Sarah HoferLudwig-Maximilians-University of Munich | LMU · Department of Psychology
Sarah Hofer
Dr. sc. ETH
About
67
Publications
17,472
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552
Citations
Citations since 2017
Introduction
I am an educational psychologist with a strong interest in improving instruction in classrooms for all learners. Accordingly, my work investigates the effects of (digitally-supported) instructional methods and focuses on individual differences in learning and school success, particularly in the STEM fields. I conduct experiments and intervention studies as well as research syntheses.
Publications
Publications (67)
The existence of gender-STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) stereotypes has been repeatedly documented. This article examines physics teachers’ gender bias in grading and the influence of teaching experience in Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. In a 2 × 2 between-subjects design, with years of teaching experience included as m...
Physics educators today face two major challenges: supporting the acquisition of a solid base of conceptual knowledge and reducing the persisting gender gap. In the present quasi-experimental study, we investigated the potential of physics instruction that is enriched with evidence-based cognitively activating methods, such as inventing with contra...
In the year 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic turned both private and public life upside down. Teaching and learning at higher education institutions worldwide had to move online on very short notice. This Special Issue focuses on the academic practice of online teaching and learning in higher education in the current time of crisis. Online teaching and...
This study aims at describing differences in internal and external resources of students to
handle mathematics learning from home. Based on data from N=223 7th-grade secondary school students gathered via an online survey at the end of the first school year during the COVID-19 pandemic, we used latent profile analysis to identify student profiles d...
Preprint available at: https://psyarxiv.com/bf92d - To advance the learning of professional practices in teacher education and medical education, this paper introduces the idea of representational scaffolding for digital simulations in higher education. We outline the ideas of core practices in two important fields of higher education, namely teach...
The interpretation of graphs plays a pivotal role in education because it is relevant for understanding and representing data and comprehending concepts in various domains. Accordingly, many studies examine students’ gaze behavior by comparing different levels of expertise when interpreting graphs. This literature review presents an overview of 32...
Background
Representational competence is commonly considered to be a prerequisite for the acquisition of conceptual knowledge, yet little exploration has been undertaken into the relation between these two constructs. Using an assessment of representational competence with vector fields that functions without confounding topical context, we examin...
Socioeconomic disadvantage can become ingrained in children’s self-perceptions. These self-perceptions may, in turn, harm children’s academic achievement. Here, we asked: Do children’s self-perceptions help explain socioeconomic disparities in academic achievement around the world? We addressed this question using data from the 2018 Programme for I...
Preprint available at: https://psyarxiv.com/bf92d -
Purpose:
To advance the learning of professional practices in teacher education and medical education, this conceptual paper aims to introduce the idea of representational scaffolding for digital simulations in higher education.
Design/methodology/approach:
This study outlines the ideas of cor...
While math performance does not seem to differ systematically between males and females, it is one of the subjects that is consistently perceived as “male” with girls regularly reporting lower levels of motivation and less positive attitudes than boys. This study aimed to uncover gender-specific relations between perceived self-determination, engag...
Background: Research shows that gender differences tend to exist in student motivational-affective factors in core subjects such as math, science or reading, where one gender is stereotypically disadvantaged.
Aims: This study aimed to investigate strategies that could reduce these gender differences by conducting a meta-analysis on school-based
int...
Focusing on effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on equitable education, we identified profiles characterized by students’ perceived success and value of learning from home and their families’ as well as their teachers’ support during this time. We utilized latent profile analysis on data from 223 7th-grade students collected during school closure beca...
Theoretischer Hintergrund: Geschlechtsspezifische Unterschiede in MINT-Fächern gehören zu den am häufigsten berichteten empirischen Erkenntnissen im Bildungskontext. Da die überwiegende Mehrheit dieser Effekte zu Gunsten von Jungen (bzw. Männern) ausfällt, scheint zur Etablierung eines geschlechtergerechten Bildungssystems ein tieferes Verständnis...
Mathematical word problem solving is influenced by various characteristics of the task and the person solving it. Yet, previous research has rarely related these characteristics to holistically answer which word problem requires which set of individual cognitive skills. In the present study, we conducted a secondary data analysis on a dataset of N...
Introduction: Word problems are considered mathematical tasks in which relevant information is presented as text rather than in mathematical notion (Verschaffel et al., 2010). They require learners to integrate domain-specific mathematical, as well as domain-general linguistic and visuo-spatial abilities, varying with item characteristics (Boonen e...
Gender differences in STEM fields are among the most prominent empirical findings in educational contexts. Motivational and emotional orientations are successful in partly explaining those gender gaps. A still open question is whether those gender gaps are persistent when focusing on the same motivational and emotional orientations in different dom...
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, most universities had to switch to “emergency online learning”. At the same time, academics were in search of means to combat “the infodemic”, a wave of misinformation rolling over the world, affecting social and political life, and undermining efforts to deal with the pandemic. In the framework of emergency on...
In the year 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic turned both private and public life upside down. Teaching and learning at higher education institutions worldwide had to move online on very short notice. This Special Issue focuses on the academic practice of online teaching and learning in higher education in the current time of crisis. Online teaching and...
Motivation für mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Unterrichtsfächer stellt eine wichtige Voraussetzung für schulischen Erfolg dar. Während der Forschungsstand zum Einsatz digitaler Tools im mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht insgesamt Hinweise auf positive Effekte eines durch digitale Tools unterstützten Lehrens und Lernens sowohl auf...
This study addresses the pressing issue of how to raise the performance of disadvantaged students in mathematics. We combined established findings on effective instruction with emerging research addressing the specific needs of disadvantaged students. A sample of N = 260 disadvantaged 6th-graders received 4 weeks (15 lessons) of fraction instructio...
In classrooms with very diverse learners, how can educators take into account each individual student’s needs and help all children develop to their full potential? Adaptive teaching is a promising approach, and digital tools offer a great opportunity to tailor instruction to each learner and free up teachers’ time for individual support. However,...
This paper aims at identifying ontological categories as higher-order knowledge structures that underlie engineering students’ thinking about technical systems. Derived from interviews, these ontological categories include, inter alia, a focus on the behavior, structure, or purpose of a technical system. We designed and administered a paper-based t...
This study analyzed the relative importance of different cognitive abilities for solving complex mathematical word problems (CWPs)—a demanding task of high relevance for diverse fields and contexts. We investigated the effects of spatial, verbal, numerical, and general reasoning abilities as well as gender on CWP performance among N = 1282 first-ye...
Analyzing test-taking behavior allows researchers to investigate the steps and actions resulting in the specific test outcome. The underlying assumption is that test-taking behavior is a valid indicator of the tested ability. The aim of this paper is to scrutinize this assumption in the context of complex problem solving (CPS) by analyzing individu...
Research has identified two core difficulties many students have with fractions: first, they often struggle with processing fraction magnitudes, and second, they rely on natural number concepts in fraction problems ["Natural Number Bias" (NNB)]. Yet, the relation between these two difficulties is not well-understood. Moreover, while most studies of...
Features implemented in Adaptive E-Learning Systems (AES)—i.e., adaptivity, feedback, and self-regulated graded assistance—may increase equity in education: they can be used to address heterogeneity in classrooms. We analyzed process data to investigate the innuence of gender and/or ability on 256 six-graders' use of AES in 15 fractions-lessons. Gi...
Concerns about gender-equality in education persist in spite of substantial historical progress. We review some of the major issues occupying researchers today, while considering findings across cultures and nations. We discuss patterns of gender gaps based on cross-national assessments, research on gender stereotypes and biases in the classroom, w...
Based on systematic research of studies published since the year 2000, this comprehensive meta-analysis investigated how the use of technology can enhance learning in secondary school mathematics and science (grade levels 5–13). All studies (k = 92) compared learning outcomes of students using digital tools to those of a control group taught withou...
The present study summarized research on school inspection of the last 30 years to provide an estimation of its effectiveness and to identify factors influencing inspection effectiveness. Following a systematic literature search, k = 30 inferential statistical studies on school inspection were coded. Due to the large variety in the analytical strat...
In PISA wird unter mathematischer Kompetenz die Fähigkeit verstanden, mathematische Konzepte zur Beschreibung von Phänomenen einzusetzen, die für Fünfzehnjährige relevant sind. PISA versucht damit abzubilden, ob Jugendliche die notwendigen Mathematikkenntnisse für ein Leben als mündige Bürgerinnen und Bürger in unserer heutigen Welt besitzen. Im Fo...
Dieses Kapitel beschreibt ausgewählte schulische Lerngelegenheiten zur Sprach- und Leseförderung und fokussiert dabei auf den Stand der Digitalisierung an Schulen als Rahmenbedingung für das Lesen digitaler Texte sowie auf Lernangebote, die zusätzlich zum Regelunterricht zur Verfügung stehen. Schulen in Deutschland sind im internationalen Vergleich...
Schülerinnen und Schüler in Deutschland erreichen bei PISA 2018 in Bezug auf ihre mathematische Kompetenz einen Wert von 500 Punkten und liegen damit signifikant über dem OECD-Durchschnitt. Im Vergleich zur PISA-Erhebung 2012, in der Mathematik als Hauptdomäne geprüft wurde, hat sich der Abstand zum OECD-Durchschnitt leicht verringert. Es bestehen...
So far, the public debate on digitalization in general, and specifically in education, seems to be dominated by extreme positions. The use of digital media in the classroom in itself, however, has neither a negative nor a positive impact on students’ learning. It all depends on the way they are used. The question we should ask is not “Is digital te...
Today's innovation processes are interdisciplinary and require communication between stakeholders from different domains. The compatibility of mental models, which determine how individuals think about technical problems, decides the success of this communication. Previous research indicates that mechanical engineering students prefer procedural ov...
Regular evaluation by external authorities has become an integral part of school life in countries around the world. While the potential of frequent quality monitoring
and feedback is undisputed, the evidence base on the effectiveness of school inspection is scattered. The present study classified and summarized research on
school inspection effect...
In Studiengängen mit wesentlichem Mathematikanteil treten zu Beginn des Studiums oft Schwierigkeiten bei Studierenden auf, so auch im Lehramt Mathematik. Universitäten versuchen, durch Brückenkurse und spezielle Einführungsvorlesungen den Studieneintritt zu erleichtern. Zentrale Aufgabe bei der Weiterentwicklung von einführenden Lehrveranstaltungen...
Die Bruchrechnung gilt als einer der schwierigeren Teilbereiche der mathematischen Grundbildung. Im Forschungsprojekt ALICE:Bruchrechnen wurde untersucht, inwieweit der Einsatz von Tablet-PCs einen Einfluss auf den Anfangsunterricht in der Bruchrechnung hat. Dafür wurde ein digitales Lehrbuch zur Verwendung auf iPads entwickelt, das besonderen Wert...
Background
Valid assessment of the understanding of Newton’s mechanics is highly relevant to both physics classrooms and research. Several tests have been developed. What remains missing, however, is an efficient and fair test of conceptual understanding that is adapted to the content taught to secondary school students and that can be validly appl...
The kinematics concept test (KCT) is a multiple-choice test designed to evaluate students’ conceptual understanding of kinematics at the high school level. The test comprises 49 multiple-choice items about velocity and acceleration, which are based on seven kinematic concepts and which make use of three different representations. In the first part...
In Switzerland, about 20% of the secondary school students attend the highest track of the educational system (Gymnasium), which is supposed to prepare for university education. Access to this track takes place between the ages of 12 and 14 and is based on achievement in core subjects at the end of elementary school or in early secondary school. Th...
The present study examined gender-specific physics underachievement to identify highly intelligent students who perform below their intellectual potential in physics. The sample consisted of 316 students (182 girls) from higher secondary school (Gymnasium) in Switzerland (age M = 16.25 years, SD = 1.12 years). In a multiple group latent profile ana...
Frauen und Naturwissenschaften, das
passt nicht so recht zusammen. Diese kul-
turell-geprägte stereotype Vorstellung
ist weit verbreitet. Etwa 70% der Teil-
nehmenden einer grossen internatio-
nalen Studie der Harvard University
(Gender-Science Implicit Association
Test) verbanden Naturwissenschaften
unbewusst stärker mit Männern als mit
Frau...
Lesson planning is one of the key factors that contribute to successful and effective teaching. Several models have been suggested for how to formulate and align teaching goals with suitable instructional methods and assessments. A seminal model is Bloom’s taxonomy of teaching goals that, in a nutshell, categorizes goals into six knowledge types. R...
The present study assessed physics underachievement by means of latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify intelligent students performing below their intellectual potential in physics. The sample consisted of 135 students from higher education in Switzerland (M=16.6; SD=1.37). Intellectual ability scores, physics grades, and physics conceptual unde...
Die Lehr-Lern-Forschung hat in der Vergangenheit vorgeschlagen, im Unterricht
beobachtbare Aktivitäten und Handlungen als „Unterrichtsskripts“ (z.B. Seidel et al.,
2002) zu beschreiben. Eine empirisch bisher offene Frage ist allerdings, ob Lehrer und
Schüler (als die unmittelbar am Unterrichtsgeschehen beteiligten Akteure) mehr oder
weniger identis...
Projects
Projects (9)
The central goal of the Sharp Initiative is to identify conditions for the successful personalisation of learning with simulations in higher education and the derivation of design principles.
CESAR is an interdisciplinary research project funded by SNF (Schweizerischer Nationalfonds) and DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft). In this project, physics education researchers and empirical education researchers investigate the effects of augmented reality in learning with multiple representations in student physics experiments on electromagnetism.
In the year 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic turned both private and public life upside down. Teaching and learning at higher education institutions worldwide had to move online on very short notice. This Special Issue will focus on the academic practice of online teaching and learning in higher education in the current time of crisis.
