Abstracts - Earli

length, information value, elaborateness and addressivity of student posts, and (b) studentperceptions of the collaborative activity. Results indicated that student communication wascharacterized by short, cryptic, and difficult to understand messages. Student groups tended to talkpast their collaborators rather than to them. The results suggest that the open-ended task usedturned out to be a very challenging activity for 6th graders. It is concluded that open-ended tasksrequire considerable scaffolding to be manageable by elementary students. The paper is concludedwith a discussion of the implications of the nature of the task for the design of CSCL activities.J 2030 August 2007 17:00 - 18:20Room: 0.79 JánossyPaper SessionHigher educationChair:Rainer Bromme, Universität Münster, GermanyThe role of course value perception in the persistence of first-year students at university: analysisof determinants and effects.Gentiane Boudrenghien, Universite catholique de Louvain, BelgiumMariane Frenay, Universite catholique de Louvain, BelgiumSandrine Neuville, Universite catholique de Louvain, BelgiumJulia Schmitz, Universite catholique de Louvain, BelgiumThis study examines, with 405 first-year university students, the role of course value perception instudents’ persistence intention. Furthermore, it analyses the role of two potential antecedents ofvalue perception: teaching practices and students’ goals and regulatory processes through whichthey pursue their goals. More specifically, types of influence (direct or mediated by valueperception) that these antecedents exert on persistence intention are investigated. Results globallysupport our theoretical model: (1) course value perception directly and positively influencespersistence intention; (2) the impact of the students’ regulatory process on persistence intention ispartially mediated by course value perception; (3) students’ regulatory process partially mediatesthe impact of students’ goals content on course value perception and (4) teaching practices’ impacton persistence intention is completely mediated by course value perception. Some theoretical andpractical implications will be presented.The role of cognitive abilities, school achievement, and interest congruence for success atuniversityGabriel Nagy, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, GermanyUlrich Trautwein, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, GermanyOliver Ludtke, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, GermanyFostering the individual development of abilities and interests is a major goal of school education.Theories about career-related transitions emphasize the importance of these factors for success innew environments, such as university. The present study investigated the role of cognitiveabilities, school achievement, and interest congruence for success at university, drawing on a largestudent sample (N = 1756). Cognitive and school-related abilities were assessed by standardized– 572 –