Fostering on-the-fly judgements of students’ conceptions using video and text vignettes

Abstract

Students’ intuitive conceptions can inhibit the acquisition of scientifically correct ecological concepts in biology lessons if teachers do not diagnose these conceptions and address these adaptively. During instruction, teachers often have to judge students’ expressions spontaneously (“on-the-fly”). Future teachers should be prepared for this challenging task. In this study, influences on the acquisition of diagnostic skills have been examined within an experimental pretest-posttest design (N = 36). For this purpose, various characteristics of case-based learning environments have been systematically varied (video vs. text/different kinds of students’ conceptions). Trainings of diagnostic skills using case media appeared to be effective as compared to the presentation of diagnostic knowledge without a training opportunity. Using video or text as case media had not made a significant difference. Furthermore, the acquisition of diagnostic skills in this particular area seemed to be content-specific. Our findings are discussed with regard to developing instructional support procedures in teacher education.