2014-2023: Difficulty of language and items
The Working Group "Subject and Language" (AG FuS), in which the Hamburg physics education group is involved, is interested in the distinction between subject-specific and linguistic requirements when students are solving tasks/items in different subjects. Against this backdrop, AG FuS has developed a "language model". There, difficulties-determining traits of language are addressed. In pilot studies test items were developed in the project for the subjets German, math, music, physics and sports. All items are systematically varied to three different levels of language difficulty. The subject matter of the tasks as well as the subject-specific vocabulary are kept constant in particular.
In an ongoing study funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) items for the domains mathematics and physics will be developed and systematically varied accross linguistic requirements and subject specific cognitive demands. Again, traits of the items will be determined which either in isolation or in combination influence item difficulty. The project is carried out by Leuphana University Lüneburg (Prof. Leiß, Prof. Ehmke), University of Hamburg (Prof. Schwippert, Prof. Höttecke) and University of Bochum (Prof. Heine).> AG FuS.
Publications
Hackemann, T., Heine, L., & Höttecke, D. (2022). Challenging to Read, Easy to Comprehend? Effects of Linguistic Demands on Secondary Students' Text Comprehension in Physics. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-022-10306-1
Hackemann, T., Heine, L., & Höttecke, D. (2020). Textverständlichkeit sprachlich variierter physikbezogener Sachtexte. In S. Habig (Hrsg.), Naturwissenschaftliche Kompetenzen in der Gesellschaft für morgen (S. 306-309). GDCP, Jahrestagung in Wien 2019.
Höttecke, D., Feser, M., Heine, L., & Ehmke, T. (2018). Do linguistic features influence item difficulty in physics assessments?. Science Education Review Letters, https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/handle/18452/19939 (29.05.2018).
Heine, L., Domenech, M., Otto, L., Neumann, A., Krelle, M., Leiß, D., Höttecke, D., Ehmke, T. & Schwippert, K. (2018). Modellierung sprachlicher Anforderungen in Testaufgaben verschiedener Unterrichtsfächer: Theoretische und empirische Grundlagen [Modeling language requiremet levels of test items in different subjects: Theoretical and empirical foundation]. Zeitschrift für angewandte Linguistik, 69, 69-96.
Strunk, N. & Höttecke, D. (2018). Von der Alltags- zur Bildungssprache. Übergänge im Physikunterricht gestalten [From everyday language to academic language. Structuring language development in physics education]. Unterricht Physik, 165/166, 20-24.
Höttecke, D., Ehmke, T., Krieger, C. & Kulik, M. (2017). Vergleichende Messung fachsprachlicher Fähigkeiten in den Domänen Physik und Sport [Comparative analysis of special language skills in the domains of physics and sports]. Zeitschrift für Didaktik der Naturwissenschaften, 23(1), 53-69.
Höttecke, D. (2017). Naturwissenschaft und Sprache [Science and Language]. In U. Gebhard, D. Höttecke & M. Rehm (Hrsg.), Pädagogik der Naturwissenschaften (S. 107-124). Berlin: Springer VS.