He is interested in the psychological processes that shape learning in school settings: Dr Christoph Niepel has been appointed Professor of Educational Psychology at the Department of Educational Sciences. Prior to this, he conducted research at the University of Luxembourg.
A native of Oldenburg, Niepel studied psychology in Trier, Germany, and Amiens, France. He then worked for five years as a research associate at the University of Trier, where he also earned his doctorate in 2013. Starting in 2014, Niepel was a postdoctoral researcher and Research Scientist at the University of Luxembourg. His research activities have also taken him to Oslo, Princeton, and Sydney.
The central topics of his research are learners’ motivation and perceived competence, as well as students’ varying evaluations of instructional quality. To gain a precise understanding of how motivation and learning arise—and how they can vary depending on the situation—Niepel tracks students’ individual daily experiences over several days and weeks. This is done in real time after each class, for example, using electronic diaries on smartphones.