Students in higher education face a multitude of life changes and challenges. In order to promote their mental health, the use of canine-assisted interventions (CAI) has gained increasing attention, yet one area that remains insufficiently studied is the influencing characteristics that may lead to the positive effects of CAIs. This study is a follow-up study to a previously published study, aiming to investigate qualitatively the factors that may influence the change in well-being during a CAI. In the present study, 27 students participated in a 15-min CAI in which they interacted freely with a dog. Using the Basler Befindlichkeitsskala, their well-being was assessed. Participants reported personal characteristics and evaluated the intervention to identify possible influencing characteristics. Additionally, the intervention process was videotaped and analysed. Results showed greater positive effects on well-being for students who did not own a dog, for whom the intervention was delivered by more experienced dog-human teams, and for whom the intervention was characterised by a high interaction intensity with a high proportion of 'petting the dog' while showing low interaction with the handler. Implications for the use of CAIs are discussed.

Both, in the transition to university and during it, students experience a multitude of different changes. Thus, it is no surprise that many students in higher education report suffering from mental health problems. To address their concerns, animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) have gained more and more attention over the past few years. Nonetheless, AAIs have neither yet been used nor researched at German universities. Two studies were carried out to address this issue. In Study I, 709 university students answered a questionnaire evaluating their attitude towards dogs, AAIs and interest in its use at their home university. In Study II, 27 students participated in a dog-assisted intervention (DAI) in which they were allowed to interact with a qualified dog for 15 min. To gain information about their well-being, blood pressure was measured and the Basler Befindlichkeitsskala had to be answered before and after the intervention. Results showed a positive attitude among German students toward dogs, AAIs, and the use of DAIs at their home university. Although an effect on physical well-being could not be found, results showed that a 15-min DAI can improve students' psychological well-being. Thus, higher education administrators should consider using DAIs as a way to improve student well-being.

Background: The forced and time-critical changeover to digital teaching and learning formats in the summer semester 2020 brought about numerous new challenges for the teaching staff of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Regensburg. Didactic and personnel support of clinical lecturers for the preparation, creation, and supervision of digital teaching materials became necessary.Project description: Since interdisciplinary teams seem to be superior in finding creative solutions, an interdisciplinary student e-tutor team was established at the Faculty of Medicine to support the digitalization of the range of courses. After their initial basic training the e-tutors had regular team meetings and internal mini-training sessions to ensure their continuous professional development. The e-tutors could be "requested" by clinical teaching staff and then accompanied the respective course preparation and implementation as required. Results and discussion: Both clinical teachers and students perceived the student e-tutors’ support to be very positive. The e-tutors described the interdisciplinarity of the team as an important learning resource and their work as an exciting and instructive task. Conclusion and outlook: Due to the positive experiences with the e-tutors, the faculty is striving to establish sustainable digital teaching and learning services in the coming semesters.

The mental health of students is a critical issue facing institutions of higher education, as a majority of college and university students report suffering from stress and anxiety. Studies have shown that interacting with animals can enhance the mental health. Consequently, animal-assisted interventions can be used to cover the concerns of students. This study evaluated German university students´ attitude towards dogs, animal-assisted interventions and their interest in its use at their own university. Additionally, possible predictors were investigated. Another aim was the validation of the questionnaire. 560 university students answered a questionnaire consisting of the Coleman Dog Attitude Scale (C-DAS), a modification of the Attitude Towards Animal-Assisted Therapy Scale and a translated and modified version of the Cuestionario de Actitudes ante las Intervenciones Asistidas por Perros (CAINTAP). Results showed a slightly positive attitude towards dogs, animal-assisted interventions and interest in its use at the university. Furthermore, students´course of studies and sex have proven to be predictors. Thus, especially female students of educational science would welcome an implementation of animal-assisted interventions at the university. The questionnaire showed high quality with a Cronbach’s alpha α = .936.

Learning by Solved Example Problems: Instructional Explanations Reduce Self-Explanation Activity Silke Schworm (schworm@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de) Department of Psychology, Educational Psychology, Engelbergerstr.41 79085 Freiburg, Germany Alexander Renkl (renkl@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de) Department of Psychology, Educational Psychology, Engelbergerstr.41 79085 Freiburg, Germany Abstract Learning from worked-out examples is of major importance for initial skill acquisition in well-structured domains. In addition, research has provided knowledge in regards to structuring worked-out examples and how to effectively combine self-explanation activity and instructional explanations. The goal of the present project was to develop a computer-based learning environment in which teachers can learn how to use worked-out examples. Examples of favorably and unfavorably designed worked-out examples were the primary source of information for the teachers. The examples (of worked-out examples) were not in themselves worked-out examples if one views them from a design perspective as the (design) solution steps were not given. We have labeled this type of examples solved example problems. We investigated to what extent learning from such solved example problems could be fostered by self-explanation prompts and by providing instructional explanations. The results of our 2x2 design (80 student teachers) showed that prompting self- explanations in particular had favorable effects. Hence, self-explanations fostered learning not only from worked-out examples but also from solved example problems. Supplementary instructional explanations only partially enhanced learning and at times they were even detrimental. Introduction This study applies the results of cognitive science research (i.e., worked-out example and self-explanation research) to the design of a computer-based learning environment. An empirical study about this learning environment, in turn, contributes to the research on example-based learning and self-explanations. Learning from worked-out examples is of major importance for the acquisition of cognitive skills in well-structured domains such as mathematics or physics (for an overview see Atkinson, Derry, Renkl, & Wortham, 2000). However, worked-out examples do not guarantee effective learning. One moderating factor is the learner's self-explanation activity. Only when a learner actively self-explains the rationale of the worked-out solutions to her/himself will s/he gain an understanding of the solution procedures. Another factor is the provision of instructional explanations. In the study presented below, teacher students learned in an example-based computer learning environment how to effectively structure and combine worked-out examples. It was intended to foster their learning by the employment of self-explanation prompts and by supplementary instructional explanations. Learning by Worked-Out Examples Worked-out examples consist of a problem, solution steps and the complete solution to the problem. Usually they can be found in mathematics and physics schoolbooks. In most cases, a principle or law is introduced in the beginning followed by a worked-out example. The worked-out example shows how the principle can be applied to problem solving. Then, problems to be solved by the students are given. Learning by worked-out examples is not meant to refer to the short learning phase between the introduction of a principle and problem-solving. It means, instead, that the example phase is prolonged. Several studies have shown that such example-based learning is more effective for skill acquisition than the standard procedure of studying just one example and then solving problems (for an overview see Sweller, van Merrienboer, & Paas, 1998). Of course, the use of worked-out examples do not guarantee effective learning. Learning outcomes are influenced mainly by (1) the learner's self-explanation activity and the provided instructional explanations and (2) how the learning materials (examples and problems) are structured (cf. Atkinson et al., 2000). These two aspects are discussed in the following sections. Self-Explanations and Instructional Explanations The extent to which learners benefit from the study of worked-out examples depends on how well they explain the rationale of the presented solutions to themselves ( self-explanation effect , Chi et al., 1989; Renkl, 1997; Renkl, Stark, Gruber, & Mandl, 1998). It is especially useful to make the meaning of specific operations explicit by reifying the relationship between (sub-)

Research has evidenced that digital educational games can be effective tools to impart knowledge. Researchers have recommended to focus on motivation and gaming load and their interaction when investigating learning process and success. Gaming expertise and the English proficiency of learners seem to be further important aspects of learning success, especially when non-native speakers play an English game. However, knowledge about the motivational and cognitive impact of games and learner characteristics on learning outcomes needs to be augmented and clarified. The present study aimed to address this need. We conducted an experimental media comparison to investigate the effects of game play and expertise in gaming and English on motivation, cognitive load, and performance. The participating German university students were randomly assigned to an educational gaming group and a hypertext group. Aspects of motivation were assessed before and after studying and gaming, cognitive load was rated during and after learning, and level of performance was measured before and after studying. The gaming group reported a higher level of interest, challenge, and anxiety of failing after introducing the task. Groups did not differ significantly in their perceived probability of success. The group levels of interest were the same after a 1 h learning phase. When learning, cognitive load increased after the initial phase in the gaming group and then stayed on a constant level, whereas the opposite pattern was found in the hypertext group. No differences were found in load ratings after learning between the two groups. Both groups improved their knowledge after learning, but the gain was larger for the hypertext group. Results point to gaming and English expertise as two mediating factors for learning success with educational games. We suggest that gaming expertise and English comprehension ability reduce cognitive load and thus enable learners to focus their resources on meaningful learning.

Der Beitrag ist das Ergebnis einer interdisziplinaren Arbeitsgruppe mehrerer Universitaten im Kontext des Forderprogramms Digitaler Campus Bayern. Auf der Grundlage von Vorarbeiten zum Konstrukt der Medienkompetenz wurde ein heuristisches Rahmenmodell medienbezogener Kernkompetenzen von Lehrkraften fur das Unterrichten in einer digitalisierten Welt entworfen. Demnach benotigen Lehrkrafte eigene Medienkompetenzen sowie 19 professionsspezifische medienbezogene Lehrkompetenzen, die sich nach einer Wissens- und einer Handlungskomponente ausdifferenzieren und im Rahmen eines Phasenmodells unterrichtsbezogenen Handelns systematisieren lassen.

Generative online learning communities (GOLC) rely on the generation and use of technologybased conceptual artefacts. Consequently, artefact acceptance and use is a design goal of learning environments. In spite of intensive acceptance research, little is known about designing for acceptance, which outlines a signifi cant research gap. This paper proposes that social presence, i.e., the sensorial, emotional or cognitive perception of peer participation in the GOLC, stimulates the acceptance and use of the contained conceptual artefacts. Correspondingly, two empirical studies are summarized. The former study examines the acceptance of an annotation tool for satellite images. Social presence is induced by the minimal group paradigm, suggesting individual participants that they are involved by the annotation task either in software development (control group) or in a humanitarian action (treatment group). The treatment group perceived stronger group salience and evaluative social identity, along with a higher acceptance of the annotation task. The latter study examines the relationship between the perception of peer participation and individual writing activity in the discussion forums of a learning environment for clinical psychology. Learners’ acceptance and their contributing behavior were correlated with the number of built-in comments. Moreover, the perception of peer participation was a stronger acceptance predictor than learners’ previous knowledge. Both studies represent generative activity in online learning communities and induce social presence by design elements. In both cases, induced social presence increased the acceptance and use of the provided technology-based conceptual artefacts. Additional research is called for to extend the validity of the presented studies.

This study investigated help-seeking activities in a computer-based environment teaching argumentative skills by videos of argumentative dialogues of teachers who discussed controversy issues in the context of a workshop. Learners, all of them students of educational sciences, solved learning tasks on the presented argumentative dialogues and reflected on their response certitude. Forty-three students voluntary took part in the study. Two experimental groups varied according to the type of task they solved. Group 1 got adjunct questions, so-called self-explanation prompts that elicited elaboration of the video content. Group 2 answered multiple-choice tasks that assessed the same knowledge. After each task, participants of both groups (a) had to judge the certainty of their response being correct (i.e., the marking of the multiple-choice task or the written self-explanations) and (b) were offered to use the help function on demand. Results revealed the relevance of learners' response certitude with respect to their help use. Low response certitude about the correctness of a task solution led to higher help use which was positively related to learning outcome. However, learners' response certitude was unrelated to the actual correctness of their task solution. Type of task had no influence on response certitude, help use or learning outcome.

University students are more responsible than school students for their own learning. The role of self-regulated learning increases in virtual e-learning course environments. Academic help-seeking is an important strategy of self-regulated learning, but many students fail to use this strategy appropriately. A lack of information and a perceived threat of help-seeking may cause this effect. Among others, giving prompts is an instructional means to support students to adequately apply academic help-seeking . A study is presented in which the effect of giving prompts on the quantity and quality of academic help-seeking was experimentally investigated in a blended university learning course of educational science. Compared with students who received no prompts, students with prompts about the relevance of active help-seeking had better learning outcomes, participated more actively in online learning activities, more explicitly referred to learning contents in the forums and took more initiative in starting discussions. The perceived threat of help-seeking could not be reduced, however.

Interactive online help systems are considered to be a fruitful supplement to traditional IT helpdesks, which are often overloaded. They often comprise user-generated FAQ collections playing the role of technology-based conceptual artifacts. Two main questions arise: how the conceptual artifacts should be used, and which factors influence their acceptance in a community of practice (CoP). Firstly, this paper offers a theoretical frame and a usage scenario for technology-based conceptual artifacts against the theoretical background of the academic help-seeking and CoP approach. Each of the two approaches is extensively covered by psychological and educational research literature, however their combination is not yet sufficiently investigated. Secondly, the paper proposes a research model explaining the acceptance of conceptual artifacts. The model includes users' expectations toward the artifact, perceived social influence and users' roles in the CoP as predictors of artifact use intention and actual usage. A correlational study conducted in an academic software users' CoP and involving structural equations modeling validates the model, suggesting thus a research line that is worth further pursuing. For educational practice, the study suggests three ways of supporting knowledge sharing in CoPs, i.e. use of technology-based conceptual artifacts, roles and division of labor, and purposeful communication in CoPs.

Personalization (i.e., addressing the learner personally by the formulation of instructional explanations) is an important motivational factor when learning with animations in computer-based settings [11]. We analyzed this method by teaching the complex subject of the circulatory system in a comput er-based learning environment with narrated graphics lasting approximately 12 min. We experimentally compared three conditions (n=59 students) that differed with respect to whether and how the narrations were personalized: (1) formal text using third-person constructions, (2) weak personalized text using the pronouns “you” and “I” and their associated possessive forms rather than the third-person constructions, and (3) strong personalized text that included the weak personalization and additional direct comments to the learner. We found that personalization fostered the acquisition of transfer knowledge compared to the formal control condition, but retention performance was not affected. The variation of the intensity of personalization, however, had no influence on learning outcome. The groups also did not differ in their acceptance of the learning environment.

University students are more responsible than school students for their own learning. The role of self-regulated learning increases in virtual e-learning course environments. Academic help-seeking is an important strategy of self-regulated learning, but many students fail to use this strategy appropriately. A lack of information and a perceived threat of help-seeking may cause this effect. Among others, giving prompts is an instructional means to support students to adequately apply academic help-seeking . A study is presented in which the effect of giving prompts on the quantity and quality of academic help-seeking was experimentally investigated in a blended university learning course of educational science. Compared with students who received no prompts, students with prompts about the relevance of active help-seeking had better learning outcomes, participated more actively in online learning activities, more explicitly referred to learning contents in the forums and took more initiative in starting discussions. The perceived threat of help-seeking could not be reduced, however.

Was ist gute Lehre und wie kann das Niveau einer professionellen Hochschullehre erreicht werden? Mit der Bologna-Reform haben sich nicht nur universitäre Strukturen für Studierende, sondern auch die Bedeutung der Lehre und damit die Anforderungen an Hochschullehrende verändert. Dieser Reform geschuldet gewinnen Ausund Weiterbildungsangebote für Hochschullehrende zunehmend an Bedeutung (Heiner & Wildt, 2009). Die Konzepte hochschuldidaktischer Weiterbildungen richten sich vor allem auf die systematische Qualifizierung von Dozierenden und verfolgen eine stetige Verbesserung von Lehre und Studium (Auferkorte-Michaelis, Ladwig & Wirth, 2007; Szczyrba & Wildt, 2009). Dies setzt voraus, dass eine theoretische Vorstellung darüber besteht, wie berufliche Handlungskompetenz in der Hochschule beschrieben werden kann.

Die vorgelegte Delphi-Studie verfolgte drei verschiedene Zielsetzungen. Zum ersten sollten in Hinblick auf eine professionelle Ausgestaltung von Hochschullehre die kunftigen Kompetenzanforderungen an Hochschullehrende ermittelt werden, um einen Orientierungsrahmen zu definieren, an dem sich die hochschuldidaktische Aus- und Weiterbildung von Hochschullehrenden ausrichten kann. Da eine umfassende Darstellung von Kompetenzanforderungen kaum moglich ist – die Problematik diverser in der Literatur vorfindbarer Kompetenzmodelle wurde erlautert –, fokussierte die Delphi-Studie auf jene Komponenten, die aus Sicht der Experten besondere Bedeutung fur gute Lehre haben.