Visit-Math

What is the research topic?

The VISIT-Math project investigates how simulation-based learning environments can be designed and used in teacher education to promote the assessment skills of pre-service teachers in mathematics teaching. Therefore, researchers develop video clips showing one-on-one teacher-student-interactions in classrooms.
The videos serve as a basis for pre-service teachers to assess the students’ mathematical argumentation skills shown in the video clips. The researchers of the project investigate the influence of different individual prerequisites of the pre-service teachers - such as their knowledge, interest, and motivation – on their assessment skills. In order to promote these skills, the project explores the effectiveness of different scaffolds embedded in the simulation-based learning environment.

What is the specific issue of the project?

For the first time, this project attempts to extend video-based learning environments into types of simulations. The newly developed simulations allow participants to intervene in the course of the situation represented in the simulations. On the long run, a learning environment for pre-service teachers, highly related to the professional practice and at the same time reduced in its complexity, is developed. In addition, the project reveals insights of the acquirement of assessment skills in such learning environments.
The project is part of the interdisciplinary research group COSIMA, which is currently one of three research groups in Germany in the field of educational research funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Experts from different fields of the teacher education and medical education work together in this research group. Insights into the potential of using simulations to promote assessment skills in higher education are to be gained across individual subprojects.

The aim is to develop a practice-oriented tool for teacher training, where pre-service teachers can train their assessment skills using practical examples. In a low risk environment of a video-based simulation, pre-service teachers get prepared in parts of the teaching that are otherwise often neglected in classroom.