Browsing by Subject "kehittämistutkimus"

According to the newest Finnish curriculum (2014) home economics can be taught in the lower classes (1–6) of comprehensive school as one of the elective subjects or as an integrated club activity. In this research redesigning of home economics will be limited into inquiry-based learning which is applied in phenomenon driven teaching. This research aims to develop the use of inquiry based learning in regular classroom environment. The design will also integrate the use of mobile devices to analyse the results of phenomena and digital appliances to collect data on the situational interest of the students. This Master's thesis redesigns a new way of teaching home economics in primary school using the inquiry based learning and finding a way to wake interest into studying natural scientific phenomena in everyday life. This research was inspired by the University of Helsinki LUMA centre's Pikku-Jippo science club activities. The methodological approach applied was design research and it was conducted in two cycles. During the first cycle the data collected consisted of videos captured by students. In the second cycle the data were collected by using digital polling appliance. Both cycles followed the same kind of inquiry based learning method which is also applicable both in home economics education and natural sciences. The data were collected from one primary school class in Helsinki. The students were aged 7–8 years. The analysis of the video data was started by watching the videos extensively. The research results were analyzed using theory-based content analysis. The results indicate that mobile devices guided students to make observations of the phenomena, and to discuss both reactions and used instruments with their peers. The data from the second cycle were analyzed using qualitative observation methods. The re-designed teaching methods increased enthusiasm in the observed classroom. The students experienced them as an innovative way to learn and observe natural phenomena of everyday life.

This research was inspired by the need to repair teared car upholstery. The subject of this study was an original upholstery fabric from a year 1962 Volvo Amazon. The aim of this study was to collect knowledge of craft-based design and manufacturing process based on an original car upholstery fabric. The research question was: How do I design and develop an upholstery fabric according to an original design while maintaining authenticity? Due to the hand craft based and practical nature of the subject, development research was chosen as the research method. The design process moves forward in three stages. At the first stage the situation was outlined, and the original upholstery fabric was analyzed to find the problems. To support the analysis, Katja Hynninen was consulted as a weaving expert, and Eila Lindfors’ (2002) dissertation was helpful when textile use and caring features were estimated in a sensory manner. The most important attributes of sensory evaluation were the feel, the density, the colors, the stripe rhythm and the general look. Problems with the origi-nal fabric were analyzed by the weak structure of the upholstery fabric yarn, the thin density and the length of the stripe pattern. At the second stage, the aim was to find solutions to the problems found at the first stage. The problems were solved by finding materials and by do-ing experimental weaving on a sample warp. At the final stage the swatches were compared to the original upholstery fabric and to the problems found at the first stage. The experiments were evaluated by the same sensory properties as in the analysis. As a result of the devel-opment process, the most appropriate proposal for the upholstery fabric was presented ac-cording to the objective defined by the researcher. Although the aim of this study was not to produce general information on car upholstery, the research results can also be beneficial to others who are interested in doing similar car up-holstery fabric restoration.

Interdisciplinary studies are currently an important topic in education. One reason behind this is the idea that students should learn 21st century skills, such as critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills for their future careers. Interdisciplinary education has also been shown to increase students’ interest towards natural sciences. Furthermore, organizing cross-curricular learning units has become compulsory at a curricular level in Finland and other countries. Project-based learning is a widely supported teaching method in which learning is organized around projects. It is also a natural method to carry out interdisciplinary learning units. Project-based learning is usually defined by its characteristic features, and its successful implementation requires the teacher to have a good knowledge of them. However, these characteristics tend to be unknown for teachers. Research has also shown that teachers’ conceptions of what interdisciplinary education and project-based learning are, tend to vary. As such, it has been noted in the literature that there is a need to offer training and materials for the implementation of interdisciplinary and project-based learning for in-service teachers. Although MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have a lot of potential as a means of professional development, they are rarely planned to serve primarily as in-service teacher training. Empirical research into their design is also scarce. The main aims in this study were to 1) provide more information about interdisciplinary education within biology education 2) develop a MOOC for the professional development of biology teachers on the topic of interdisciplinary education and project-based learning. In addition to that the study aimed to develop the StarT programme of LUMA Centre Finland. The study was carried out as design-based research. The main research question that directed the design process was: what should a MOOC that supports teachers to carry out interdisciplinary project-based learning within the theme “nature and environment” in biology be like? Nature and environment was chosen as the context of the study as from the perspective of biology education it offers an important and current topic for interdisciplinary project units. The main research question was approached through a theoretical and empirical problem analysis. Theoretical problem analysis focused on researching the question in earlier literature, and the empirical problem analysis was carried out as a case study in which qualitative data was studied through deductive content analysis. The materials studied in the empirical problem analysis were project-based learning units of comprehensive schools and high schools. Their project units were studied through the following research questions: 1. How did teachers and students carry out the characteristics of project-based learning in the context of the theme nature and environment in biology? 2. How is biology taught in an interdisciplinary way in the theme nature and environment? The first question was studied through the characteristics that were identified for project-based learning in the theoretical problem analysis, and the second by looking at which subjects collaborated with biology, how the collaboration was carried out and how the learning communities experienced it. The goal was to find a) challenging characteristics of project-based learning and interdisciplinary education that should be considered the design of the MOOC b) good examples from the studied learning communities to be shared on the MOOC. The study subjects consisted of 12 learning communities who had participated in the international StarT programme of LUMA Centre Finland. In accordance with earlier studies, also the subjects of this study struggled especially with driving questions, the unity of the project activities and in using the projects as a means to learn central contents. Scientific practices were visible well apart from students’ questions, but it could not be defined how strongly student-led the inquiry was. The connection between instructions of StarT and the characteristics of project-based learning that were well represented in the materials seemed evident: collaboration, sharing results, end products and using technology were all visible throughout the analyzed learning communities. However, the materials offered little information about how the collaboration between different subjects was carried out in practice. The study indicated also that students and teachers paid attention to different aspects of the learning taking place in project-based learning, and that teachers might include topics of certain subjects into the project units without realizing it. This should be further researched, however. The issues identified in the problem analyses were used to design an international MOOC that is suitable especially for biology teachers. The course ”Project-based learning and the theory behind it – create your own project!” was created on the Moodle-platform of the University of Helsinki. In addition to this, a phased model for creating professional development in a situation where the studied materials can be used both to direct the design process and as materials on the course was created. The framework that was created for the analyses in this study can also be further used and developed to study how characteristics of project-based learning are represented in other cases where teachers’ and students’ project units are being studied. The study provided also new information about what is possible and feasible to study from the materials of StarT. New information was provided also of the project-based learning that takes place at the schools of the StarT participants, as they have not been researched from the perspective of the characteristics of project-based learning earlier.

Clever methods and research designs are needed in the research field of embodied thinking. There is a need to find repeatable research methods and testable hypothesis. (Nuñez, 2012, 329.) The aim of this master's thesis is to find solutions for how the embodied thinking can be identified in the knowledge creation process and how the embodied thinking can be recognized in the process and in the designed artifact. This research was implemented from the data gathered by the Handling Mind project, in Autumn 2014. It is a development study, where craft science student groups (three students) designed children's accessories for a sea world's guided tours. The purpose of applying the narrative expectation analysis was a pursuit to make the process of recognizing embodied thinking in the knowledge process more transparent. After the expectation analysis revealed occurrences of embodied thinking, idea-response pairs were defined and then formed into chains from a new idea to the final artifact, so as to interpret embodied thinking in knowledge creation process. The narrative expectation analysis resulted in a rich material for further analysis of the embodied thinking in a knowledge creation process. The spots where a new design idea and embodied thinking encountered in the collaborative design process were proved significant for the embodied thinking. These implemented analyzes revealed the essential themes of structure, materials, form and utility in designing an artifact in a collaborative design process. Based on these results it can be concluded that embodied thinking is observable with the narrative expectation analysis and embodied thinking can be recognized in a knowledge creation process. The use of narrative expectation analysis manifested itself as a useful method that revealed embodied thinking as expected. The pair and chain analysis supported the narrative nature of this study and reinforced the results of the narrative expectation analysis about revealing and identifying the embodied thinking in the knowledge creation process. According to the results and the small sample of this study in mind it can be argued that the learning in the knowledge creation process could be proved without formal exams or essays.

Hemp was once the most widely used textile fiber, as it can be grown in a large part of the world, including Finland. It is an ecological textile plant, because it doesn't require much irrigation or pesticides. Hemp fiber is very durable, breathable and moisture-absorbing and doesn't mold easily. The aim of the study is to explore the weaving methods of the hemp yarn, find the functional product applications and produce weaving patterns for amateur weavers. The goal is to make it easier for hand weavers to start using hemp fiber in their projects. The research method was qualitative design-based research. The data consisted of prototypes produced by the researcher, prototyping process journal and interview with an expert in the field. The prototypes were woven with various weaves and setts with Java-hemp yarn. 39 samples were woven from two warps. The properties of the samples were evaluated independently and in the interview with the expert. The properties were examined with haptic and visual perception. The evaluation of the samples emphasized the applicability of the patterns to the weaving amateurs. Couple of the samples were washed in order to find out how the textiles change after washing them. The data was analyzed by using content analysis. The results were applied by producing five weaving patterns using different weaves and setts. The products of the weaving patterns were bathroom rug, decorative acoustic board, garden apron, drawstring backpack and grocery bag. The weaves utilized were warp-faced corkscrew, honeycomb, m's and o's, undulating twill and double fabric. The yarn used in the study was inelastic, got easily broken and produced lint, so it is suitable for experienced weavers and should be handled with care during the weaving process. Due to the washing properties, the most suitable weave patterns for this yarn have short floats and tight setts. The yarn was rough, thick and stiff, so it is not suitable for products that need to drape well or are worn next to skin. The best applications are easy-care home decor textiles and bag fabrics. The advantages of the yarn are its expressive appearance and fast weaving process due to the thickness of the yarn.

The premise of the thesis was to study Finland’s folk costume’s most prominent aspects and develop learning material based on those aspects. I started by reviewing literature connected to the topic about teaching materials. Based on the results, I concluded that quite a bit of research has been done about folk costumes’ history, and there exists a fairly extensive amount of literature about it. However, there wasn’t that much teaching material available about folk costumes, even though a need for it has been recognized. Therefore, the mission for my thesis became to develop introductory teaching material about folk costumes for beginners. The goal for this thesis is to develop a folk costume manual, that offers an extensive information packet for beginners, along with instructions for wearing and acquiring one. As a research method I chose design-based research which consists of developing the teaching material and the theory of its development. I started the development of the manual by mapping out, what meanings are associated with folk costumes. This was carried out by interviewing four experts. The results were narratives of their experiences around folk costumes. These narratives were divided into categories to be used as material for the first draft of developing the manual, along with literary reviews. The first draft was tested by a heuristic review, in which three of the assessors of the previous step were evaluating the manual by making notes about ideas for developments and other comments. A heuristic list was offered to support the evaluation. Then, the notes were summarized into comments, and the experts classified them based on their prominence. The manual was developed based on the comments, if the experts estimated the problem to be significant. The result of the design-based research is a folk costume manual, and information about the development process. An expert interview and a heuristic evaluation proved to be functional methods for developing this type of learning material. Two themes were highlighted in relation to folk costumes in the experts’ comments: Way of speaking and vocabulary with which the costumes’ instructions and recommendations are being described, and versatility of the folk costumes. These themes had a significant impact on the folk costume manual as well.

The research assignment of this development research is to develop a handicraft-themed reminiscence box for older adults. It was ordered by Dagny Bäckström's foundation. Reminiscence box is a collection of triggers, e.g. objects, sounds and scents. It is used in reminiscence work, a method used in eldercare. Reminiscing helps to maintain personal identity, accept the past and gain a feeling of integrity. Handicraft is a fruitful topic for reminiscing, because it has been an essential part of everyday life for older adults. There is evidence that handicraft promotes well-being by supporting positive self-image and self-esteem and also encourages social interaction and helps to maintain social and family ties. Handicraft objects can remind of these positive things. These aspects form the theoretical background for this research. Developing included designing a manuscript for a reminiscence event, planning the range of triggers for the box and also collecting them. Plans were introduced to the foundation during the process and based on feedback some changes and refinement were made. The actual research material was a video recording of a real user situation, an hour long reminiscence event in an elder care home. Specific analysis covered episodes, in which both reminiscing happens and some triggers are used. Reminiscing lines of these chosen episodes were analyzed: what kind of memories were revealed and what was the trigger. The purpose of the video was also to find things that need improvements or further developing. There were many ways to reminisce handicraft. Common reminiscence is recognizing and naming the objects and their use. Personal experiences were revealed in making descriptions, heightened with movement. Also some memories of important and beloved people were revived. The triggers worked well in arousing memories, especially objects one can use or try. Reminiscence is best advanced by conversation and hearing other's memories, but also the instructor of event has influence on what kind of memories are told. Some changes were made based on video. Mostly the changes concerned about how the instructor can better support reminiscing. Asking right kind of questions is fairly important. The reminiscence event has to be organized so that everybody can equally speak and are listened and heard. It is also important to support older adults own agency in the event. This research adds knowledge of reminiscence work. This can be useful when designing new services. Concerning craft science, especially intriguing is the embodied nature of reminiscence, e.g. reminiscing with movement. This could be studied further and made use of more in the future.

Introduction. History teaching, according to the The Finnish Core Curriculum for Basic Education (2014), should be based upon five elements of historical thinking. Thus pupil assessment should address what pupils have learnt about chronology, historical empathy, change and continuity, cause and consequence, reading and interpretation of both primary and secondary sources. Nonetheless, books and other materials used in history lessons mostly still rely on substance knowledge. There is some evidence to suggest that the assessment done by teachers might encourage pupils to memorize facts rather than focus on the skills of historical thinking. It is the aim of this study to create and develop assessment material which gives teachers relevant information about their pupils' progress in historical thinking. The assessment task is meant for pupils in grade 6 and is designed to be aligned with the core curriculum. There are assessment criteria as well to ensure that the marking conducted by teachers could be as reliable as possible. Methodology. This study followed the principles of a design-based research. An artefact, comprising a document-based assessment task and assessment instructions for the teacher, was created. This one-hour-task was then tested in a class of 20 pupils. Two pupils were chosen to perform the task through think-aloud-method while the rest (18) gave written answers. The purpose of using a think aloud interview was to generate as much information as possible about the cognitive processes that a pupil goes through while reading the sources and answering the questions. The assessment task was then re-designed based on the answers given by the pupils. The final version of the task was tested again in another class of 21 pupils. The assessment criteria were re-designed based on the second testing. In order to gain information about the reliability of the task, a teacher was asked to assess the open ended questions using the assessment instructions. Conclusions. Testing the artefact for the first time it became evident that certain concepts used in the task, such as reliability of sources, were too difficult for the pupils. In addition, the phrasing of some questions was unclear, which resulted in misunderstandings. In the re-designed version of the artefact these issues were addressed and the problems did not re-occur in the second testing. It seems that the task was not too exhausting as 75 percent of all the the pupils answered an extra question as well. Most pupils were able to use the sources given in the task and base their answers on them. However, the sources were used by many for information and not for evidence. Thus evidence-based conclusions were rare. Critical evaluation of the primary and secondary sources was not common among the pupils.

Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on kehittää lukion pitkän matematiikan valinnainen kurssi, jonka aiheena on rahapelaamisen matematiikka. Tutkimuksessa haluttiin saada vastauksia siihen, että onko tällainen kurssi tarpeellinen, mitä tällaisen kurssin suunnittelussa pitää ottaa huomioon ja soveltuuko tällainen kurssi lukion pitkään matematiikkaan. Kurssin tavoitteena on ennaltaehkäistä ja lisätä tietoisuutta nuorten rahapelaamisesta ja tarjota mielekästä matematiikan oppimiskokemusta. Aiemmat tutkimukset ovat osoittaneet, että tällaisen kurssin sisällyttäminen matematiikan opetukseen ei ainoastaan ole mahdollista, mutta sillä on myös positiivisia vaikutuksia nuorten rahapelaamiskäyttäytymistä ajatellen. Kurssin suunnittelu toteutettiin kehittämistutkimuksen avulla. Kurssin teoriapohja kerättiin kahdella teoreettisella ongelma-analyysilla, joista toinen keskittyi matematiikan ja matematiikan opetuksen teoriaan ja toinen rahapelaamisen matematiikkaan. Näiden lisäksi tehtiin empiirinen ongelma-analyysi lukion opetussuunnitelman perusteille 2019, jonka avulla teoriaosuutta rajattiin. Näiden pohjalta kehitettiin tuotos eli rahapelaamisen matematiikan kurssisuunnitelma lukion pitkään matematiikkaan ja yksi esimerkki kurssin oppitunnista. Kehittämisprosessi kuvattiin yksityiskohtaisesti ongelma-analyyseistä tuotoksen kehitykseen. Tutkimuksen tulokseksi saatiin, että tällainen kurssi voisi olla tarpeellinen lisä lukion matematiikan opetukseen. Rahapelaamisen määrä on kasvanut Suomessa 1990-luvulta lähtien tähän päivään asti, mutta sen ehkäisyyn ei ole panostettu tarpeeksi. Koska nuoret ovat kaikista ikäryhmistä alttiimpia rahapeliongelmille, koulu voisi olla juuri oikea paikka missä rahapelaamisen ehkäisyä voitaisiin lisätä. Kurssin suunnittelussa pitäisi kuitenkin olla varovainen siinä, että asian esittää oikealla tavalla, ettei kurssin opetus lisäisi ongelmallista rahapelikäyttäytymistä nuorten keskuudessa ennaltaehkäisemisen sijaan. Kurssi soveltuisi hyvin pitkän matematiikan lukion opetukseen, koska se on suunniteltu mielekästä oppimista ajatellen ja sen matemaattiset aiheet eivät ylitä lukiolaisen ymmärtämisen kapasiteettia, vaan päinvastoin niiden pitäisi tuoda mielenkiintoa matematiikan opiskeluun. Tämän tutkimuksen luettuaan kuka tahansa matematiikan opettaja voi opettaa kurssin rahapelaamisen matematiikasta.

Aiemmat tutkimukset ovat osoittaneet, että asenteet ja motivaatio korreloivat matematiikan oppimisen ja osaamisen kanssa. Lisäksi tutkimuksissa on havaittu, että suomalaisten koululaisten asenteet heikkenevät alakoulusta yläkouluun siirryttäessä. Asenteiden ja motivaation ylläpitämistä ja parantaminen on tutkimusten mukaan tärkeää. Kehittämistutkimuksen tavoitteena oli kehittää materiaali, eli virtuaalinen matematiikkakerho, joka pystyisi vastaamaan näihin haasteisiin. Tässä tutkimuksessa kartoitetaan, miten asenteet ja motivaatio vaikuttavat matematiikan opiskeluun sekä kerrotaan miten virtuaalisen matematiikkakerhon kehittäminen on saanut alkunsa ja miten se on edennyt viime vuosina. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa selvitetään, miten kehitetty materiaali oppilaskyselyn perusteella vastasi suunnittelun lähtökohtina olleita tavoitteita: a. paransi oppilaiden asenteita matematiikkaa kohtaan ja b. lisäsi oppilaiden motivaatiota matematiikan opiskelua kohtaan. Tutkimukseen osallistui oppilaita kahdesta eri yläkoulusta. Aineistosta karsittiin pois sellaiset vastaajat, jotka olivat vastanneet vain jompaankumpaan kyselyyn, jolloin tutkimusaineistoon jäi 36 oppilaan vastaukset. Suurin osa tutkimukseen osallistuneista oppilaista oli 7. luokalla. Tutkimus toteutettiin verkkokyselynä e-lomakkeessa kahdessa osassa: ensimmäinen osa ennen kerhon aloittamista ja toinen osa kerhoon osallistumisen jälkeen. Tutkimuksen toisessa osassa kysyttiin samat kysymykset kuin ensimmäisessäkin osassa sekä mielipiteitä kerhon toteutuksesta ja tehtävistä jatkokehityksen tueksi. Tutkimuslomakkeiden kysymyksissä oli sekä avoimia kysymyksiä että monivalintakysymyksiä. Vastauksiksi saatiin sanoja, lauseita sekä numeerista dataa. Monivalintakysymykset oli toteutettu 4- sekä 5-portaisina likert-asteikkoina. Tutkimusaineisto ja palautteet kerhon kehittämisestä on analysoitu aineistolähtöisellä sisällönanalyysillä. Asennetta mittaavissa väitteissä ei tapahtunut paljonkaan muutoksia ja väitteisiin suhtauduttiin molemmissa kyselyissä suurimmaksi osaksi positiivisesti. Motivaatiota mittaavissa kysymyksissäkään ei saatu suuria muutoksia, mutta joitakin pieniä muutoksia positiiviseen oli havaittavissa. Muutama oppilas tuntui kerhon myötä huomaavan, että tuleekin tarvitsemaan matematiikkaa tulevassa ammatissaan, ja että matematiikan osaaminen auttaa työhön pääsemisessä. Kuitenkin halu matematiikan parissa työskentelyyn väheni kerhon aikana. Kerho koettiin kuitenkin positiivisena, sillä suurin osa kyselyyn vastanneista oppilaista piti kerhosta ja sen aikana tehtävistä toiminnallisista tehtävistä. Lisäksi yli puolet, noin 67 prosenttia, vastanneista haluaisi osallistua kerhoon uudelleen. Kerhon avulla voidaan tarjota oppilaille mielekkäitä kokemuksia ja onnistumisen tunteita matematiikan parissa.