FOR 2385:  Facilitation of Diagnostic Competences in Simulation-Based Learning Environments in Higher Education

• Subject Area: Social and Behavioural Sciences
• Term: since 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 274698440

Diagnosing is a prerequisite for successful professional problem-solving. This applies to aphysician's identification of an appropriate treatment for a patient as well as to a teacher'sselection of an appropriate learning task for a student. Higher education is usually focused onDiagnosing is a prerequisite for successful professional problem-solving. This applies to a physician's identification of an appropriate treatment for a patient as well as to a teacher's selection of an appropriate learning task for a student. Higher education is usually focused on teaching conceptual knowledge. Opportunities for students to act and to engage in practicaldiagnostic situations are typically rare. However, both knowledge and practicing diagnostic activities are regarded as necessary conditions for the acquisition of diagnostic competences. This research group focuses on simulation-based learning environments, where diagnostic activities can be practiced in realistic situations. The common goal is to analyse how theinstructional design of simulation-based learning environments can be optimized to promote learning in the early and middle phases of competence acquisition. With respect to instructional support approaches, we focus on direct instruction as well as different forms of support during problem-solving (scaffolding). In addition, characteristics of the diagnostic situation and thedomain are considered as contextual factors that potentially moderate the effects of instructional support approaches on the acquisition of diagnostic competences.The scientific potential of the research group is increased through conceptual and methodological links between school-related research and research in medical education, as well as through increased co-operations between various school-related disciplines. To realize the potentials, researchers from medical education, the mathematics education, physics education and biology education, as well as from psychological research on learning and instruction work together in this research group. They have developed a joint working model, whose central constructs are measured in all studies of the sub-projects. In the first funding period, 7 interdisciplinary projects will carry out 25 empirical studies. In theses interdisciplinary projects individual prerequisites, as well as diagnostic processes and the diagnostic quality are covered. An additional meta-analytic subprojectsystematizes the integration efforts of the research group.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• International Connection: USA

Projects

• Coordination Funds (Applicant Fischer, Frank )
• CoSiMed – Facilitating collaborative diagnostic competences in the collaboration of physicians: Effects of adapting scaffolds to the professional knowledge base of collaboration partners (Applicants Fischer, Martin R. ;  Fischer, Frank )
• D1Ma2 – Adaptation von Scaffolds zur Förderung der Diagnosekompetenzen angehender Grundschullehrkräfte in Mathematik in einer computerbasierten simulierten Lernumgebung (Applicant Obersteiner, Andreas )
• DiaWiDe – Förderung von Kompetenzen der Diagnose des wissenschaftlichen Denkens: Effekte der Adaptation von strategie- und kooperationsbezogenem Scaffolding (Applicant Wecker, Christof )
• DiKoBi2: Fostering diagnostic competencies of pre-service biology teachers using simulation-based learning environments: Effects of prompts adapted to pedagogical content knowledge and diagnostic activities and the importance of prompts in their course of studies (Applicant Neuhaus, Birgit Jana )
• Fostering professional knowledge and competencies in interactive mathematical diagnosis: Characteristics of learning processes and effects of adaptation of prompting and presentation format (DiMaL2) (Applicant Ufer, Stefan )
• Process and meta-analytic integration of the research unit's findings, and advancement of the theoretical model (Applicant Fischer, Frank )
• ViA-ScAn - Fostering of diagnostic competences in medical history taking: Effects of adaptation of scaffolds in video simulations (Applicant Fischer, Martin R. )
• Visit-Math 2 – Fostering diagnostic competencies of pre-service teachers: Individual learning potentials throughout their course of studies and adaptation effects of prompts as scaffolds (Applicant Seidel, Tina )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Frank Fischer