children were working on school tasks, parents reported more negative parent-child interactions as well as lower parental and child positive affect and higher child negative affect, but not higher parental negative affect. Moreover, days when parents were more heavily involved in learning (i.e., when children worked less independently) were days with more negative parent-child interactions, lower parental and child positive affect, and higher parental and child negative affect. Negative parent-child interactions were linked to lower affective well-being of parents and children, and partially accounted for the relation among daily stressors and affective well-being. The present work highlights the need for measures to better support school-age children and their parents during distance learning.

High sleep quality has been associated with beneficial outcomes across the life span. Intensive longitudinal studies suggest that these beneficial effects can also be observed on a day-to-day level. However, the dynamic interplay between subjective sleep quality and affective well-being in children's daily life has only rarely been investigated. The aims of the present work were (a) to replicate findings from a prior ambulatory assessment study in this area (Könen et al., 2016), (b) to explore the effect of subjective sleep quality on well-being throughout the day, and (c) to examine the reciprocal relation between subjective sleep quality and well-being in more detail. Data from two ambulatory assessment studies with children between 8 and 11 years (N = 108/84, with assessments over 28/21 consecutive days) consistently showed that positive affect was higher and negative affect was lower after nights with better sleep quality, and that the effects of subjective sleep quality were stronger on well-being assessed in the morning compared with later in the day. Results from dynamic structural equation models revealed reciprocal effects of subjective sleep quality and positive affect. Negative affect was not consistently related to worse subsequent sleep quality after controlling for positive affect and prior night's sleep quality. Results suggest a close relation of sleep quality and positive affect, which strengthens the idea behind interventions targeting both, children's sleep and well-being. Differences between children in the dynamic interplay between sleep and affect may be important predictors of long-term outcomes.

The understanding of complex, dynamic and animate systems has a special standing in education for sustainable development and biology. Thus one important role of science teacher education is to promote student teachers' Content Related Knowledge (CRK) for teaching systems thinking, consisting of extensive Content Knowledge (CK) and well formed Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). But the effective development of this knowledge is empirically uncertain. This article reports the effects of three different interventions (technical course, didactic course, mixed course) in promoting student teachers' reflective Content Related Knowledge for teaching systems thinking. Participants analyzed a videotaped lesson of 6th graders learning about the ecosystem lake and identified weak aspects in the teacher's CK and PCK. The results revealed that student teachers' reflective Content Related Knowledge for teaching systems thinking can be promoted in teacher education. The conclusion to be drawn from our findings is that a mixed course with equal technical and didactical input seems to be most effective in fostering student teachers' reflective Content Related Knowledge for teaching systems thinking.

A key challenge for teachers is the evaluation of teaching and learning situations in the classroom. Video-based instruments are considered as effective tools for measuring teachers' skills for evaluating classroom situations. This article reports the development and validation of a video-based assessment tool for measuring biology teachers' professional vision. Analyses of interviews using think-aloud protocols with in-service biology teachers showed that they perceived the staged videos in the video-based assessment tool as authentic. Furthermore, they identified biology-specific dimensions of instructional quality in the videos, and used aspects of professional vision while reasoning about the identified situations. Thus, results indicate the suitability of the video-based assessment tool for capturing professional vision with the potential to be used in further interventions within teacher education programs.

Tuebingen's "Sectio Chirurgica" (TSC) is an innovative, interactive, multimedia, and transdisciplinary teaching method designed to complement dissection courses. The Tuebingen's "Sectio Chirurgica" (TSC) allows clinical anatomy to be taught via interactive live stream surgeries moderated by an anatomist. This method aims to provide an application-oriented approach to teaching anatomy that offers students a deeper learning experience. A cohort study was devised to determine whether students who participated in the TSC were better able to solve clinical application questions than students who did not participate. A total of 365 students participated in the dissection course during the winter term of the 2012/2013 academic year. The final examination contained 40 standard multiple-choice (S-MC) and 20 clinically-applied multiple-choice (CA-MC) items. The CA-MC items referred to clinical cases but could be answered solely using anatomical knowledge. Students who regularly participated in the TSC answered the CA-MC questions significantly better than the control group (75% and 65%, respectively; P < 0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). The groups exhibited no differences on the S-MC questions (85% and 82.5%, respectively; P > 0.05). The CA-MC questions had a slightly higher level of difficulty than the S-MC questions (0.725 and 0.801, respectively; P = 0.083). The discriminatory power of the items was comparable (S-MC median Pearson correlations: 0.321; CA-MC: 0.283). The TSC successfully teaches the clinical application of anatomical knowledge. Students who attended the TSC in addition to the dissection course were able to answer CA-MC questions significantly better than students who did not attend the TSC. Thus, attending the TSC in addition to the dissection course supported students' clinical learning goals.

This article addresses exemplary differences between preschools with systematic physical activity (PA) programmes and preschools without PA programmes in Germany. Two preschools from each group were visited in the context of a focused ethnographic observation to examine the educational practice, PA and social behaviour of preschool children. The observation showed that children engage in PA in preschool under certain conditions (e.g. a structure providing a wide range of PA offerings that can be selected according to interest). Potentials of PA promotion can also be seen in the areas of rule-teaching and the promotion of self-confidence in children. A structure-providing policy in conjunction with the provision of exercise rooms and the promotion of children's independence seem to have special influence on the social behaviour of children. Promoting children's independence serves to strengthen the children's sense of self-efficacy and may contribute to improving their social skills and reducing the burden on teachers.

The authors used a standardized questionnaire to survey 201 international and 193 German students at the University of Bielefeld, Germany, to determine differences in health practices between the 2 groups and to identify targets for health-promoting interventions. Multivariate logistic regression models revealed that long-term female international students (those whose duration of residency in Germany was more than 2 years) had lower levels of physical activity and alcohol consumption than their German counterparts and higher rates of smoking independently associated with international citizenship. Short-term international female students were less likely than German students to receive social support. Among men, long-term international student status was associated with daily smoking and inconsistent seat belt use, whereas short-term student status was associated with a lower rate of seat belt use, a higher level of perceived stress, and a healthier diet, compared with domestic students. Findings from the study could give rise to health-promotion activities for international students at German universities: additional studies at other European universities are necessary before making further recommendations.

Social validity is the extent to which procedures, goals, and outcomes are acceptable and important to end users and is not commonly addressed during assessment development. This article pilots a process of triangulating multiple methods to evaluate the social validity of a self-report assessment. These procedures were piloted using the Child Occupational Self-Assessment (COSA), a self-report of everyday activities for children with disabilities. This study collected COSA responses from 502 children with disabilities and conducted observations and interviews with 5 additional children with cerebral palsy. Data were aligned with social validity benchmark statements and integrated using data displays. Social validity was evaluated by examining congruencies and discrepancies in the results. Implications and the legitimacy of design decisions are discussed. (Contains 3 figures, 5 tables, and 3 notes.)

Objective: To assess alcohol use and problem drinking among university students in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and to examine the associated factors. Method: A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted in 16 universities in 2006-2007 in NRW by a standardized questionnaire and 3,306 students provided information (response rate of 88%). Problem drinking was measured by the CAGE questionnaire. Results: Alcohol consumption in the last 3 months was reported by greater than 90% of students. About 80% reported heavy drinking, and 20% displayed problem drinking. Male students, students living in residence halls, and students from sport faculties had a higher risk of heavy drinking and problem drinking. When students were compared across study years, frequency of heavy drinking decreased with higher semesters. Conclusions: Overall, heavy drinking and problem drinking are common among university students in this sample. Intervention programs should be designed for students at a particularly high risk. (Contains 1 note and 2 tables.)

For technology-enhanced learning, the idea of "learning objects" transfers the technologies of content management, methods of software engineering and principles of open access to educational resources. This paper reports on CampusContent, a research project and competence centre for e-learning at FernUniversitat in Hagen that designed and developed an integrated portal to a repository network named "edu-sharing." This portal facilitates sharing, joint development and reuse of learning material and pedagogical knowledge. CampusContent focused on essential challenges concerning use and utility of learning objects and developed principles, methods and tools that support educators in the process of contextualising learning objects within educational settings. Our model offers three levels of contextualisation: "configurable objects," "learning scenarios" and an "integrated work environment for educators."

The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with misperceptions of body shape for 1,681 first-year University students from Germany and Lithuania. The perception of body shape was rated on a five-point scale. Multifactorial logistic regression showed that German students were more likely to perceive themselves as being fatter than their BMI suggested compared with their Lithuanian peers. The results indicated that misperception of body shape was a substantial problem for these university students, particularly those from Germany. (Contains 3 tables.)

The German Central Office for Continuing Training in the Crafts Sector develops continuing training for small businesses and works on teacher training. The focus is on quality assurance through continuing updates of concepts and development of new instructional media. (SK)

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Abstract: To counteract the threat of habitat loss and fragmentation for wildlife in Europe, planning processes need to incorporate basic requirements of wildlife populations. In several regions in Germany, the expansion of the wildcat (Felis silvestris, Schreber 1777) population is hindered by fragmented habitat and anthropogenic barriers. We developed a corridor plan for Lower Saxony, Germany, that can be used as a protocol for guiding species restoration to reconnect fragmented habitat patches based on a statistical habitat selection model. The model was transferred directly into a cost surface and we used least-cost path models to find the best potential corridors leading from source areas towards the north and connecting existing populations. We evaluated the habitat model and corridors with a dataset of more than 800 cases of wildcat sightings and road kills within the study area. 9500km2 of the area of Lower Saxony were identified as suitable wildcat habitat, of which only one third is populated by wildcats at the moment. Wildcat sightings and casualties were significantly more often near potential corridors identified by the least-cost path model than elsewhere. With the wildcat corridor network proposed here, areas can be defined which should have a high priority to be kept in a natural state as an aim of land use plans, which should be improved where necessary and where mitigation measures should be concentrated. We give practical advice on how to optimise and implement corridors for the purpose of land use planning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Elbe is one of the major rivers releasing pollutants into the coastal areas of the German North Sea. Its estuary represents the habitat of a small population of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). Only little is known about the health status and contamination levels of these seals. Therefore, a first-ever seal catch was organized next to the islands of Neuwerk and Scharhörn in the region of the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park. The investigations included a broad set of health parameters and the analysis of metals and organic pollutants in blood samples. Compared to animals of other Wadden Sea areas, the seals showed higher γ-globulin levels, suggesting higher concentrations of pathogens in this near-urban area, elevated concentrations for several metals in particular for V, Sn, Pb, and Sr, and comparable ranges for chlorinated organic contaminants, except for elevated levels of hexachlorobenzene, which indicates characteristic inputs from the Elbe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an analysis of rise in racist violence in Federal Republic of Germany between 1990 and 1993 carried out mainly by young men against foreigners. However, the number of offenses gradually decreased after the so-called asylum compromise of the political class that allows the federal government to effectively block legal immigration to Germany. According to the author, it is necessary to focus on not just the offenders, but to understand the interaction process that legitimized violent actions. The interactions of politicians, media, offenders and the majority allowed a great rightward shift of the political discourse, starting with asylum seekers' collective construction as the worst economic and political problem of the Federal Republic of Germany. The symbolic dimension racist offenders took over the role of requesting government action against phoney asylum seekers. As economic downturn and a perceived threat of immigration were combined, the violence exhibited by young males was symptomatic of greater societal attitudes.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can colonize dental patients and students, however, studies on the prevalence of MRSA and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) among dental health care workers (DHCW) including use of personal protective equipment (PPE) are scarce. We conducted an observational study (StaphDent study) to (I) determine the prevalence of MRSA and MSSA colonization in DHCW in the region of Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania, Germany, (II) resolve the S. aureus population structure to gain hints on possible transmission events between co-workers, and (III) clarify use of PPE. Nasal swabs were obtained from dentists (n = 149), dental assistants (n = 297) and other dental practice staff (n = 38). Clonal relatedness of MSSA isolates was investigated using spa typing and, in some cases, whole genome sequencing (WGS). PPE use was assessed by questionnaire. While 22.3% (108/485) of the participants were colonized with MSSA, MRSA was not detected. MSSA prevalence was not associated with size of dental practices, gender, age, or duration of employment. The identified 61 spa types grouped into 17 clonal complexes and four sequence types. Most spa types (n = 47) were identified only once. In ten dental practices one spa type occurred twice. WGS data analysis confirmed a close clonal relationship for 4/10 isolate pairs. PPE was regularly used by most dentists and assistants. To conclude, the failure to recover MRSA from DHCW reflects the low MRSA prevalence in this region. Widespread PPE use suggests adherence to routine hygiene protocols. Compared to other regional HCW MRSA rates the consequent usage of PPE seems to be protective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article retrospects the opening of the Berlin Wall in Germany on November 9, 1989. It recounts that the opening of the Berlin Wall and the sudden downfall of the Communism regimes in 1989 are described as the fate of a lengthy process of systemic decay. It states that Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), created two basic goals for Soviet policy in 1989 to keep from direct Soviet military intervention and to acquire transition of new political order in Eastern Europe. It notes that consequences on Gorbachev's approach became evident in 1898 which resulted to the peaceful revolution in East Germany, the opening of the Berlin Wall, the downfall of Bulgarian communist leader Todor Zhivkov, and the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia.