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(2016)The aim of the study was to investigate ideas and idea generation of designers in free improvisation tasks at conceptual level in the experiment, planned primarily for the physiological and neurological measurements. My study was a part of the multidisciplinary research project Handling Mind: Embodiment, Creativity and Design which concentrated on studying relations between mind, body and materials combining the fields of psychology, neuroscience and creativity. The neurological study did not reveal what and how participants felt, thought and experienced during the experiment which was the main interest in my study. Previous research has focused on investigating various fields of the design process, as well as the ideation phase, but investigating idea generation in the context of neuroscientific research is a new and interesting chance for the research. The ideation phase represents an iterative and vibrant nature of the design process. Previous studies have brought out the meaning of available sources of inspiration, and designers' competence to adapt the essential parts of the original sources and transform them into design outputs regarding the aspects of novelty and functionality. Therefore, I developed my research questions concerning ideas and idea development in freely improvising tasks in a new design situation. The 30 participants participated in the study as volunteers from the School of Art, Design and Architecture in Aalto University from November 2014 to March 2015. They performed copying, designing or free improvising tasks by drawing or forming clay. I organized the Stimulated Recall (SR) interviews with my colleague to collect data. We selected the 15 out of 30 interviews to represent the data in our studies. I analyzed the transcript data by qualitative content analysis: the classification scheme was both data and theory driven. The analysis revealed that designers had different ideas emerging from internal stimuli, for example, from their mental library or they were impressed by external stimuli, for instance, material, tools and cup images from the experiment. The experiment represented an external design constraint: it confined the problem space and narrowed down the alternative solutions. Designers had concrete and abstract ideas, but also the abstractions of ideas were developed. They relied on familiar topic choices but also were capable of creating analogies. Even this minimalistic design experiment revealed that designers are able to use their mental sources of inspiration and capable of picking profitable stimuli from their surroundings in new and uncertain situations for adapting and developing ideas further. Designers sought meaning for their sketching and experimenting as well.
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(2023)Objectives. The aim of this user-centered design-based research was to create a disc golf bag suitable for running use, designed for active disc golf enthusiasts. The research was based on the FEA model developed by Lamb and Kallal (1992) for the development of clothing design. This model considers user needs and preferences in product design-based, with the fundamental principles of product functionality, expressiveness, and aesthetics. Previous bag and backpack studies have shown that it is essential to consider proper fit, even weight distribution, ergonomics, and the weight of the bag/backpack in relation to the carrier's weight. Methods. The data for this thesis were collected from an active disc golf enthusiast, whose needs and preferences were the basis for product development. The participating individual played the role of an expert in the research. The research questions consisted of three parts: "What are the user's design criteria for a functional disc golf bag?", "How to develop an ergonomically functional disc golf bag for running use?", and "Does the developed bag meet the user's preferences and the product's suitability?". The research data was obtained through theme interviews, prototype testing and evaluation, as well as voice messages, which were transcribed according to design criteria. The research progressed iteratively between the researcher and the user. After gathering user data, the researcher analyzed the material, followed by collecting additional user data and analyzing it. Data collection took place progressively, following the research questions, starting in the autumn of 2022, and concluding in the autumn of 2023. Results and Conclusions. As a result of the design-based research, the user evaluated the product to be functional and in line with their desires, needs, and expectations. The user highly valued the product developed in collaboration with the researcher, which supports their hobby. The results indicated that the developed bag is functional, ergonomic, and practical. The user's satisfaction was also reflected in the product's usability and its ability to meet their needs. This reinforced the success of the development research and demonstrated that involving the user in the design and development of the product can be extremely beneficia.
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(2016)Objectives. The schooling system is in great turmoil in Finland at the moment. More effective knowledge creation and sharing among teachers are needed in order to develop the Finnish schooling system and to increase the study results of the students. Previous literature agrees that sharing and acquiring knowledge function as precondition for innovation and value creation in organizational and network contexts and thus makes knowledge vital for contemporary organizations. The transition between an individual's and a collective's knowledge creation, however, has not been widely studied. This study explores the development of a new "Compass Model for Shared Pedagogical Leadership in an activity-theoretical Change Laboratory intervention in the Finnish Viikki Teacher Training School from a knowledge creation perspective. The thesis examines how the transition from individually held knowledge of teaching transform into collective knowledge and a collaborative model of practicing. Further, it combines knowledge creation literature with the theory of expansive learning, which has not yet been done in detail. Methods. The interventionist and ethnographic methodology of the study draws on theoretical concepts, models, and methods from Cultural Historical Activity Theory and from the studies of individual and collective knowledge creation. The data analysed in this study consisted of six meetings carried out in the Viikki Teacher Training School by using the Change Laboratory method. The methodology of the study consists of a thematic analysis and analysis of transitions in knowledge creation during the Change Laboratory process. The analysis of transitions is a new qualitative method developed for this study based on findings in the data. Results and conclusions. The study shows that the knowledge creation of the teachers transitioned on a rough timeline from individually held knowledge of teaching to collaborative practice through multiple small cycles of expansive learning and social processes of knowledge building. Decrease in organizational tensions, creation of shared understanding and increased collaboration enabled the transition of knowledge creation from individual to collective. The collectively created model for shared pedagogical leadership promoted collaboration.
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FUNA-DB -mittarin luotettavuus samanaikaisvaliditeetin näkökulmasta : Vertailua RMAT-mittarin kanssa (2022)Currently in Finland there are very limited number of assessment tools in use to identify mathematical learning difficulties in children aged 9 to 16. This study examines the validity of the FUNA-DB measure for assessing mathematical learning difficulties in terms of concurrent validity. The objective of this study is to determine how FUNA-DB correlates with a previously developed RMAT measure, and how, compared to the RMAT measure, FUNA-DB identifies those children and adolescents who potentially should be suspected to have a mathematical learning difficulty. This research is part of a larger FUNA research project in Finland. The study was performed by having 318 children tested with both FUNA-DB and RMAT measurements. The analysis of the data was performed using quantitative research methods. The correlation of FUNA-DB and RMAT was measured by task sections using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. In addition, configural frequency analysis was used to determine whether both FUNA-DB and RMAT recognize the same weak students. In addition, descriptive statistics were examined. The results of this study showed that FUNA-DB and RMAT correlated with each other for all task sections (p <0.001). In addition, statistically significant correlation was identified between task sections where the tasks did not correspond to each other in terms of content. FUNA-DB and RMAT both identified the same low-performing students (p<0.01). The results of this study confirm that FUNA-DB appears to be a valid and effective assessment tool in identifying mathematical learning difficulties. Moreover, the study showed that the language best spoken by the student was not relevant to the results of the FUNA-DB measurement, while in the RMAT test, those who spoke Finnish outperformed (p<0.05) the students who did not speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Therefore, FUNA-DB does not seem to be tied to a student’s language skills and it specifically measures math proficiency, as it should. However, the as-sessment of the validity and reliability of the FUNA-DB test in this study remains rather one-sided, yet there are ongoing studies which examine the reliability and validity of FUNA-DB in other means.
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(2016)Objectives. Functioning impairments as an outcome for severe mental disorders have been well established. There is also growing evidence for early functioning impairment being a vulnerability marker for psychotic disorders. Recent findings suggest that especially early social functioning impairment may predict later psychotic disorders. However previous studies are few and they are limited to pre-selected psychosis risk samples. In addition, little is known about early functioning in other severe mental disorders. The aim of this study is to determine the level of functioning in adolescents at entry to general psychiatric services and to examine whether early functioning impairment predicts later psychosis or psychiatric hospitalizations directly, and when controlling for the effect of psychosis risk symptoms. Methods. This study is a part of the larger Helsinki Prodromal Study conducted in the National Institute for Health and Welfare. The sample consists of 154 treatment-seeking adolescents aged 15–18 years, recruited at the first visit to psychiatric services in Helsinki. Semi-structured psychiatric interviews were conducted for all participants at baseline. Functioning was assessed with validated and reliable functioning measures for social (Global functioning: social) and role functioning (Global functioning: role) and an experimental functioning measure for psychological functioning (Global functioning: psychological). Information about hospitalizations was extracted from the Finnish hospital discharge register during a 2.8–8.9 year follow-up until the end of 2011. A Cox regression survival analysis was used to examine whether functioning domains predicted later hospitalization for psychosis or psychiatric hospitalizations overall. Positive and general psychosis risk symptoms as well as psychosis risk status were controlled for the analyses. Results and conclusions. The functioning of adolescents at entry to psychiatric services was mildly impaired and the impairment was greater for individuals in psychosis risk and those with a mental disorder diagnosis. 7 transitions to psychosis and 26 psychiatric hospital admissions emerged during the follow-up. The level of psychological functioning was the only significant predictor of increased risk of hospitalizations whereas the level of positive symptoms was the only significant predictor of increased risk of psychosis. Neither social nor role functioning predicted the outcomes. The results concerning social functioning are in contrast with previous finding, which may be attributable to the low incidence of psychosis in the sample or the treatment received by the participants. Overall the results emphasize the importance of interventions for early symptoms to prevent these severe outcomes.
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(2024)Finland is officially a bilingual country; having Finnish and Swedish as its national languages. However, in 2022 more than 9.79% of the population had another language as their home language (Statistics Finland, 2023). Despite the continuous increase in the use of other languages as home languages, research shows that monolingual practices are a norm in Finnish classrooms due to teachers’ lack of preparation and knowledge (Alisaari et al., 2019a; Shestunova, 2019). The research task of this study is to analyse the type of preparation that Finnish class teachers get to address multilingual situations, as well as define how translanguaging, a specific approach to multilingualism, is conceptualised in Finnish teacher education. The study consists of an individual interview and a focus group where four participants discussed. The participants were teacher educators who work and do research in different Finnish universities. Interviews were analysed using an inductive content analysis approach, where five categories and 57 codes were identified by using a constructivist paradigm. It was found that class teachers do not get enough preparation to address multilingual situations in Finland. Class teachers feared not having their classroom under control and the potentially problematic use of languages other than Finnish. Moreover, the contents learnt at the university were not related to enhancing the use of every language in class, and translanguaging was conceptualised from a monolingual approach. This study indicates that there is a need for more mandatory university courses related to multilingualism. It is also recommended that future research not only focus on teacher educators but also class teachers and their work by doing e.g., ethnographic research. Lastly, Swedish-speaking Finns’ perspective should also be examined.
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(2019)The aim of this study is to analyze how much students can learn physics in collaborative maker project at school. There are very few studies that have studied physics about learning in maker projects. Previous studies have shown that students learn different skills related to thinking, problem solving, and collaborative working. This study produced knowledge about learning physics in open ended maker project. It also aimed to show how learning is related to student’s maker artefact. The physics learning test was also at the center of this study because it was needed to know how much it actually measured student’s knowledge about practices in physics. This study was done as a part of Co4-Lab -project and students from one school in the capital region of Finland took part of lifehacks project. Students were in sixth grade (N=49) at the time of the project and it took almost one year. At the Lifehack project the students made a prototype of an innovation that would help them in their day-to-day life. Before and after the innovation project the students took part in a test where their knowledge in practices of physic were meas-ured. Pre-test and post-test result were analyzed quantitatively. Qualitative analysis was done to categorize prototypes according to scientific elements seen in prototypes. This study shows that students do learn physics in an open ended maker project. Students’s physics learning depends on what kind of innovation the student has done. If a student does a scientific innovation, the student will more likely have good outcomes in post-test. There is also evidence that achievement in pre-test will predict how scientific the student’s prototype will be. Based on the results of this study, recommendations can be given to teachers who are going to implement the maker project at school.
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(2020)Purpose: Studies show that Finnish children and youth are insufficiently physically active. The program Liikkuva koulu (author’s free translation from Finnish: ”A school in motion”) began as a pilot project in 2010, but has since grown to be a nationwide program. The aim of the program is to provide students with physically more active and pleasant schooldays, to support their learning and increase their well-being. The activity itself for Liikkuva koulu can in many ways be seen to require a student-focused approach to teaching. Thus the theoretical background for this study came to comprise of ”Approaches to Teaching” by Prosser & Trigwell (1999). The aim of this study is to examine teachers’ experiences of physical activity as a part of their teaching. Furthermore an objective for this study is to explore in what way a teacher’s approach to teaching may relate to those experiences and execution of physically active lessons. Methods: The research was conducted as a quantitative study. A survey was sent to five Swedish-speaking elementary schools within the Helsinki region. The survey included 30 multiple-choice questions/statements along with 4 open-ended questions. A total of N = 27 teachers participated in the study by responding to the survey. The data was mainly analyzed quantitatively (qualitative data analysis was applied to the open-ended questions). Results and conclusions: The teachers mainly implemented physically active lessons and their experiences of Liikkuva koulu were as well mainly positive. For many of these positive experiences, they correlated with each other. The teachers reported mainly a student-focused approach to teaching. The study found a correlation between higher teacher-focused approach to teaching and a stronger experience of Liikkuva koulu being experienced as an additional burden within teaching. There was also a dim correlation between the teacher’s (increased) age and less experience of Liikkuva koulu providing for increased students’ participation.
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(2016)The purpose of this thesis is to explore children's views of their physical learning environment. The aim is to take part from the child perspective in the discussion surrounding the development of learning environments. The study seeks to make children's viewpoints more visible and strengthen their role in both planning and evaluating their learning environments. The information that has been gathered in this thesis can be used in practice of pre-primary education to renew the existing praxis. The study concentrates on which elements of the physical learning environment children value and how does the interaction between a child and the environment show in their discourses. The theoretical base of this study is in transactional environmental psychology which emphasizes on the two-way interaction between a person and the environment. The elements of the physical learning environment are based on theoretical literature and the Finnish curriculum for pre-primary education. The interaction is examined based on the self-determination theory and themes of meaningfulness. The thesis was executed with qualitative methods by combining studies of child perspective and case study research. The research material consisted of photos and thematic interviews collected by children. The subjects were two classrooms designed for pre-primary education: the other was the children's own classroom and the other Playful Learning Center in the Teacher Education Department at the University of Helsinki. The research material was collected separately from both subjects. The photo material was coded and categorized by data based analysis. The transcribed interview material was categorized based on theory. The two classrooms differed in several respects in the children's accounts. In their own classroom the children took photos mostly of the toys, preschool associated material and their own lockers. The material showed how meaningful being part of a group and identifying oneself as a preschooler is when connecting with the environment. At the Teacher Education Department the children paid more attention to the colorful walls and activating furnishings. It could be seen that an indoor environment which supports physical activity can be motivating and exciting for children in pre-primary education. In their own classroom the children expressed strongly a type of intellectual competence over the environment. They also expressed strong group cohesion in their discourses. These factors can be seen significant in building a positive human-environment relationship. The experiences of competence were not as strong at the Teacher Education Department. Instead the children strongly brought up physical activity in their discourses. It could be associated with children's natural and meaningful ways of being.
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(2002)Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin autismiluokan oppilaiden fyysisen väkivaltakäyttäytymiseen yhteydessä olevia oppilas- ja opetusympäristötekijöitä. Tutkimuksen kohderyhmänä oli kaikki Suomen autismiluokkien oppilaat ja vertailuryhminä oli EHA1- ja EHA2- luokan oppilaita. Tutkimusote oli kvantitatiivinen, tutkimusaineisto kerättiin kyselylomakkeilla. Tutkimuskyselyyn vastasivat luokkien opettajat. Aineiston käsittelyssä pääasialliset analyysimenetelmät olivat faktori-, varianssi- ja regressioanalyysi. Tutkimuksen pääongelmat: 1. Millaista on tutkituilla oppilailla esiintynyt fyysinen väkivaltakäyttäytyminen? 2. Millaiset oppilastekijät ovat yhteydessä fyysiseen väkivaltakäyttäytymiseen? 3. Miten luokkatoiminnot ja autismiluokan henkilökunnan toiminta ovat yhteydessä oppilaiden fyysiseen väkivaltakäyttäytymiseen? Tutkimustulokset osoittivat, että autismiluokan oppilaiden fyysinen väkivaltakäyttäytyminen oli huomattavasti vertailuryhmien (EHA1 Ja EHA2) oppilaita runsaampaa. Autismiluokan oppilaiden yleisimpiä fyysisen väkivaltakäyttäytymisen muotoja olivat toisiin kohdistuneet lyömiset, puremiset, raapimiset tukistamiset ja tönimiset. Itseen kohdistui eniten puremista ja lyömistä. Autistien akateemiset taidot olivat tutkimuksen mukaan selvästi heidän sosiaalisia taitojaan paremmat. Runsaimmin fyysistä väkivaltakäyttäytymistä raportoitiin olevan niillä autismiluokan oppilailla, joilla oli hyvät akateemiset, mutta heikot sosiaaliset taidot. Väkivaltakäyttäytymistä edeltävissä tilanteissa ja toiminnoissa korostui yleisimmin yllätys-, siirtymis- ja odottamistilanteet. Väkivaltaa edeltävät vuorovaikutustilanteet olivat pääosin henkilökunnan johtamia käskynantotilanteita. Näissä tilanteissa oppilasta ohjattiin vaatimuksilla tai kielloilla. Fyysiseen väkivaltatilanteeseen puuttumiseen käytetyistä välittömistä interventiomenetelmistä yleisin oli fyysinen ohjaaminen. Tällä ohjausmuodoilla oli heikoin oppilaan rauhoittumista edistävä vaikutus. Parhaimmat intervention vaikutukset saatiin huomiotta jättämisellä tai huomion siirtämisellä muualle. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys perustui pääosin Kauffmanin sosiaalis-kognitiiviseen väkivaltateoriaan ja Schoplerin autistien häiriökäyttäytymistä kuvaavaan malliin. Kokonaisotos autismiluokan oppilaista antoi hyvän kuvan koko Suomen autismiluokilla esiintyvästä fyysisen väkivallan ilmiöstä. Tutkimuksen käytäntöön sovellettavuus liittyy autistien opetuksen kehittämiseen, fyysisen väkivaltakäyttäytymisen ennaltaehkäisyn suunnittelutyössä ja opetushenkilökunnan väkivallan kohtaamisen tukemiseen
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(2011)The National Curriculum Guidelines on Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Finland says that ECEC is developed holistically through observing children's and the educator community's activities and the ECEC environment. The background of this research was that assessment should be based on commonly agreed principles, which are recorded e.g. to unit-specific ECEC curriculum. The objective of this research was to investigate how unit-specific ECEC curriculums have described the physical indoor environment in day-care centres. According to the National Curriculum Guidelines on ECEC, there are four ways of acting that are peculiar to children: playing, physical activities, exploration and artistic experiences and self-expression. The descriptions of physical environment in unit-specific curriculums were observed through above mentioned four ways of acting. In addition to that, the descriptions of four ways of acting were compared to each other, in order to find out, which are the main differences and similarities in relation to physical ECEC environment. Research material was build on unit-specific ECEC curriculums from 18 day-care centres of Helsinki. Target of the research were the descriptions of physical indoor environment in curriculums.The method used in the research was theory-guided content analysis. The analyses were mainly qualitative. The descriptions of physical environment varied widely both quantitatively and by substance. All curriculums contained mentions of playing and artistic experiences and self-expression, but mentions of physical activities and exploration were noticeably fewer. All four ways of acting were mentioned in research material in relation to premises and instruments. Also, principles related to the use of premises and instruments and other more common principles were mentioned in relation to all ways of acting. Instead of that, children were not mentioned even once as an upholders or innovators of physical activities environment and children were mentioned only once regarding to exploration environment. All ways of acting included scenarios of e.g. that environment must provide possibilities of particular way of acting, and both materials and instruments must be available for children. Anyhow, research material did not include any principle or scenario that relates to physical environment that would have occurred in every unit-specific curriculum.
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(2017)Objective The reduction of physical activity and simultaneous increase in screen time has been a source for concern in recent years. The significance of schools for increasing physical activity has grown and previous research has demonstrated a positive link between physical activity, cognitive behaviour and learning. The link between screen time and cognitive behaviour has also been researched and the results are partially contradictory. This study focuses on the connection between attention and self-assessed physical activity and screen time. It also explores the significance of an acute, coordination developing physical activity session in relation to attentiveness Methods The study was carried out as quantitative research including a questionnaire and an intervention study. The questionnaire was a self-assessment filled out by 78 pupils of 3rd and 4th grade examining levels of physical activity and screen time. The intervention study was made up by 30 children in the experimental, physically active, group and 30 children in the control, physical passive, group. The study examined the connection between self-assessed physical activity and screen time with the success in an ACT attention test and the potential influence physical intervention might have in a repeat test. Outcome and conclusions The results of this study supported previous research findings on physical activity on children and adolescence; some children are very active whilst others lack physical activity almost entirely. Most of the children and adolescence also went over the maximum recommended daily screen time limit of 2 hours, both during the week and at weekends. There was no link between overall physical activity and total screen time in relation to the success of the attention test. In the intervention part of the study, there was no noticeable difference in the results of the attention test between the experiential and control groups. Previous research material on the links between physical activity and screen time on attention is partially conflicting so further research is recommended. It has however been established, that physical activity during lessons does not lower academic results, meaning that they can be used to increase overall physical activity of individuals even if the link to cognitive behavior has not been confirmed.
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(2021)Aims. The aim of the study was to find out which elements of the physical learning environment are related to the safety and school comfort experienced by students. The study examined how safe and comfortable students found their physical learning environment in general and what elements of the environment were associated with students perceiving the school building and its yard as safe. Previous studies have found that the comfort of a school building has an impact on student safety. Methods. The study used questionnaire data produced by Anne Konu's School Welfare Profile series, which was collected in the 2017–2018 academic year. 10477 students from grades 4-6 answered the survey. The questions in the material were divided into four themes, one of which dealt with the physical conditions of the school. The study focused on analyzing these issues. The questions related to the safety and comfort of the school building and the yard, the comfort of the canteen, the size and temperature of the classroom, the cleanliness, the toilets, and whether one can play in the schoolyard. The data was analyzed using statistical measures, the Spearman’s correlation coefficient, the Mann-Whitney U-test, and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results and conclusions. Students were mainly satisfied with the safety and comfort of the school building and yard. They were least satisfied with the cleanliness of the school and the toilet facilities. All of the factors in the physical learning environment studied were related to whether students perceived the school building or its yard as safe. Sixth graders differed from students in other grades in all variables and were more dissatisfied than other respondents. Fourth and fifth graders differed in some of the variables. The biggest difference between the different grade levels was in the comfort of the yard. Girls and boys also differed in some of the variables. The most significant differences were in the class temperature at which the girls were more dissatisfied than the boys. The boys, on the other hand, were more dissatisfied with the toilet facilities. Based on the results, the safety and comfort of students will be increased the most by improving the cleanliness of schools and toilets. In addition, the safety and comfort of older students will be improved by adding more things that interest them to the schoolyard. The safety and comfort of girls will be improved by focusing on classroom temperatures and boys by improving toilet facilities. However, the study found that the correlation and the degree of explanation of the physical structures to the safety experienced by students were generally low.
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(2020)Even though it is well-known that creative use of socio-digital technology enables adolescents’ learning and the development of twenty-first century skills, adolescents are not offered enough structured support for developing these advanced digital competences. In an effort to bridge this creative participation gap and to support the innovation equity, Innokas Network organized a game making project called Game it now!. Teams of comprehensive school students from all over Finland participated in the project designing and making digital games. The purpose was that students make all the elements of the game themselves using Scratch or GDevelop as game development platforms. I examined, what working in the game making project was like, how students’ socio-digital competences developed and how the game making project supported connecting informal and formal learning. Theoretically this study relied on the understanding of learning as collaborative knowledge-creating activity, as well as maker culture, which both focus on inspiring students making tangible artifacts with digital fabrication tools. Furthermore, this study relied on the understanding of connecting formal learning with students’ informal learning so that it is interest powered and peer supported, students share the same purpose and learning supports their academic orientation. The study relied on a mixed-methods approach combining statistical analyses and qualitative content analysis. The data was collected with two different self-report questionnaires. At the beginning of the game making project in winter 2019 students were asked to evaluate their socio-digital competences and at the end of the project in May 2019 students re-evaluated their socio-digital competences as well as answered questions regarding the nature and the effects of the game making project which were based on connected learning measures. In addition, the students were asked to describe their roles in the game making project and what kinds of games they made. After combining the data, it consisted of 98 students’ (32 girls, 66 boys and 29 primary school, 69 secondary school students with varying player backgrounds) answers. The results revealed that by working in the game making project the students were participating in challenging and collaborative knowledge-creation. Students supported each other and offered help and ideas when developing digital games. Moreover, working in the project improved students’ socio-digital competences. The game making project had positive effects on students’ participation at school, as well as outside of school. Some of the students reported discovering an interest they did not know they had, and some had started making a digital game on their own. The game-making project appeared to be a pedagogically meaningful way of connecting students’ informal and formal learning as the project inspired and challenged students whilst taught them knowledge-creating competences and other essential competences needed in the twenty-first century. This study indicated that extending creative maker culture into schools enriches the school as a learning environment and also impacts positively on students’ learning.
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(2023)This study investigated the impacts of serious games (digital games) on the multiplication and division skills of elementary school learners in Finnish schools. Gamification is a popular learning strategy that has been extensively applied in literature. Studies reveal that gamification, in general, is useful for improving skills in various subjects. However, there are fewer studies dealing with the impacts of serious games on learners’ multiplication and division skills. This study deals with this shortage by applying a gamified intervention in mathematics classrooms. A quasi-experimental method was applied. The participants were split into two groups: the experimental (gamified condition) and control group. Both groups took the same pre-test on simple multiplication and division tasks before the intervention was introduced. During the intervention, the experimental group were instructed through digital games while the control group received traditional instruction. The intervention period lasted for two weeks. After the intervention, a post-test was administered and the mean scores of the two groups were compared as an index of their learning outcome. The results show that there was no significant difference in the learning outcome between the experimental group and the control group, although the control group scored slightly higher than the experimental group. There was also a decrease in scores for both groups from the pre- to post-test as the groups scored higher in the pre-test than in the post-test. This is due to ceiling effect observed in the pre-test which led to the post-test to be, intentionally, made considerably more difficult than the pre-test. The observed results could be attributed to several factors, key amongst them being the short length of the intervention. Further studies should last longer than two weeks and, further, a larger sample size should be used for the results to be meaningful and generalisable. With a larger sample, correlation analyses between playtime and test scores as well as teachers’ experiences with digital games could also be carried out.
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(2015)Background and purpose: Newborn visual alertness (NVA) and orientation (NVO) are established clinical markers of brain health and maturation. They are thought to reflect the early form of attentional alerting and orienting networks and form the base for the development of more complex cognitive and executive functions that emerge later in infancy and early childhood. To examine this hypothesis, the present study aimed to find out if NVA and NVO are associated with attention regulation at the age of 7 months. Methods: This study was a part of two larger ongoing research projects. A total of 54 full term low risk infants were included in the study. The infants' NVA and NVO were assessed as part of a regular neurological assessment of a newborn infant. Later, at the age of seven months, the infants participated in an eye-tracking study. Four alternating stimuli (fearful, happy and neutral face and noise stimulus) were presented as the central stimulus and a geometrical shape (black and white balls or checker board) as the overlapping peripheral target. The gaze shift latencies from central stimulus to the peripheral target and the effect of the central stimulus' content on the gaze shift latencies were analyzed and then compared between the different NVA and NVO groups. Results: NVA: Infants with good and intermediate NVA shifted gaze fast and showed the bias towards a fearful face. Infants who looked only briefly at the moving target as newborns (poor NVA) were also fast but had no bias towards fearful faces. NVO: Infants with good NVO were also fast in shifting gaze and fearful faces modified the gaze behavior. Infants who followed moving targets only with gaze without a head turn as newborns (intermediate NVO) were slower than the other infants in gaze shifting at the age of seven months. Additionally, these infants did not show the bias towards fearful faces. Infants with poor NVO were not different from the infants with the best NVO showing fast and flexible gaze behavior. Conclusions: These results suggest a continuum of gaze behavior from the newborn period to the late infancy. Good alertness and orientation were associated with good attentional and perceptual competence at the age of seven months. Weak alertness was associated with fast and less flexible gaze behavior than in the other infants at the age of seven months. Following with eye movements only was associated with slow and less flexible gaze behavior than in the other infants. The differences in the gaze behavior of the infants who followed only with the gaze or had a poor alertness when compared to the other infants can reflect typical but slower maturation of an infant or more persistent difference in the development.
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(2016)Objectives. The objective of this study was to find out from Helsinki university's master graduates about their experiences on generic skills, approaches to learning and the similarities of those two. The study sought to answer three questions: 1. What kinds of generic skills students feel they learned during their university studies? 2. What kinds of approaches to learning can be found from the graduates' studying descriptions? 3. What kinds of similarities are there in generic skills and approaches to learning? Similarities have only been studied in quantitative researches so there is a need for qualitative analysis. Methods. The data is a part of a dissertation research of Tarja Tuononen (University of Helsinki) and it was collected in the spring of 2013. The data consist of 10 interviews from students who have already graduated. All the interviewees worked while studying and most of them studied in generalistic fields. First two research questions were conducted with theory-bound content analyses. Top categories were created based on theory because full detachment from previous knowledge would have been difficult. The third research question was conducted on the basis of the results from two previous research questions. Results and conclusions. From the students' descriptions of generic skills, six top categories were separated. Some of those skills were divided into subcategories. Top category skills were knowledge processing, reflection, organization skills, thinking skills, argumentation and social skills. Some of the students felt like they had not learnt any generic skills when asked directly but as the interview progressed, some generic skills appeared. In the second face of the research, students' descriptions of approaches to learning were studied. Three top categories were created based on previous theory: deep approach, surface approach and organized studying. Especially deep approach and organized studying were visible in the interviews and descriptions of surface approach appeared in a few interviews. When examining the similarities between generic skills and approaches to learning especially deep approach and organized studying included similarities. Surface approach had little similarities with generic skills. It can be said based on this research that for example organization skill is nearly identical with organized studying, when examining students' descriptions on both dimensions. Additionally, the descriptions of thinking skills and the descriptions of deep approach included many similarities. Social skills and argumentation from the generic skills did not contain similarities with approaches to learning in this study. It can be said on the basis of the analyses that generic skills and approaches to learning have some similarities but this topic needs to be further researched qualitatively underlining individual profiles.
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(2020)Objective of the study. Previous studies have shown that generic skills required in working life are learned during university studies. However, according to studies, some university graduates may lack generic skills or do not recognise them. This study aims to examine what generic skills graduates from generalist fields have learned during their university studies and whether work experience acquired during studies and participating in practical training correlate with generalist skills learned during university studies. Additionally, it was examined what kind of content graduates would have hoped for during their studies to develop their generic skills and the relationship between these hopes and generic skills learned during university studies. Methods. The data for the study were collected part of a broader study of working life skills (Tuononen, 2019). A total of 1023 University of Helsinki graduates responded to the survey. Respondents were master’s degree graduates from the university’s faculties of arts, social sciences and behavioural sciences (n=372) and their responses were analysed with quantitative methods. Answers to open-ended questions (n=127) were analysed with the abductive content analysis method. Results and conclusions. The results of the study show that graduates had, on average, learned the generic skills measured in the study well or quite well. The respondents had especially experienced to have learned critical thinking skills, multiple perspective viewing skills and structuring and analysing information skills. Co-operation and interaction skills were assessed to have been learned the least of the studied skills. In this study, practical training or work experience acquired during university studies did not correlate with generic skills learned during university studies. Hopes for content to develop working life readiness were divided into formal and informal learning environments. Formal learning environments included courses and practical training, whilst informal learning environments included working life events, alumni activities, study guidance and job-hunting training. The respondents especially hoped for practical university courses with tangible applications to working life. Respondents were divided into two groups based on their hopes for more content in formal or informal learning environments. There was no statistical difference in the assessment of generic skills learned between these groups. More attention should be given to developing co-operation and interaction skills during generalist studies and finding more efficient ways of teaching them. More research is needed to show how studies should be developed to better support the relevance of generalist studies to working life.
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(2016)The main focus of this study is to examine if Finnish university-students' family background (measured as the education and SES of their parents) is associated with their 10-year degree completion rate. Class-based analysis examines the association between educational outcomes and students' social background. Selection on the basis of social class on different educational levels still appears in the Finnish educational system, despite a declining trend in the magnitude of this effect. For example, students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds are still underrepresented in universities in Finland. In this study the discussion of retention, dropout and graduation rates at Finnish universities is put in a Bourdieuan perspective. The association between graduation rates and the following variables are analysed: students' social background (educational level and SES of mother and father), gender, age, mother tongue and type of degree when enrolled at university. In addition, the association is analysed on different study programs or faculties. The research questions were analysed using register-based data compiled by Statistics Finland. The data covers all the new students enrolled at universities in Finland in 2002 (N = 21 341). The examined final sample consisted of all of the students who didn't have a university degree when enrolled on a program leading to a Master's degree or equivalent (N = 16 910). Degree completion rate by 2012 was reported for students with different backgrounds. The difference between groups was tested with chi-square and the effect of the background variables on the dependent variable was tested with logistic regression. The results showed that all the background variables were associated with degree completion, although with fairly small effect sizes respectively. For instance; women were more likely than men to graduate within ten years on all faculties, and the offspring from families with more educational capital were more likely to graduate within ten years. However, the association between graduation and educational capital in the family was not statistically significant on all faculties. The results are discussed within the framework of equality and social class in higher education.
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(2016)Background. Knowing what a psychological test measures and if it works the same way in different contexts, i.e. has measurement invariance (MI), is crucial for its valid and reliable use. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) was published in Finland in 2012. However, recent research suggests that the factor model given in the WAIS-IV test manual and the information regarding MI between different age groups and levels of education are lacking. Methods. This study employed the normative sample of the Finnish WAIS-IV. First, the factor model in the manual was examined and improved using confirmatory factor analysis with a mixed data-theory approach. Second, the new model was tested for strict residual MI for different age groups and levels of education, in order to study if the test reaches an acceptable level of MI. Results and conclusions. The results indicated that the normative data is best modeled by an oblique non-g model. The study also replicated a Spatial Visualization factor with loadings from Block Design, Visual Puzzles and Picture Completion, and Quantitative Reasoning factor with Figure Weights and Arithmetic. A previously unmentioned link in factor analytic literature on WAIS-IV was found between Block Design and Processing Speed factors. The results questioned the link between Arithmetic and Verbal Comprehension factor and found the underlying source of shared variance to be links between Information and Arithmetic, which was interpreted as Educational Achievement. WAIS-IV reached strict residual MI for both different age groups and levels of education. The study offers a more accurate factor model of WAIS-IV and gives confidence that psychologists can reliably apply it over different ages and levels of education in the normal population of Finland.
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