Since 2008, the state prize ‘Award of Excellence’ has been awarded annually to the 40 best dissertations of the past academic year. Dr Joy Muth, BSc MSc from the Developmental and Educational Psychology of the School Age department, was honoured for her outstanding dissertation.

In her dissertation, Muth examines the widespread fear that teaching to the test, as a strongly exam-oriented form of preparation, reduces students' motivation to learn. Her analyses contradict the general assumption of a blanket negative effect on motivation. Instead, the results show that teaching to the test, when used in a targeted manner and immediately before exams, can strengthen certain facets of motivation.

We warmly congratulate Joy Muth on this prestigious award and look forward to the impetus her work will provide for evidence-based teaching and exam preparation. 

You can find more information about the study here: Teaching to the test: Unraveling the consequences for student motivation.