Browsing by Subject "tekijäkulttuuri"

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.

Background. Invention projects that are interdisciplinary and combine technology with making by hand, will be central pieces in future-oriented education. Such invention projects, based on non-linear pedagogy, have been developed based on academic research, and also been implemented in Finnish elementary schools. Non-linear pedagogy aims to respond to the changing skill requirements that are required in working life. In this paper, I analyse the Innokas programming- and robotics tournament teams’ invention processes and process outcomes, the final artefacts. I study the process especially through the lenses of maker culture and invention pedagogy, as in the invention projects the learning is interdisciplinary, combining technology with handicraft skills. Invention processes implemented in Finnish elementary school teaching have also been to some extent reviewed in earlier research, so I also examine the sample in my study with relation to the previous literature. The aim of this study is to provide information about the invention process and the final artifacts in tournament events Freestyle and Dance/theater. Furthermore, I examine the technological tools used in processes, as well as the roles and learning experiences of team members. As invention processes rely on nonlinear pedagogy, the problems encountered are defined during the process. I also examine the problems and problem-solving strategies used. Methods. As the research sample I use 10 participating teams of events Freestyle and Dance/Theater of the 2021 Innokas programming- and robotics tournament. The data consisted of semi-structured interviews (n=30) and the documents (vid- eos, planning papers and diaries) that the teams (n=10) prepared during the processes. I conducted the interviews during April 2021 in Finnish and Swedish with remote connections to the participants. All other material was similarly collected during Spring 2021. The material was analysed via qualitative data-driven content analysis. Results. I categorized the Freestyle teams’ artefacts to well-being and security and the Dance/theater artefacts to nature and sports. In line with previous studies, the invention processes were iterative meaning that the teams could for example encounter enormous problems while building the robot and needed to come back for ideation part of the process. The results also suggest that most of the teams did not split the roles in purpose but might scatter in some points of working. I divide experienced learning to 1. technology skills, 2. social skills and 3. thinking skills. The problems encountered during the process were not only technological, but also related to co-working and project management. Discussion. The results revealed that the roles in the invention process were diverse and related to both, the actual artefact and the documentation and communication about it. The problems encountered during the process were technological and co-working and project management related. In addition to academic contribution, the results can help teachers to plan and lead invention processes in basic education. These kind of invention processes that utilize programming significantly strengthen pupils' future capabilities in working life, where skill requirements are in constant change and the need to apply information and innovate is crucial.