Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology

Studies on the Evaluation of the Hector Core Courses

The Hector Core Courses are part of the Hector Children’s Academies and have been specifically developed for gifted children in collaboration with experts from both science and practice. Their effectiveness is evaluated through a series of consecutive studies to ensure that children’s competencies develop positively as a result of attending the courses. For example, participation in these courses has been shown to lead to measurable improvements in computational thinking, spatial skills, and statistical competencies.

Questions about the effectiveness study?

Please feel free to contact:
Kristin Funcke
info-hkaspam prevention@hib.uni-tuebingen.de
07071-29/76536

How does an evaluation study work?

The waitlist control group design

To assess the effectiveness of the individual Hector Core Courses, a so-called waitlist control group design is used.

What does that mean…

... for academy directors?

Important note: The course is offered twice consecutively. “Consecutively” means that after the last session of Group A has taken place, Group B begins with its first session.

The scheduling of course dates is determined in consultation with the scientific supervision team.

Course announcements are incorporated into the program of your Hector Children’s Academy. The course dates (pre-test + Group A + post-test + Group B) must be announced as one complete course, so that parents can reserve all the necessary dates during registration. Children only learn which group they belong to after the pre-test. Since there are two course groups with a maximum of 8 children each, you can admit twice as many children (up to 16) to the courses.

After registering for the course, parental and child consent for participation in the evaluation study is obtained by the scientific supervision team of the Hector Children’s Academies.

All children (Group A and Group B) begin with two joint sessions.

The pre- and post-test sessions are conducted by test administrators trained by the scientific supervision team. The presence and support of the course instructors during these sessions are important.

After the pre-test session, children are randomly assigned to two groups: Group A attends the course immediately, and Group B attends the course after the post-test session (see diagram). Since it may not be possible to schedule all Group B sessions weekly between May/June and the summer holidays, we aim to plan these dates in close coordination with you and the course instructors. To reach as many children as possible, it is recommended to select course times that are nearly identical for both Group A and B, e.g., always on Friday afternoons. For Group B, some sessions may need to be combined on certain dates.

...for course instructors?

Important Note: You will offer the course twice consecutively. “Consecutively” means that after the last session of Group A, Group B begins with its first session.

Preparation

  • If you are interested in teaching a course, please contact your Hector Children’s Academy.

  • Discuss suitable scheduling with your administration.

  • After your academy approves, register for the corresponding training session.

  • You will participate in a training session in advance (online or in person, depending on the course).

  • Additionally, you will be asked to participate in the study and, for example, complete questionnaires (e.g., regarding your interests, teaching experience, etc.) as part of the course evaluation.

Course Implementation

  • After the pre-test session, all children in the course are randomly assigned to two groups.

  • All children (Groups A and B) start with two joint sessions.

  • The pre- and post-test sessions are conducted by test administrators trained by us. Your presence and support during these sessions are important.

... for the parents and kids?

After your child has been assigned to a course by the Hector Children’s Academy, consent for participation in the study will be obtained from both you and your child by the scientific supervision team.

Your child must be available for all course dates from registration until group assignment is determined.

After the pre-test session, children in a course are randomly assigned to two groups. The course is offered twice consecutively. “Consecutively” means that after the last session of Group A, Group B begins with its first session.

You and your child will be informed in writing after the pre-test which group your child has been assigned to.

During the pre- and post-test sessions, children (Groups A and B) will be assessed.

You, as parents, will also be asked to complete a questionnaire (e.g., about your interests or your child’s interests).

Which effectiveness studies have already been conducted?

Evaluation studies in the 2017/18 school year

To ensure the effectiveness of the individual Hector Core Courses, the following courses were evaluated during the 2017/18 school year:

  • Talking About Science: Little Specialists – We Present Our Knowledge

  • Little Researchers – Working Like Scientists

  • Ready for the Mathematics Olympiad

  • Safe Experimenting in the Chemistry Lab

  • Mathematics to Listen To – Children Compose with Lego

  • Understanding How Computers Think

The results of these studies can be found here.

Privacy and Anonymity

Participation in the studies evaluating the Hector Core Courses is conducted in compliance with data protection regulations and is reviewed by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, the LEAD Graduate School, and the Hector Institute for Empirical Educational Research at Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.