Knowledge Construction

Knowledge Construction

Duration 05/2021 - 04/2024

The coronavirus crisis has once again demonstrated the importance of supporting learning in schools through digital technologies. Far beyond the use of digital platforms to distribute assignments to students, digital technologies enable the tracking of individual student learning and the provision of targeted support tailored to individual needs. This research project investigates the extent to which data derived from student interactions with digital technologies in mathematics and science classrooms can be used to 1) continuously evaluate individual student learning, 2) reconstruct learning pathways across sequences of learning activities, and 3) identify those pathways associated with the development of competencies in mathematics and science.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 12/2021 - 11/2026

A glance at the news makes it clear: All over the world, people are taking to the streets for various reasons. Their passionate commitment to (or against) a cause is often the result of social influence, which today often occurs via emotionalised online communication. But what exactly motivates people to participate in demonstrations, sign petitions, and otherwise engage collectively?

Knowledge Construction

Duration 01/2023 - 12/2025

According to numerous studies graduate students face difficulties in finishing their dissertations. Among the factors that make it difficult to produce the preliminary or final work are the difficulties encountered by students in reading and writing practices, and dealing with the task on their own, generally performed in isolation and without didactic support. In this project, the use of digital technologies in the preparation of dissertations will be examined in this context.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 01/2023 - open

Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly serving as collaborative partners for humans. Text-based chatbots, which enable humans to communicate with a technical system through natural language, have gained popularity in a variety of application areas. So far, little is known about the processes involved in teams consisting of humans and AI. Therefore, the focus of this dissertation project is to explore relationships between team composition and team performance and dynamics.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 07/2020 - 09/2025

How do we obtain scientific information? Who do we get it from? What if artificial intelligence could provide us with complicated topics and technical information in an easily understandable way? This research project investigates how laypeople perceive and evaluate intelligent language assistants who communicate scientific information. In particular, it will explore how different textual representations of automated content affect the acceptance and reception of scientific knowledge.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 01/2019 - 12/2021

The project examines how barriers of knowledge transfer in the field of human-carnivore coexistence can be overcome. It aims to develop a Digital Transfer Tool that addresses emotional barriers in addition to media and scientific literacy. The Digital Transfer Tool will be based on the use of tablets and a modular application featuring surveys and games in public locations in Germany and abroad.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 06/2015 - 02/2022

Accompanying the practical training of physiotherapists at the vocational school ulmkolleg, an internet-based learning platform was designed and implemented in the clinical education period. This platform also represented the research environment of the project. The aim of this platform was to accompany and support the clinical training on patients and the learning process of the students. Furthermore, research questions in the field of collaborative knowledge construction and individual learning were investigated over the entire course of training.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 09/2018 - 12/2023

The design and use of technological developments and the promotion of digital competences are central fields of action in the education sector. The meta-project "Digitisation in Education" (Digi-EBF) supports the projects of the BMBF funding line of the same name in the framework programme Empirical Educational Research.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 01/2022 - 12/2024

The aim of the project is to develop sustainable effective curriculum-accompanying innovative teaching formats with content that can be dynamically adapted to different conditions and developments for students of medicine and medical-related life science courses, which serve to impart theoretical and practical AI knowledge at different levels (basics, in-depth studies, applications) with socially relevant questions on ethics, law, privacy, transparency etc. TüKITZ Med is intended to teach basic concepts and methods of artificial intelligence competently and effectively to students who are not familiar with AI.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 01/2016 - 03/2024

In this research project we examined how different forms of presenting factual information influenced people’s knowledge about and attitudes toward foxes. In particular, the project dealt with the impact of different forms of visual and textual representations. It examined whether emotionalization through visual methods has a similar effect as emotionalization mediated by textual representations.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 08/2022 - open

With the spread of the Internet and the emerging of collaborative online projects such as Wikipedia and OpenStreetMap, collaboration in groups also changed radically. Instead of in-person groups sharing information and making decisions together, contributors in sequential collaboration form a sequential chain in which the first contributor creates an entry independently which can be edited and improved or maintained by following contributors. This project focuses whether contributors generate accurate estimates in sequential collaboration and which conditions foster or hinder this process.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 01/2023 - 12/2024

Sequential collaboration describes a knowledge construction process often found in online collaborative projects such as Wikipedia. In this process a contributor starts by creating an entry which is sequentially adjusted or maintained by following contributors. This project examines the gathering information and making decisions based on these information in sequential collaboration compared to widely used group discussions to gain further insights into the construction process of collaborative knowledge.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 07/2021 - 12/2024

Scientific findings are gaining increasingly importance. However, it is often difficult for many people to interpret and understand these findings. This is partly due to the fact that the scientific process of knowledge gain has received little attention so far. Therefore, the goal of the VideT project is to develop a video-based transfer tool in order to communicate the empirical scientific research process to the public and test it in schools.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 03/2023 - open

Anchoring was first discovered by Tversky and Kahneman (1974) almost 50 years ago and describes the phenomenon that an irrelevant numeric value (anchor) influences a subsequent numerical estimate. Whereas the anchoring effect has been replicated extensively, influences on anchoring are still often unclear and inconclusive. This project investigates the role of expertise on anchoring. Even though being extensively researched in the past almost 50 years, there is still no comprehensive theory of anchoring that reliably predicts the most important aspects of the phenomenon. Moreover, the role of expertise of the estimating individual is still unclear with some research showing reduced anchoring in experts whereas other research finds stronger anchoring effects or at least similar anchoring effects in experts and novices. Both research gaps are addressed in this project. To this end, a paradigm is implemented that allows to manipulate individuals’ expertise. Moreover, anchor relevance and anchor extremeness are manipulated. With this design it is not only possible to examine the role of expertise in anchoring but also to disentangle different anchoring theories making different predictions for these variables. First results show that expertise indeed reduced anchoring. Moreover, relevant compared to irrelevant anchors and extreme compared to moderate anchors lead to larger anchoring effects.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 01/2024 - 12/2026

Research knowledge can be disseminated in various ways. Nowadays, the focus is often placed on digital media. However, digital media as a source of knowledge come with a number of challenges. In view of these, this project investigates within the framework of the "Metavorhaben Digitalisierung im Bildungsbereich II" examines the question of how to further the ability of users to assess the credibility of digital educational science media.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 11/2022 - 04/2026

News about world events, as well as a look at recent history, often show: Passionate protests are important drivers of social change and undertaken for a wide variety of causes. This type of joint action, directed toward a shared goal, is known as collective action. But what exactly motivates people to participate in demonstrations, sign petitions, and otherwise engage in collective action?

Knowledge Construction

Duration 08/2024 - 04/2026

Our interdisciplinary longitudinal study investigates the evolving dynamics of human-AI interaction over six waves spanning one year. By examining individual, behavioral, and task-related variables, the project aims to uncover how users' trust in, perceptions of, self-efficacy, and willingness to engage with AI systems develop and interrelate over time. The insights gained from this research are essential for better understanding human-machine interaction, a critical foundation for fostering effective collaboration between users and AI systems. This knowledge will inform user-centered AI design and guide the ethical integration of these technologies into various aspects of everyday life.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 01/2024 - 12/2026

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Knowledge Construction

Duration 01/2024 - 12/2024

Sequential collaboration describes a knowledge construction process in which a contributor starts by creating an entry which is sequentially adjusted or maintained by following contributors. This collaboration process can be found for example in Wikipedia. In this project gathering information and making decisions based on information shared in sequential collaboration is compared to group discussions. Collaborative online projects emerged shortly after more and more house holds had access to the Internet and today these projects are an integral part of everyday life. Looking up information in Wikipedia or navigating with OpenStreetMap are pervasive. Nonetheless, sequential collaboration as a tool to share information and work collaboratively is only little noticed. Whereas Wikipedia and OpenStreetMap allow thousands of contributors to share millions of pieces of information, sequential collaboration can also be used for information sharing in smaller groups. Such small groups typically share information through direct communication, i.e., discussion, and make decisions based on the information gathered. However, this poses the risk that group members’ knowledge is not optimally integrated and decision errors are common. Thus, this project examined how individuals share information in smalls groups via sequential collaboration, which information was shared and how accurate resulting decisions were. As a benchmark, sharing information and decision making via group discussions was considered. In an empirical study with a sample from the genereal public, no difference in information sharing as well as subsequent decisions emereged between sequential collaboration and group discussions.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 02/2023 - 02/2026

This dissertation project investigates the use of immersive virtual reality (IVR) as a medium of experience-based learning in museums. Two IVR-applications will be developed and integrated into several exhibitions, in cooperation with the Natural History Museum Stuttgart. The goal is to give visitors an understanding of the importance of biodiversity and its protection. Furthermore, the project will provide new insights into the use of IVR as tools of science communication in museums. <p><br></p> Although biodiversity conservation is already established as a socially relevant topic, there are still many species that are overlooked or unappreciated. A recent temporary exhibition of the Natural History Museum introduced visitors to the biodiversity of wasps in Germany and highlighted these inconspicuous insects with the help of the two IVR applications of the IWM.<p><br></p> In the “virtual wasp”, visitors can meet two newly discovered wasp species eye-to-eye, even though they only measure a few millimeters in real life, while the “virtual collection” showcases the size of the museum’s scientific collection. Both applications mainly aim to provide visitors with unique experiences above teaching hard facts and are meant to facilitate a new perspective on insects to motivate visitors to engage in biodiversity protection. <p><br></p>Museums use different ways to communicate their contents. Besides more established types of media (e.g., audio, video), in recent years, virtual reality has found its way into more and more exhibitions. Therefore, this project also aims to investigate what role VR applications can play in museums and how they are best applied to have a lasting effect on visitors.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 06/2025 - 05/2026

This project investigates how collaboration with a disagreeing Large Language Model (LLM) affects the change of individual beliefs. Thereby, we assess how digital spaces—contrary to their tendency toward polarization and echo chambers—can become places of constructive discourse. Building on research in intergroup processes, the project examines whether so-called adversarial collaboration, the joint creation of a text with a disagreeing LLM, leads to belief updating. This research question is addressed in two experimental studies. In the first experiment, an LLM is trained either to adopt an opposing position or to co-author a compromise text with participants. The second experiment investigates how congenial collaboration, i.e., affirming the participant's beliefs, in comparison to adversarial collaboration affects their attitudes. Across all experiments, belief updating, digital ownership, and acceptance of opposing arguments are measured. Additionally, the intensity of voluntary interaction with the LLM and the number of arguments participants contribute are explored. If adversarial collaboration with LLMs proves successful in belief updating, this method offers several advantages. Unlike discussion groups or citizen assemblies, it is individualized, lower in conflict, and scalable. It thus opens new perspectives for shaping constructive discourse in digital spaces; particularly in the field of internet use, but also in schools, higher education, and other educational contexts. The project contributes to the question of how AI technologies can be used to promote democratic discourse.

Knowledge Construction

Duration 06/2016 - open

The project „Visitors’ view on Obersalzberg“ focuses on two research questions: How can propaganda pictures get deconstructed? And how does the awareness of being in a historic place related to Nazi-history influence the perception, the processing and the judgements about associated pictures? Cooperation partner is the Institute for Contemporary History (Dokumentation Obersalzberg). Empiric findings are meant to flow into the realm of practice, the museum. Places of remembrance linked to the history of National Socialism (NS, Nazi) are gaining importance during the last two decades. Obersalzberg is a place with references to the Nazi-regime and was used as a setting for Nazi-propaganda. Today an educational center about history and politics is located there. The project is divided into two thematic blocks: on the one hand the deconstruction of propaganda, on the other the impact of historical places. A first experimental study already showed that prior information about the crimes that happened during the time of NS as well as the awareness of being at a place linked to that history had a negative influence on the personal mood. The negative personal mood in a next step influences the valence ratings of associated pictures. Within the project, both field studies and lab studies are conducted. Methodologically, a broad spectrum of objective (computer-based speech analyses, eye-tracking) and subjective measurements (questionnaires, rating scales) is used. Methods for the deconstruction of propaganda images are also investigated in virtual realities and with multi-touch surfaces. The empiric findings are meant to build a basement for further psychological research as well as to get transferred to the conception of the new permanent exhibition of the Dokumentation Obersalzberg.