Research
Research
The research of the Working Group Special Educational Psychology addresses the question of how self-regulation, learning, and development of students can be best supported in everyday school life. The focus lies on individual learning prerequisites and their short-term fluctuations — for example in attention, motivation, or other self-regulatory processes. In addition, we examine how learning environments and instruction can be designed adaptively to best support diverse students. A particular emphasis is placed on students with self-regulation difficulties, for instance in the context of ADHD. We are interested both in individual developmental trajectories and in the interactions between students and their learning environment. Our research connects perspectives from educational psychology, special education, and teaching and learning research. Alongside empirical research, we also engage with theoretical and conceptual questions in educational psychology, particularly regarding the relationships between executive functions, metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning.
Methodological Focus Areas
Methodologically, the working group combines different research approaches to examine learning and developmental processes under conditions as close to everyday life as possible. These include intensive longitudinal designs, Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), experimental studies, and virtual learning environments.
Through repeated assessments in everyday contexts, short-term changes and dynamic within-person processes can be examined that typically go undetected in classical cross-sectional designs. These approaches are complemented by standardized diagnostic procedures, observational data, and multivariate and multilevel statistical analyses.
Collaborations
The working group collaborates nationally and internationally with researchers in the fields of educational psychology, developmental psychology, special education, and teaching and learning research. Current collaborations include:
- Prof. Dr. Dieter Baeyens (KU Leuven, Belgium)
- Jun.-Prof. Dr. Julia Kerner (University of Münster)
- Prof. Dr. Manuel Ninaus (University of Graz, Austria)
- Prof. Dr. Florian Schmiedek (DIPF, Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education)
- Prof. Dr. Jantine Spilt (KU Leuven, Belgium)
- Jun.-Prof. Dr. Maria Theobald (University of Trier)
- Prof. Dr. Carmen Zurbriggen (Université de Fribourg, Switzerland)