Cognitive and Motivational Person Characteristics as Predictors of Diagnostic Performance: Combined Effects on Pre-Service Teachers’ Diagnostic Task Selection and Accuracy

Abstract

AbstractThe acquisition of diagnostic competences is an essential goal of teacher education. Thus, evidence on how learning environments facilitate pre-service teachers’ acquisition of corresponding competences is important. In teacher education, approximations of practice (such as simulations) are discussed as being learning environments that can support learners in activating acquired knowledge in authentic situations. Simulated diagnostic interviews are recommended to foster teachers’ diagnostic competences.The conceptualization of diagnostic competences highlights the importance of cognitive and motivational characteristics. Motivational learning theories predict that the activation of acquired knowledge in learning situations may be influenced by motivational characteristics such as individual interest. Although teachers’ diagnostic competences constitute an increasing research focus, how cognitive and motivational characteristics interact when shaping the diagnostic process and accuracy in authentic learning situations remains an open question.To address this question, we report on data from 126 simulated diagnostic one-on-one interviews conducted by 63 pre-service secondary school mathematics teachers (students simulated by research assistants), studying the combined effects of interest and professional knowledge on the diagnostic process and accuracy. In addition to the main effect of content knowledge, interaction effects indicate that participants’ interest plays the role of a “door-opener” for the activation of knowledge during simulation-based learning. Thus, the results highlight the importance of both, cognitive and motivational characteristics. This implies that simulation-based learning environments should be designed to arouse participants’ interest to support their learning or to support less interested learners in activating relevant knowledge.