Promoting Individual Learning (DIPF)

How can we gain a better understanding of the prerequisite of children’s learning, and how can we provide targeted support? A variety of issues – inclusion, gifted programs, the integration of immigrant children – are placing increasing demands on preschools and schools as they seek to accommodate diverse needs. This is where a new strategic partnership between the German Institute for International Educational Research (DIPF) and the Jacobs Foundation comes in.

In this partnership, DIPF researchers are studying the effects of such factors as sleep, stress and exercise on children’s cognitive performance and emotional well-being. Using smartphones in the classroom, they are conducting a survey on the factors that affect each child’s learning. The researchers’ findings will help to determine how best to tailor support to the needs of individual children.

These findings will also be used to design online courses and computer-based cognitive training programs. A position will be created for an assistant professor in the field of “psychology with an emphasis on individualized support,” who will focus on these issues. This professorship, which is another core element of the partnership, will be located at DIPF and Goethe University Frankfurt.

The Jacobs Foundation is investing a total of CHF 1.1 million in its strategic partnership with DIPF, which will continue for six years.