Browsing by Subject "teaching"

Homework is a part of the day-to-day activities in most schools. The use and benefits of homework is undergoing debate. Existing research in the field is limited and sometimes conflicting. The Finnish curriculum does not require homework to be used in teaching. Thus, it is the teacher who decides if, how and what kind of homework the pupils shall be assigned. Mathematics is a subject where homework is commonly used. It is therefore relevant to study how teachers think about homework within this particular subject and how the homework in use relates to the (social)constructivist view on learning that the current curriculum is largely based on. The aim of this study was to examine what kind of homework in mathematics primary school teachers assign and how they argue either in favor of or against homework in mathematics education. Focus was on effects that develop mathematics performance. In addition, the teachers’ views on the importance of parental involvement relating to homework in mathematics was studied. A questionnaire was sent to primary school teachers in three Swedish-speaking schools in the metropolitan area of Finland. The questionnaire included both multiple-choice and open-ended questions. 19 teachers responded. Both quantitative and qualitative data analysis was performed. A deductive methodological approach was applied. The study showed that the teachers view learning in a social-constructive manner. The type of homework assigned does not, however, reflect this. Focus is on repetitive mechanical assignments to be performed individually. For instance, assignments including problem-solving are in limited use, although many believe that such assignments, along with repetitive ones, support learning in mathematics. Homework that these teachers assign does not to any large extent require being done outside of school. This leads to the relevant question whether homework is used due to the insufficiency of time in school. Most of the teachers argued for the use of homework in mathematics by reference to the importance of repetition. A majority viewed parental involvement as important. Despite the fact that the curriculum stresses equality, only three respondents reflected upon the risk that parental involvement might lead to inequality. Homework club at school was most commonly viewed as the remedy against the absence of support at home. Most teachers showed an unproblematic attitude towards the use of homework in mathematics education.

English has become a global language, and students around the world know English is an essential foreign language to expand their knowledge. For the same reason, English has been the most common foreign language that students learn in South Korea and Finland. The purpose of this master’s thesis is to examine the curricula in South Korea and Finland to see the similarities and differences of the two countries’ English education. Although both countries focus on teaching English by using the communicative approach, their outputs in English education differ from each other. The study analyzes the curricula and textbooks by using Curriculum-Analysis Procedure. Then, the study analyzes the textbooks based on Littlejohn’s task analysis sheet. According to the analysis, the Finnish curriculum provides more specific learning goals than the Korean curriculum even though the Finnish curriculum does not specify teaching methods to teachers. The Korean curriculum provides specific word limitations for each level, and it provides specific teaching methods. However, the Korean curriculum’s learning goals are rather vague. The analysis on the textbooks suggests an interesting result. Although the Korean textbooks provide a higher number of oral tasks than the Finnish textbooks, the results demonstrate that the Korean textbooks are focused on repetition. Also, the Korean textbooks are quite regulated since the tasks ask students to focus on certain task types. On the contrary, the Finnish textbooks include a smaller number of oral tasks than the Korean textbooks, but the oral tasks encourage students to produce their own sentences rather than focusing on form. The Finnish textbooks try to provide as diverse task types as possible.

To my knowledge, this is the first study describing student communication, learning, and wellbeing at the university-level during Covid-19 in Finland. This research is meant to correspond to the need for more research regarding the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on youth (aged 29 and younger according to the Finnish legislation). The goal of the research is to provide solutions to the complex challenges which have arisen during the pandemic and a rapid transition to a fully online learning and teaching format in Finland. The thesis brings to light student experiences regarding online learning, communication and wellbeing, during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research is guided by two research questions: 1. How do students at the University of Helsinki describe their experiences of distance communication and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic? And second: 2. How has the Covid-19 pandemic influenced the wellbeing of students at the university? Theoretically, the approach of this thesis builds on social constructionism. Methodologically, reflexive thematic analysis is used, to examine the research material. The empirical data consists of qualitative semi-structured interviews with five university students at the University of Helsinki. The analysis showed significant challenges with communication, learning and wellbeing in the student population, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, communication had deteriorated during the initial phases of the Covid-19 pandemic; however, improved over time. The main recommendation of the research is coordinated action in form of a unified manual regarding online teaching and behavior on Zoom, by universities or similar institutions in Finland, which face a similar challenge as the University of Helsinki. Lecturers are encouraged to take a personal interest in student engagement online, and strongly recommend using cameras, speaking more freely, and participating actively in small groups, for better student success, communication and wellbeing. In addition, students are encouraged to stay social and form support groups on for example Whatsapp or other similar application. In the future, students may be able to use distance learning opportunities for networking and potentially, meeting future colleagues online. Lastly, student wellbeing is in focus, and should be researched further, to implement strategies for the preservation of student wellbeing, wellbeing at university and for sustainable networks in the academic environment.

During the recent decades, due to increased immigration, the linguistic environment in Finnish schools has undergone significant changes and the current National Core Curriculum for Basic Education (NCC) emphasizes the importance of multilingual and language-aware (MLA) pedagogy in teaching. Teachers are obliged to take multilingual and language-aware matters into account, but teachers’ perceptions regarding MLA pedagogy in Finland have not been studied before. The aim of this study is to explore EFL teachers’ attitudes towards and opinions of MLA pedagogy. A further goal is to study how well these perceptions coincide with the guidelines stated in the NCC. In addition, two different background variables, teachers’ educational background and the number of L2 Finnish speakers the teacher has in the EFL classroom, were analyzed in more detail in order to examine whether there is any differences in the perceptions of different subgroups. The data was collected via an online questionnaire, and in total 60 comprehensive school EFL subject and class teachers participated in the study. This study took a mixed-methodology approach, most of the data being quantitative and gathered via Likert scale statements. In addition, open-ended questions provided qualitative data and were gathered in order to gain deeper understanding of the explored phenomenon. The results show that the majority of EFL teachers have positive attitudes towards and are interested in MLA pedagogy and see it as forming an essential part of their teaching. However, a significant part of the respondents found the implementation of MLA teaching methods challenging and, many had not received any training concerning MLA pedagogy. Lack of education, time, and resources, as well as teachers’ negative attitudes were mentioned as the main obstacles which may prevent the use of multilingual and language-aware pedagogy in the classroom. It is crucial to raise teachers’ knowledge and awareness of MLA pedagogy and provide training for all teachers regardless of the subject taught so that the goals of NCC are met and the students’ linguistic repertoires are regarded as an advantage instead of a hindrance.

Tämä pro gradu- tutkielma toteutettiin narratiivisena kirjallisuuskatsauksena ja tutkimusaineistona oli yhteensä 15 artikkelia. Tutkimusaineistoa hankittiin Scopus-tietokannasta sekä Google Scholarista. Tutkielman tavoitteena ja tarkoituksena on tutkia fysiikan laboratoriotöiden järjestämisen haasteitta etäopetuksessa koronapandemian aikana sekä miten kokeelliset työt toteutettiin. Lisäksi tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selventää opettajien tieto- ja viestintätekniikkataitoja etäopetuksessa. Tutkimuskysymykset ovat: Mitkä ovat fysiikan laboratorio-opetuksen järjestämisen haasteet etäopetuksessa koronapandemian aikana ja miten kokeelliset työt toteutettiin sekä millaiset ovat opettajien tieto- ja viestintätekniikkataidot. Keväällä 2020 Covid-19-virus aiheutti yllättäen globaalit poikkeusolot, jotka vaikuttivat ihmisten arkeen, työntekoon sekä oppilaitoksiin. Oppilaitokset suljettiin ja ne joutuivat siirtymään lyhyellä varoitusajalla lähiopetuksesta etäopetukseen ja opettajat sekä opiskelijat joutuivat mukautumaan uuteen tilanteeseen. Tämä toi haasteitta ja varsinkin laboratoriotöiden järjestäminen etäopetuksessa oli haastava. Etäopetuksessa opettajat joutuivat käyttämään niitä opetusteknologian käyttötaitoja, joita heillä oli. Vaikka etäopetusta on käytetty koulutusjärjestelmässä jo useiden vuosien ajan, sen toteutus pandemioiden aikana voi olla erilaista ja haastavaa. Tutkimustulosten mukaan osalla opettajista ei ollut aikaisempaa kokemusta tai oli vähän kokemusta etäopetukseen pitämiseen. Osa oppilaitoksista tarjosi opettajille koulutusta tukemaan heidän tieto- ja viestintätekniikan taitoja. Tutkimuksissa nousi esiin se, että laboratoriotyöskentelyn ja laskuharjoitusten läpikäynnin järjestäminen etäopetuksessa oli haastava. Osa tutkimuksista toi esille, että käytännön työtä käytettiin hyvin harvoin, myös sellaisissa aiheissa, jotka olisivat soveltuneet kokeelliseen työhön. Joissakin tutkimuksissa tuli esille, että osa kokeellisista töistä pystyttiin järjestämään sellaisenaan kotoa käsin.

Tertiary education aims to prepare computer science students for the working life. While much of the technical principles are covered in lower-level courses, team-based capstone projects are a common way to provide students hands-on experience and teach soft skills. Although such courses help students to gain some of the relevant skills, it is difficult to simulate in a course context what work in a professional software engineering team really is about. Our goal is to understand ways tertiary education institutions prepare students for the working life in software engineering. Firstly, we do this by focusing on the mechanisms that software engineering capstones use to simulate work-life. A literature review of 85 primary studies was conducted for this overview. Secondly, we present a more novel way of teaching industry-relevant skills in an university-lead internal software startup. A case study of such a startup, Software Development Academy (SDA), is presented, along with the experiences of both students and faculty involved in it. Finally, we look into how these approaches might differ. Results indicate that capstone courses differ greatly in ways they are organized. Most often students are divided in teams of 4–6 and get assigned with software projects that the teams then develop from an idea to a robust proof-of-concept. In contrast, students employed in the SDA develop production-level software in exchange for a salary for university clients. Students regarded SDA as a highly relevant and fairly irreplaceable educational experience. Working with production-quality software and having a wide range of responsibilities was perceived integral in giving a thorough skill set for the future. In conclusion, capstones and the internal startup both aim to prepare students for the work-life in software engineering. Capstones do it by simulating professional software engineering in a one-semester experience in a course environment. The internal startup adds a touch of realism to this by being actual work in a relatively safe university context.

Metsä on kautta aikojen ollut tärkeä suomalaisille, joten jokaisella suomalaisella on jonkinlainen suhde metsään. Metsäsuhde voi perustua erilaisiin asenteisiin tai kokemuksiin ja se voi muuttua ajan kuluessa. Ympärillä olevien aikuisten sekä lapsille tarjottavien kokemusten on todettu vaikuttavan vahvasti lasten metsäsuhteeseen. Kouluilla on siis suuri rooli lasten metsäsuhteen rakentumisessa. Nykylasten moniarvoinen metsäsuhde on tärkeä tulevaisuuden kannalta, sillä metsään kohdistuu nykyaikana suuri käyttöpaine, joka herättää kysymyksiä metsän käytöstä. Lapset päättävät tulevaisuudessa, miten metsää käytetään ja miksi, joten heillä tulisi olla perustietoa metsästä ja yleisesti luonnonvarojen kestävästä käytöstä. Näiden seikkojen takia tämä tutkimus keskittyy kuvaamaan metsäopetuksen toteutusta peruskoulun luokilla 7-9 biologian opettajien näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksessa haastateltiin neljää yläkoulun biologian opettajaa, joiden vastausten pohjalta laadittiin kyselylomake. Kyselylomake jaettiin opettajien suosimissa ryhmissä sosiaalisessa mediassa sekä sähköpostitse muutamille opettajille. Haastatteluiden tuloksia analysoitiin tekstianalyysillä ja kyselyn tuloksia jakaumien sekä taulukoiden avulla. Kyselyn tuloksia ei analysoitu tilastollisin menetelmin, koska vastauksia tuli niin pieni määrä. Tutkimuksen haastatteluiden ja kyselyn tulokset mukailivat toisiaan. Metsäopetus tapahtuu lähinnä kahdeksannen luokan biologian oppiaineessa. Metsäaiheita opetetaan metsässä joskus, mutta opetusta haluttaisiin järjestää enemmän metsässä. Ulkona opettamiseen vaikuttaa ainakin koulun etäisyys metsästä, aikarajoitteet, lukujärjestyksen joustamattomuus sekä rahoituksen puute. Samat rajoittavat tekijät nousivat esille myös metsätapahtumiin osallistumisessa sekä oman metsäpäivän järjestämisessä. Mikäli metsätapahtumiin pystyy osallistumaan, niiltä toivottiin elämyksellisyyttä ja toiminnallisuutta. Tulokset osoittavat, että metsäopetuksen keskeisiä teemoja ovat lajintunnistus, metsän ekosysteemi, metsätyypit sekä kasvupaikkatekijät. Metsäteollisuuden ja metsätalouden aiheet jätetään vähemmälle huomiolle, mikäli kohdataan aikarajoitteita. Koulun ulkopuolisia asiantuntijoita sekä metsäalan asiantuntijoita hyödynnetään harvoin, mutta monipuolista asiantuntijuutta kuitenkin kaivattiin, erityisesti metsätalouden ja metsien kestävän käytön, metsäteollisuuden ja sen tuotteiden, riistanhoidon, biotalouden ja kiertotalouden osa-alueisiin. Asiantuntijoita ei käytetä, koska aikaa ei ole tarpeeksi, koska ammattilaisia ei löydetä tai koska hyöty on koettu liian pieneksi. Yhteistyö metsäalan toimijoiden kanssa on lähinnä yhdistys- ja järjestöpainotteista, mutta myös metsäalan yrityksiä käytetään jonkin verran. Yhteistyö keskittyi lähinnä Metsävisaan, vierailijaluentoihin sekä erilaisiin metsäpäiviin tai tapahtumiin. Koulun ulkopuoliselta yhteistyöltä toivottiin pääasiassa vierailuja yrityksiin sekä metsään. Opettajat pitivät yleisesti metsäopetusta tärkeänä, mutta nykyisen metsäopetuksen ei koettu tukevan moniarvoisen metsäsuhteen rakentamista kovinkaan hyvin. Uuden opetussuunnitelman mukaisia monialaisia oppimiskokonaisuuksia koettiin kuitenkin voivan hyödyntää metsäopetuksessa hyvin. Ainerajoja ylittävää opetusta ei kuitenkaan ole hyödynnetty kovinkaan paljon, vaikka suurin osa haluaisi hyödyntää sitä enemmän. Tutkimustuloksia ei voida pitää tilastollisesti merkitsevinä johtuen pienestä otoskoosta. Tutkimustulosten perusteella voidaan kuitenkin olettaa, että nykyisessä metsäopetuksessa on puutteita, joita korjaamalla monipuolisemman metsäsuhteen rakentaminen yläkoulussa voisi olla mahdollista.

The study focuses on the Nepalese 8 grade Mathematics, Nepali language and Social study teachers' confidence to teach their own subject. Every skill, such as teaching skills, brings with uncertainty and insecurity creates a need for security. The aim of the master's thesis is to research how substance knowledge, the teacher's personality, pedagogical knowledge and classroom management, and their components are connected to each other. In addition, has been researched how much personality, pedagogical knowledge and classroom management, explain the teacher's self-perceived competence assurance to teach. Altogether, 1224 of Nepalese teachers responded to the survey. The survey sample was stratified. The questionnaire, teachers were asked to assess their teaching confidence in their teaching subject and its sections, on a scale of 1 to 4. Many studies have been done about teaching and the teacher's impact on learning outcomes. That has been considered as a possible cause of Finnish students' good learning achievements. Since the schools have small differences between them, it is easier to study the teachers and the teaching effect of the student's achievements in a country, where the school differences are considerable bigger. According to Hattie (2003, 2), the teacher effect is 30% of the student learning achievements, in Nepal the corresponding figure is 68% (Acharya, Metsämuuronen and Metsämuuronen 2013, 281 316). The study examined by tree-analysis how personality, pedagogical knowledge and classroom management elements are linked to educational confidence and by regression analysis how much these independent variables explain together the effect of the phenomenon. According to regression analysis, there are age, teaching years, assessment, professional development over the last two years, and the curriculum understanding and using, as well as the school equipment shortages. The study found that the most confident were those teachers who were under the age of 30 teachers; who had teaching experience five years or less; who used the project work as assessment; who experienced that they understood the objectives of the school curriculum, and in addition they experienced to implement it successfully. This study was empirical and explorative work and the results obtained on the regression model shows that the model explains 9.5% of teacher's confidence to teach their own subjects. As regression model explains less than 10% certainty, is the teacher's teaching confidence and competence a good follow-up research object. Another good object would be to compare the self-perceived reliability and the validity of the comparison of the measured whether teachers' own experience of the same qualifications as a measurable skill.

School-aged children spend an ever-increasing amount of time on social media platforms. Bringing this aspect of students’ lives into the school world has not advanced with the same velocity. The aim of this study was to investigate which obstacles teachers face to implementing social media into their lessons. Previous studies show that there are more advantages to using social media in education than there are disadvantages. The Finnish National Core Curriculum (2014) does not mention social media, but it mentions Information and Communications Technology, multiliteracy and media literacy. Social media can be associated with all the areas mentioned. Many studies published by Finland’s National Board for Education also recommend using social media or its equivalents in schools. In this study the perceptions of five language teachers in an elementary school in Helsinki, Finland were investigated. The teachers were interviewed separately and the interviews were recorded. The data gathered was transcribed and then analyzed by way of qualitative content analysis. The results of the analysis show that according to teachers many obstacles exist. These include the amount of time it would take to find content that fits the purpose of the lessons, the lack of mobile devices and accounts provided by the employer (in this case the city of Helsinki) and the lack of easily accessible and simple guidelines on how to utilize social media in teaching. In the future, similar research on the educational implementation of social media in lower secondary school and high school is needed. It is important to clarify which guidelines steer teachers’ actions, and how much freedom individual teachers have. An easily accessible and straightforward guide on data protection and copyright issues is needed. More research on how teachers could overcome these obstacles would benefit the students of tomorrow.

Purpose of this masters’s thesis is to find and describe pedagogical elements of the studio practices at the Faculty of Fashion, Clothing and Textile, at the Aalto University School of Art, Design and Architecture. The focus is on renewed textile design education, especially in The Woven Fabrics Studio practices. Another aim is to examine the pedagogical views behind the main findings. The studio pedagogy is theoretically approached by R. Keith Sawyer’s (2018) research and the studio model, which is a cultural model of teaching and learning at the schools of art and design. Another theoretical frame is conducted from the field of materiality and the theory of embodied cognition, which can explain the importance of material explorations. The studio pedagogy has indicated to have remarkable benefits in design education by mastering creativity, and it could offer potential ideas extended to other school levels as well. In present study, I also summon an overview about the requirements needed from the operational unit, as offering studio pedagogy needs special arrangements. The ethnographic data is collected from the semi-structured theme interviews of the five professionals, deeply involved in design pedagogy at the faculty. In addition, two short observation phases were conducted at the weave studio and at the fabric print studio. The qualitative content analysis is done as theory and data-driven analysis. According to the results, one of the most distinct pedagogical element are the design assignments, that are based on the students’ individual concept and visual research, before going further with the material explorations at the studios. Lots of time and effort is put on this very early phase of the design process, and it is seen to lead originality and innovative results. The assignments include always both the artistic and technical sides, which is found effective and convenient way of learning. Processes such as creative and learning processes are seen the most important learning outcome. Preparing students to become design professionals, project management skills are practiced with advanced courses including lots of independent work. The Woven Fabric Studio courses are often intensive few week modules, which are available also for students from other faculties. Studio masters’ role is crucial at daily studio work. In addition to proper learning environments and up-to-date facilities, studio pedagogy requires great amount of resources, scheduling, pedagogical visions, and engagement. Learner-centerness and social aspects of learning are strongly emphasized, and many voluntary multidisciplinary projects are offered.