Cognitive load studies are mostly centered on information on perceived cognitive load. Single-item subjective rating scales are the dominant measurement practice to investigate overall cognitive load. Usually, either invested mental effort or perceived task difficulty is used as an overall cognitive load measure. However, the extent to which the…

Background: Authentic situations are considered a source of learning due to their real world relevance. This can encourage learners to acquire new knowledge. Increasing digitisation and associated resources, such as professional development opportunities for teachers, technology tools, or digital equipment for schools enable the development and…

This paper makes available to the broader educational community the instruments which have been originally designed and validated within the European project "CLIL for all: Attention to diversity in bilingual education" ("ADiBE") to determine how diversity is being catered to across a broad array of CLIL contexts in European…

This article reports on the development and validation of the Informal Second Language Engagement questionnaire (ISLE) for capturing various aspects of learner engagement with informal second language practices. Whereas other questionnaires have primarily focused on learner behavior (the frequency, quantity, and diversity of informal activities in…

This paper describes the development and validation of an instrument to assess how students deal with emotionally challenging classroom situations (the DECCS Questionnaire). The questionnaire is based on a vignette with one learning and one performance situation in a classroom, and is intended for students in grades 4 to 7. On a sample of N = 639…

Assessing students' (mis)conceptions is a challenging task for teachers as well as for researchers. While individual assessment, for example through interviews, can provide deep insights into students' thinking, this is very time-consuming and therefore not feasible for whole classes or even larger settings. For those settings, automatically…

The SSIS SEL Brief + Mental Health Scales (SSIS SELb+MHS) are multi-informant assessments developed in the United States to assess the social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies and emotional behavior concerns (EBCs) of school-age youth. Although there are translations of the SEL items of the SSIS SELb+MHS available in other languages, a…

Background: The reciprocal internal/external frame of reference (RI/E) combines two models of academic self-concept formation, namely the reciprocal effects model (REM) and the internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model. The REM assumes reciprocal relations between achievement and academic self-concept. The I/E model assumes contrast effects…

This quantitative study developed a measurement instrument, The Assessment of Historical Perspective-Taking (AHPT), to evaluate historical perspective-taking skills among 15- and 16-year-old students within their United States History classes by adapting an existing measurement instrument developed in Germany. Applying a theoretical framework that…

The study presented in the paper has the following goals. The first is to review and compare teacher competence frameworks developed in Eastern (Chinese) and Western (German) contexts, exemplified for the domain of mathematics. Major similarities of the two contexts could be reconstructed in the conceptualization of teacher competence as a…

As a relevant cognitive-motivational aspect of ICT literacy, a new construct "ICT Engagement" is theoretically based on self-determination theory and involves the factors ICT interest, Perceived ICT competence, Perceived autonomy related to ICT use, and ICT as a topic in social interaction. In this manuscript, we present different…

Background: Concerning students' difficulties with fractions, many explanatory approaches are based on the distinction between conceptual knowledge and procedural knowledge. For further research in this field, it is thus crucial to make these constructs accessible to valid measurement. Aims: In this study, we aim at developing a test instrument…

This study aimed at examining the suitability of questionnaire instruments commonly used in large-scale assessments for measuring non-cognitive school effectiveness criteria. It focused on questions of reliability and validity for capturing changes in students within schools across time and the instruments' sensitivity to school effects. The aim…

This article reports the development of a two-tier simple electric circuits test (2T-SEC Test). Simple electric circuits are introduced to students early in their school years and are an important part of the physics curriculum all the way to the university level. However, many students do not develop an adequate conceptual understanding of simple…

A central key-component in children's dance education is the promotion of creativity. This involves movement exploration, experimenting, and improvising with movement material, composing, and choreographing. These are necessary prerequisites for aesthetic and artistic development. Valid domain-specific test instruments are needed for the…