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Intuitive conceptions based on cognitive biases (teleology, anthropomorphism, and essentialism) often prove helpful in everyday life while simultaneously being problematic in scientific contexts. Nonetheless, students often have intuitive conceptions of scientific topics such as evolution. As potential approaches to enable students to self-regulate their conceptions in the context of evolution, we investigated the effectiveness of two instructional approaches that are based on metacognition and self-regulated learning: (a) a formative criteria-referenced self-assessment of one's conceptions and (b) instruction on conditional metaconceptual knowledge (metacognitive knowledge about why and in which contexts specific conceptions are appropriate or not). We conducted an experimental intervention study using a 2 × 2 factorial (plus an additional control group), pre-post-follow-up-test design in German upper secondary level biology classes (N = 730). The groups that received one or both interventions had higher conceptual knowledge (i.e., used less intuitive conceptions and/or more scientific conceptions) afterward than those whose conceptions were not addressed: The self-assessment resulted in higher use of scientific conceptions; the instruction on conditional metaconceptual knowledge additionally resulted in lower use of intuitive conceptions based on cognitive biases, more reported thought processes relating to inhibition of cognitive biases, and a better ability to identify inappropriate phrasing based on cognitive biases. No effects were found on students' self-reported metaconceptual awareness and regulation. However, the fact that students inhibited their intuitive conceptions in the post-test indicates that they were indeed metaconceptually aware of and self-regulated their conceptions. The results suggest that students can be taught to become aware of the differences between intuitive and scientific conceptions and to regulate the use of their intuitive conceptions in a scientific context.

Sculpting representations of human organs out of modeling clay is an acknowledged method of teaching anatomical structures. Because of its potential to provide detailed spatial information, stereoscopic imagery can be understood to function as a suitable template for such sculpting tasks. Currently, it is unknown whether the advantages of stereoscopic images for modeling structures result from enhanced depth impression alone, or whether task performance is impacted by factors such as situational intrinsic motivation and perceived competence while sculpting a human organ using stereoscopic imagery as template. To clarify these queries, 35 eighth-grade students constructed a representation of the nasal cavity consisting of modeling clay. After the working phase, their situational intrinsic motivation and their perceived competence were assessed by a paper-and-pencil test and then analyzed, as was the elaboration of the sculpted representations. A control group with 38 students working with nonstereoscopic visualizations functioned as a counterpart. Stereoscopic imagery outperformed nonstereoscopic imagery concerning the accuracy in elaborating structures within the representations. However, there was no difference between situational intrinsic motivation and perceived competence in the context of using the digital template for forming the representations. Within the cohort working with nonstereoscopic imagery, situational intrinsic motivation was correlated with task performance. In contrast, within the cohort working with stereoscopic imagery, there was no relation concerning this. The findings show that depth impression due to stereoscopic imagery can be utilized to construct template-close representations, independently of situational feelings. This independence from situational sensitivities indicates that low situational intrinsic motivation will not condemn students to poor task performance.

Teleology has been described as an intuitive cognitive bias and as a major type of student conception. There is controversy regarding whether teleological explanations are a central obstacle to, are legitimate in, or are even supportive of science learning. However, interaction in science classrooms has not yet been investigated with regard to teleology. Consequently, this study addresses the question of how teleological explanations emerge in science classroom interactions about evolution and how teachers and students address emerging teleology. In this article, we introduce a theoretical and methodological framework drawing from the sociology of knowledge and systems theory, suggesting that this framework may enrich the understanding of knowledge construction and of social practices in the science classroom because it enables distinguishing between explicit and tacit knowledge. We investigated seven secondary school units about evolution and present data from four grade-12 classes in Germany, a country with very few creationists, to contrast two ways in which teleology is addressed. In the first type, the teachers combine intentional and need-based teleological explanations with aspects of scientific theories in an ambiguous way. Contrastingly, in the second type, the teachers construct a duality between correct mechanistic and incorrect teleological explanations by discrediting preceding scientific theories. In the discussion, we argue that the presented sociological approach can also be valuable in other science education contexts, such as creationism, the nature of science and socio-scientific issues, because classroom interaction involves tacit communication, such as a tacit epistemology, which are essential grounds for the students' knowledge construction.

By comparing two federal education systems, namely Germany and the U.S., and their reactions to PISA we show how international, large-scale student assessments (ILSA) have been used by national stakeholders to gain leverage for legitimising or de-legitimising policy reforms in education. From a neo-institutionalist perspective we argue that country-specific path-dependencies and policy legacies, such as different systems of power devolution, testing traditions and also non-governmental actor influence, additionally moderate the impact of ILSA.

As the field of education has become a highly internationalised policy field in the last decade, international organisations such as the OECD play an ever more decisive role in the dissemination of knowledge, monitoring of outcomes, and research in education policy. Although the OECD lacks any binding governance instruments to put coercion on States or to provide material incentive, it has successively expanded its competences in this field. OECD advanced its status as an expert organisation in the field of education mainly by designing and conducting the international comparative PISA study. With PISA, the OECD was able to greatly influence national education systems. Basically, States were faced with external advice based on sound empirical data that challenged existing domestic policies, politics, and ideas. One prominent case for the impact of PISA is Germany. PISA was a decisive watershed in German education policy-making. Almost instantly after the PISA results were publicised in late 2001, a comprehensive education reform agenda was put forward in Germany. The experienced reform dynamic was highly surprising because the traditional German education system and politics were characterised by deep-rooted historical legacies, many involved stakeholders at different levels, and reform-hampering institutions. Hence, a backlog of grand education reforms have prevailed in Germany since the 1970s. The external pressure exerted by PISA completely changed that situation.

Describes a research program into environmental activity factors that consists of three studies. Evaluates the validity of the Integrated Action Model and applies the model to evaluate the effects of school environmental instruction and the effects of the nature experience. Contains 53 references. (DDR)

»Generationen und soziale Strukturen in sozialistischen Staaten: Die DDR und Ostdeutschland im Vergleich mit Nordkorea«. In this paper the development of social structures and generations in the GDR is outlined, and it is compared with developments of the "people's republic" of North Korea in three aspects. Firstly, the emergence of a socialist establishment, that means larger social milieus which are apparently loyal to the state, is interpreted as a basis for stabilization in the GDR and in North Korea. Secondly, in the GDR Western oriented alternative milieus and subcultures became important actors during the political upheaval during the end of the 1980s. There is, however, no evidence of comparable intellectual or cultural counter-elites in opposition to the socialist establishment in North Korea. And third, the history of the GDR is distinguished by a sharply declining rate of integration of the younger generations into the socialist system. The last generations of the GDR are labelled with the adjectives "reserved and unadvised." In contrast to the GDR, in North Korea each new generation seems to experience major historic events which had possibly had a constituting generative effect on some age cohorts. Thus, even the famine of the 1990s became a national challenge whose overcoming were laid in the responsibility of everyone, including the young generation. Finally, the conclusions of these differences between the former socialist states (using the example of GDR) and North Korea are discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

»Einige Ergebnisse der ökonomischen Transformation in Ostdeutschland und ihre mögliche Relevanz für Entwicklungen in Korea«. The outcomes of the transformation of the GDR economy is described in regard to four topics: reproduction of managerial elites, due to functional necessities; short windows of opportunity of reaching a leading position at the top level of companies in the new economic order; fast role taking of the new managerial elites who often had a professional background as cadres in the socialist economy; and an accelerated change of social structure. The results refer to different surveys among entrepreneurs and executive of industrial firms in East and West Germany. The data were collected by the research project A2 "Economic elites in enlarged Europe" of the Collaborative Research Centre 580 at the universities of Halle and Jena, and they can additionally be compared with similar surveys among Polish and Hungarian respondents. The results are assessed in reference to three transformation paths which distinguished countries that have undergone after the collapse of the global socialist economic system. Eventually the relevance of the outcomes is considered for the North Korean case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The pilot study at the Ketzin site close to Berlin (Germany) aims at in-situ testing of geological storage of CO2 in a saline aquifer. Following site characterization and the drilling of one injection well and two observation wells, the in-situ field laboratory has been fully in use since CO2 injection started in June 2008. After two years of operation, about 36,000 tons of CO2 have been injected. This paper presents the key results from the second year of injection and the interdisciplinary monitoring concept in the frame of the European project CO2SINK (CO2 Storage by Injection into a Natural Saline Aquifer at Ketzin) and accompanying projects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Data of a survey among German executives and entrepreneurs of medium sized companies of the manufacturing industry are used to illustrate careers of the contemporary managerial positional elite in East Germany. Most members of this business elite have a background in the former socialist economy of the German Democratic Republic. A special multivariate method (optimal matching of sequence data describing careers during the time frame 1981-2001) reveals that some the elite's recent features -- for instance: age structure, job mobility, ownership in companies, and qualifications -- are still influenced by windows of opportunities in the beginning of the 90's, and are correlated with special pattern of occupational states (sequences of positions). The dominant career pattern can be described by the term "continuousness". The empirical results are finally discussed in regard to the concepts of continuity of careers and success of achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]