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        <title>Research in Subject-matter Teaching and Learning (RISTAL) Feed</title>
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            <title>Research in Subject-matter Teaching and Learning (RISTAL) Feed</title>
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            <title><![CDATA[Professionalisation of Teachers for Education for Sustainable Development in Germany: A Scoping Review]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2026-0001</link>
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            <pubDate>Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is considered an internationally endorsed educational concept for dealing with global challenges and qualification of teachers is essential for the implementation. This scoping review explores the structures and dynamics of the scientific field of teacher education for sustainable development (TESD) in Germany using six indicators or key questions as an analytical heuristic. An analysis of 154 publications shows that since 2016 the field has grown and become more differentiated but remains fragmented. Stronger integration exists in the subject didactics of biology, geography, and general studies for primary school. Interdisciplinary collaboration is limited, and the discourse is shaped by a few key researchers. TESD research primarily focuses on primary school and upper secondary school as well as student teachers at university. Empirical studies dominate, whereas theoretical work is rare. Overall, the review reveals significant research gaps and underlines the need for more interdisciplinary approaches in TESD.]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Editorial]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2025-0010</link>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Situational subject teaching—towards understanding the details of teachers' subject-specific didactic competence]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2025-0002</link>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[The aim is to contribute to a characterisation of teachers' situational subject teaching, i.e. how teachers take into account the contributions from students in situ and how they create communication grounded in students' understanding of the topic, and thus facilitate topical progression. Observations from three classroom settings in social studies, science and Swedish are analysed. The results show two main types of teacher follow-up moves, these are re-phrasing what the students say in different ways and bridging between different parts that complement one another, thus giving the student opportunities to expand their understanding of the phenomenon. The results illustrate how situational subject teaching is constructed in different classroom settings, and how these interactions might impact both teachers' teaching and students' opportunities for learning. We suggest that more knowledge about the nature of situational teaching in different school subjects is of importance for developing theory and practice applicable in teacher education.]]></description>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
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            <title><![CDATA[Self-efficacy beliefs among prospective teachers about inclusive geography education: Examining the relationships of general and geography-specific beliefs using structural equation modelling]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2025-0003</link>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Against the background of inclusion, teachers' self-efficacy beliefs about inclusive education are particularly relevant to the implementation of inclusive teaching. The present study focuses on how general and subject-specific (in this case geography-specific) constructs influence the self-efficacy beliefs of prospective geography teachers about inclusive geography teaching.A survey of prospective geography teachers measured self-efficacy beliefs about inclusive geography teaching (SEB-IGT), beliefs about inclusive geography teaching (B-IGT), general self-efficacy beliefs about teaching (SEB-T), and general attitudes towards inclusive education (A-IE). Assumptions regarding the relationships between the SEB-IGT and the other constructs under consideration were conceptualized theoretically and empirically. Structural equation modelling was utilized to assess the hypothesized impacts on the SEB-IGT. The findings revealed that the geography-specific B-IGT exerts the strongest positive effect on the SEB-IGT. It follows that the subject-specific constructs under consideration exert a more important influence on the geography- and inclusion-related SEB-IGT than the more general constructs.]]></description>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
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            <title><![CDATA[Reading, writing and interpreting texts in digital environments: Editorial introduction]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2025-0009</link>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Immersive technologies, particularly virtual reality (VR), have become valuable tools in foreign language (FL) learning and teaching. This explorative pilot study was conducted in an interdisciplinary, multilingual higher education context to introduce prospective foreign language teachers to VR-based language learning applications. Prospective teachers were trained in developing, implementing, and assessing VR-based teaching ideas for FL classrooms. Using a structured rubric, they evaluated four distinct VR applications. The findings of this explorative study reveal that participants favored applications with explicit language-learning mechanics (e.g., Mondly VR, Noun Town) for direct pedagogical use, while valuing immersive, exploration-based applications (e.g., BRINK Traveler, National Geographic VR) for their potential to foster intercultural competence. While recognizing the potential of VR to revolutionize language education, the participants emphasized that successful implementation would require a multifaceted approach addressing content development, infrastructure, teacher training, and accessibility concerns.]]></description>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
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            <title><![CDATA[Accelerating Secondary Students' Learning Progression in Scientific Argumentation using Artificial Intelligence: An Educator's Guide and Online Course]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2025-0004</link>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Developing argumentation skills is key for secondary students' societal participation, particularly in socioscientific discussions. Multiple learning progressions describe steps in the development and provide the base for effective instruction. Using artificial intelligence (AI) has been suggested to improve the implementation of instruction through its emerging capabilities, including providing feedback, acting like a tutor, or serving as an argumentation partner. However, examples demonstrating how AI could specifically support students in their learning progressions are lacking. This article addresses this gap by providing guidance for using AI to improve learning progression-based argumentation instruction. The guidance includes example AI prompts that integrate pedagogical content knowledge. We have developed a free online course that complements this article, offering practice tasks, explanatory videos, and AI prompts to facilitate further implementation. This course is accessible at https://open.hpi.de/courses/chatgpt2025 and includes a custom AI argumentation trainer [https://chatgpt.com/g/g-6856795be5788191872fcf33b1cbebf2-argumentation-trainer].]]></description>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mastering the genre of English emails: A linguistic analysis of learner uptake in an on-line learning environment]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2025-0005</link>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Email writing is a core genre in in curricula of English as a second or foreign language (ESFL) at secondary level. curricula. This study investigates which genre-specific linguistic elements lower-secondary learners take up during a short, online, genre-based writing intervention. We analyzed N = 322 Grade-8/9 students in north-western Switzerland who completed three (semi-)formal request-email tasks. Seven genre elements were coded in each text (subject line, salutation, information about writer, matter of concern, task-question coverage, concluding sentence, closing).Uptake occurred across all categories in the course of the intervention, with the largest gains in task completion (addressing all required questions) and formulaic elements (appropriate subject lines, salutations, and closings). For example, learners markedly shifted from informal openings (“Hi/Hello”) to appropriate forms (“Dear Ms …”). By contrast, improvements in freer elements that require flexible language use—succinct self-introduction and clear statement of purpose—were positive but more gradual. Descriptively, progress was non-linear: some students showed temporary backsliding, consistent with dynamic restructuring in L2 development.We conclude that tightly aligned, rubric-guided instruction plus a targeted language framework can produce short-term, measurable gains in both formulaic and interpersonal-pragmatic realizations of the email genre, even without continuous teacher mediation. Findings inform the design of online EFL units and suggest clear targets for automated or AI-supported formative feedback in genre writing.]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Judging Students' Texts in a Digital Research Tool: Do Text Quality, Students' Gender, and Migration Background Impact Teachers' Text Assessments?]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2025-0006</link>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Teachers' assessments of students' writing are key for adapting instruction to individual needs but are often influenced by biases. The present studies examined whether student characteristics – gender and migration background – affect text assessments in the digital tool Student Inventory. In Study 1 (n = 117), pre-service teachers assessed six texts differing in quality and students' gender. In Study 2 (n = 127), students' migration background was manipulated instead. Texts were assessed holistically and analytically, considering content, style, and linguistic accuracy. Results from both studies showed that participants reliably differentiated between low- and high-quality texts on all assessment scales. The studies revealed small significant gender biases only for medium-quality texts. The findings suggest that the Student Inventory facilitates an objective assessment of students' writing and supports fair assessment practices, regardless of students' gender or migration background.]]></description>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Reliability of AI in the domain of literary literacy and literary text interpretation: an empirical study]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2025-0007</link>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[The article presents the results of an experimental study in the field of L1 education that used literary literacy and the interpretation of literary texts as examples to examine the reliability of generative AI in helping learners in literature classes to overcome complex challenges. Due to the ambiguity of literary texts, the reliability of AI faces particular challenges here. Based on an empirically verified model of literary literacy, two chatbots considered particularly powerful—ChatGPT-5 from Open AI and Claude Sonnet-4.5 from Anthropic—were systematically tested. After explaining the study design, the initial results of the experimental study are presented and discussed.]]></description>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Virtual Reality in Language Learning and Teaching: An Explorative Study of Four VR Applications from a Student Perspective]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2025-0008</link>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Immersive technologies, particularly virtual reality (VR), have become valuable tools in foreign language (FL) learning and teaching. This explorative pilot study was conducted in an interdisciplinary, multilingual higher education context to introduce prospective foreign language teachers to VR-based language learning applications. Prospective teachers were trained in developing, implementing, and assessing VR-based teaching ideas for FL classrooms. Using a structured rubric, they evaluated four distinct VR applications. The findings of this explorative study reveal that participants favored applications with explicit language-learning mechanics (e.g., Mondly VR, Noun Town) for direct pedagogical use, while valuing immersive, exploration-based applications (e.g., BRINK Traveler, National Geographic VR) for their potential to foster intercultural competence. While recognizing the potential of VR to revolutionize language education, the participants emphasized that successful implementation would require a multifaceted approach addressing content development, infrastructure, teacher training, and accessibility concerns.]]></description>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Subject-didactical Typology of Social Science Teachers]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2025-0001</link>
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            <pubDate>Sat, 12 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[In 2019, a new curriculum for “Economics &amp; Politics” was introduced on the lower secondary level in the German state of Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany, emphasizing economic education. While studying the teachers’ acceptance of the new curriculum, we identified various types of teachers based on their instructional practices and instructional preferences with respect to subject-didactics (sub-discipline, subject-didactical teaching approaches, learning tasks). We applied a principal component analysis of eleven variables related to teaching design and task preference, yielding three factors. Based on these findings, we identified five distinct teacher clusters. This empirical methodology can be applied to other subjects such as geography and languages.]]></description>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Editorial]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2024-0002</link>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Subject Pedagogy in Japan: An Introduction]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2024-0008</link>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[General Didactics meets Subject Didactics: Lesson Study at the Intersection of Two Academic Fields]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2024-0013</link>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[General and subject didactics in Japan have played various important roles in policymaking, academic research, and teacher training. Nevertheless, opportunities for collaboration between them have been limited. Meanwhile, lesson study – a series of activities for lesson development and reflection including planning, observing, and evaluating lessons – opened an arena where these two fields meet and intersect to bring new insights into lesson development and reflection. This article aims to clarify how lesson study could bridge both fields. The historical development of Jugyou Kenkyuu in Japan is first reconstructed in order to extract theoretical frameworks valid in the lesson study discourse. We then present lesson study practice at School X where researchers from general and subject didactics collaboratively joined the lesson study, examined their own role arrangements, and found distinctive self-dispositioning. The case revealed several major modes of collaboration including complementary relationships, different communication styles, and integration. The article ends with a reflection on further perspectives for future work in lesson study.]]></description>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Subject Pedagogy in Japan: The Reconstructive Process and the Competitive Relationship of Multiple Subject Pedagogies]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2024-0009</link>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[The aim of this research is to describe the historical development of subject pedagogy in Japan by applying the theory of competing paradigms and dividing it into four periods. There are three meanings of subject pedagogy in the Japanese academic context: as a sub-discipline of the broader educational sciences, as a research activity of curriculum and instruction for specific school subjects, and as an essential field of teacher education for certifying professionals to teach specific subjects. This paper shows that these three meanings have been historically generated and transformed. They interact with one another and are reconstructed as they have been influenced by the political and academic factors of the time. The paper also shows that the established meanings have not faded away lightly over the three-quarter century history of Japanese subject pedagogy, but instead have persisted as a multi-faceted paradigm that continues to define it.]]></description>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Comparison of Terms and Concepts used in Different Subject Pedagogies and Academic Research Associations in Japan]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2024-0011</link>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Since 2022, the Research Promotion Committee of the Japan Consortium for Subject Pedagogy Associations has compared the terminology of various subject pedagogies. This study focuses on three terms: “inquiry”, “criticism” and “understanding.” It compares their actual use of them in each subject of the Japan National Courses of Study as well as in the glossaries published by each subject-pedagogy-related academic association in order to identify similarities and differences between subject areas and clarify each characteristic.In natural science-oriented subject pedagogy such as science and mathematics, or semi-natural-science-oriented subject pedagogy such as home economics, “inquiry,” “criticism,” and “understanding” were defined as they are in the learning sciences by J. Schwab, R. Ennis, R. J. Marzano, and others. This may be because “inquiry”, “criticism” and “understanding” were associated with scientific thinking in the learning sciences, convenient for natural-science- oriented subject areas.However, in subject pedagogy in the humanities domain, such as in Japanese language, definitions from critical pedagogy and Geisteswissenschaften (hermeneutics) have influenced the language use and are actively in circulation. In subject pedagogies that straddled the social science and humanities domains, such as social studies, definitions taken from the learning sciences, from critical pedagogy or from the Geisteswissenschaften were used. This is the case because the learning science approach, which links “inquiry,” “criticism,” and “understanding” with scientific thinking, objectivity, and rationality, cannot incorporate the philosophy of some subject pedagogy, such as Japanese language and social studies, or explain the reality of these subject education.]]></description>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Social Studies and Science Education as Specific Subject Pedagogies in Comparison: State of the Art, Research Approaches and Challenges]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2024-0014</link>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This study discusses the commonalities and differences between Social Studies and Science education in Japan, focusing on the curriculum structure, research themes, and educational roles. Both subjects are central to fostering students’ understanding of society and nature, with Social Studies rooted in the social sciences and Science in the natural sciences. The analysis highlights shared elements, such as problem-solving and inquiry- based learning, and the presence of both integrated courses (e.g., “Science and Our Daily Life” and “Modern and Comprehensive History”) and specialized subjects (e.g., “Basic Biology” and “Advanced Japanese History”). Despite certain similarities, these subjects differ in their research focus. Science education often addresses students’ misconceptions and cognitive development, whereas Social Studies research rarely extends beyond lesson-based studies to explore students’ prior knowledge. Examining these subjects in parallel clarifies their distinct methodological approaches and foundational principles, thereby providing insights into the broader positioning of Social Studies and Science education research in Japan.]]></description>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Academic Discipline or Professional Training? Examining the Role of Subject Pedagogy in Japanese Teacher Education]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2024-0010</link>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This study examines the evolving role of subject pedagogy within Japan’s teacher education system, emphasising its dual function as both an academic discipline and a component of teacher preparation. Established after World War II, subject pedagogy has been central to training teachers in Japan, defined by its practical orientation and alignment with state‐mandated educational policies. However, it faces a dichotomy: criticized as overly practical by academics while perceived as excessively academic by policymakers. Through a case study of Hiroshima University’s School of Education, this paper explores how subject pedagogy navigates these tensions by balancing academic research and practical teacher training.The analysis highlights three strategies employed to achieve this balance: aligning the university’s dual mission of training researchers and teachers with historical and institutional contexts, structuring programs to emphasize subject‐specific pedagogy as a distinct academic field, and fostering a globally oriented teacher identity. The findings suggest that while subject pedagogy is shaped by external reforms, it has also actively contributed to the evolution of Japan’s teacher preparation framework. This research provides insights into how subject pedagogy can simultaneously support academic autonomy and meet professional training demands, with implications for comparative education and teacher education systems globally.]]></description>
            <category>ARTICLE</category>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Subject Pedagogy Research Methodologies: Analysis of Academic Journal Articles Published by Affiliates of Japan Consortium of Subject Pedagogy Associations]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2024-0012</link>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This study aimed to clarify issues in subject pedagogy research by examining changes in research methods over time, with a focus on articles published in academic association journals. To identify the research methods used, we extracted data from articles published by academic associations within the Consortium for Subject Pedagogy. Using a common subject framework to classify research methods, we examined the methodologies through data analysis and a literature review. The results showed that (1) research methods varied by subject, and classifications that were valid in one subject society were not optimal for others; (2) theoretical-philosophical research has been common in mathematics but less so in social studies, geography, and home economics; (3) practical-development and empirical-experiential research have been common across subjects; (4) critical inquiry is an important step beyond traditional approaches; (5) individualistic and traditional-technical approaches are important in subject pedagogy, and recognition of their significance remains a future challenge.]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Development and validation of a text-based instrument measuring teachers’ professional vision of student thinking]]></title>
            <link>https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/ristal-2024-0006</link>
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            <pubDate>Sat, 26 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Accurate teacher judgments of student thinking are key to adaptive teaching. Yet, making such judgments represents a particularly challenging task for teachers. Developing instruments that can elicit and capture teachers’ cognitive processes of noticing and interpreting is essential for assessing their skills. These instruments should be sensitive to the teachers’ cognitive processes and specific qualities of student thinking in the respective domain. In this article, we present an approach to develop and validate a text-based vignette test which meets these requirements. We used the example of teachers’ noticing and interpreting of cognitive aspects in learners’ attitudes on creation and evolution. We identified relevant components of student thinking in this domain and included these components systematically varied in written classroom vignettes. Experts confirmed a clear and salient representation of the components of student thinking that we intended to include.]]></description>
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