Abstract:

A central content focus of the study module "Work and Organizational Psychology" in the bachelor's degree program in psychology at the University of Hagen is job design, which deals with the effect of work on the working person. The critical teaching of theoretical basics of psychological work design, mainly done by reading and discussing relevant theories and research results, is unfortunately mostly lacking in the experience of practical job design training during these studies. This can only be achieved by experiencing a simulated training situation, trying out job design skills, and experiencing the effects of different forms of job design. The primary learning and training objective of the planned didactic innovation is acquiring qualifications based on competencies and skills in work psychology to analyze, evaluate, and design work tasks according to defined human criteria. Through minor adjustments, other learning objectives can also be focused on. Methodological qualifications based on corresponding competencies and qualifications (CQs) are also developed through a systematic work analysis, which the students have to carry out following a work task they have experienced themselves. The simulation is based on Hertel's Computer Store application. A central element of the game is the student's own experience of well and poorly-designed work tasks in terms of the specific manifestation of psychologically relevant work characteristics (e.g., psychological stress). For this purpose, the students will process one or more specifically designed work tasks that are digitally simulated. Psychological stresses, such as interruptions, and time pressure, are thus made tangible.

The simulation is part of a study course in which a theory quiz is asked to check the factual knowledge from the study letters before the simulation. If this quiz is evaluated positively, corresponding CQs are stored in the learners' CQ profile (CQP). Following the achievement of the CQs, the simulation is adaptively unlocked. After the simulation, the learners are asked to explain in a final quiz, based on the measured parameters in conjunction with the previously acquired theoretical knowledge, how the results in the game came about. The evaluation of the quiz is automated. The evaluation evaluates whether the students have achieved the necessary action skills in the course. The concept of CQPs is based on the concept of CQPs from the Qualifications-Based Learning Model (QBLM) approach. Currently, there is no suitable visualization option for the CQs already achieved. For this purpose, a corresponding option will be created in the used Learning Management System Moodle based on the QBLM approach and the data in the CQP to implement a progress bar to visualize the CQs per course. This paper shows the necessary theoretical background, concepts, and implementations based on the course for psychology described above. Finally, the paper concludes with a summary and the remaining challenges of the approach.

Keywords:

Adaptive Learning, Competencies, Gala4QBLM, Qualifications-Based Learning Model, Moodle, Learning Management System, QBL, progress bar, competence visualization.