Browsing by Subject "yhteisopettajuus"

Objectives. The aim of this study is to describe, analyze and interpret teachers' perceptions of co-teaching and how to support positive education, the reasons for their co-teaching, what positive teaching means to them in regard to using positive education in their teaching, and the positive presentation of positive co-education. Methods. A total of 8 primary school teachers participated in this study in the fall of 2017. The teachers were interviewed by semi-structured theme interviewing and the research material was analyzed in accordance with qualitative content-based content analysis. Results and Conclusions. The study highlighted three main themes, which are the charm of co-teaching, the importance of positive education, and to describe positive education from the perspective of co-education. The teaching methods used in co-teaching were the well-being of the teacher, the collegial models in everyday life, and the learning situations and characteristics of everyday life. Positive education was seen to be very significant, especially as a classroom teacher, for the development of work prosperity and self-education, as well as for the students' perceptions and learning. The conditions for co-operation in positive education were manifested through a specific culture of operation and interaction. The benefits of joint teaching in positive education increased with collegial support, use of time as well as planning and assessment and lastly through the social and emotional integration of the students and the interaction between the student and the teacher.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the views of primary school teachers on school´s readiness to accommodate all diverse learners. The subject topic captivated my interest due to the emphasis placed by the interviewed primary school teachers in my bachelor's thesis on the readiness of the school, even though the actual research focused on children´s school readiness. Additionally, since the 2000s, discussion in Finland regarding school readiness have shifted towards the organization of education rather than solely focusing on children's readiness for school. Several research also support this shift. Readiness of the school has been extensively investigated as part of inclusive education. On the other hand, in the National Core Curriculum for Basic Education (2014), the word inclusion is mentioned only once. The aim of this study was to determinate the requisite preparedness of educational institutions to accommodate the diverse needs of incoming students, and to clarify the strategies of implementation of inclusion. In my qualitative research, six primary school teachers who work in elementary education participated. Thematic interviews were used as data collection method, as they allowed clarifying questions to be asked from the participants. The interviews were recorded, videotaped and transcribed for further analysis. The chosen method for analysis in my research was theory-guided content analysis, supported by thematic categorization. The data was then categorized into seven themes, which will be referred to as "upper-level categories" in the following study. These upper-level categories consist of resources, competent teacher, leadership, collaboration with preschool teachers, inclusivity, resources, and differentiation. My research findings strongly imply that primary school teachers considered resources to be the most important factor in the readiness of the school and the implementation of inclusion. However, primary school teachers described school resources as inadequate to meet the needs of all incoming students. Primary school teachers discussion about the most important readiness factors for accommodating all incoming students were centered around resources, teachers' professional skills, leadership, and collaboration with preschool teachers. Primary school teachers instead reported focusing on the implementation of inclusion through various inclusion-related actions, available resources, and diverse differentiation. Generally, five out of six primary school teachers had a positive attitude towards inclusion and the readiness of the school to accommodate all diverse learners. This study provides valuable information especially for primary school teachers, but also for principals interested in inclusion and implementing inclusive education.

The aim of this thesis was to investigate classroom teachers’ experiences of the teach-er-student interaction relationship and student experience in co-teaching and alone teaching, and to compare the formation and structure of the aforementioned teaching-related phenomenon in these two different teaching methods. The aim was to find out how the class teachers felt that co-teaching and teaching alone differed from each other in their efforts to build a functioning teacher-student interaction relationship and in their efforts to build their own student knowledge of the students in their class. Previous stud-ies have examined teachers’ experiences of co-teaching, as well as the benefits and possible challenges of co-teaching. Previous studies have also brought out the im-portance of teacher-student interaction and student expertise in guaranteeing the suc-cess and quality of teaching. However, little research has been done comparing co-teaching and teaching alone. For this reason, the aim of the research is also to investi-gate how teachers have taken into account the differences between co-teaching and so-lo teaching when building a working interaction relationship with their class, as well as how the individual personalities of students are taken into account in co-teaching, and how this possibly differs from the consideration made in solo teaching. The material of the thesis consists of interviews with four classroom teachers working in Helsinki. Each interviewee has practiced both solo teaching and co-teaching during their career. The material of the thesis was collected and analyzed using a qualitative meth-od. The interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview and the material was analyzed using a phenomenographic research sample. The results section of the thesis is based on the description categories formed in the phenomenographic analysis. According to the study, the classroom teachers noticed differences in the way they build their teacher-student interaction relationships and their student expertise, depending on whether they were practicing co-teaching or teaching alone. The classroom teachers understood the importance of teacher-pupil interaction and student knowledge in their teaching work and brought out different methods with which they strive to build their in-teraction relationships and student knowledge. In co-teaching, the class teachers brought up positive experiences, where the other teaching professional was seen to help with the student knowledge, and the work methods enabled by the second teacher helped the teachers to build more versatile teacher-student interaction relationships. However, the challenges of co-teaching emerged from the students’ point of view, the formation of a stronger interaction between only with the other teacher, which in turn challenges the construction of the interaction relationship of the other teacher with all students. The large number of students also brought its own challenges, as paying at-tention to each student requires more communication between the teachers, and even more active approach from the teachers so that each student could be taken into ac-count in everyday situations during the school day.

New open learning environments have become more common in Finnish school con-struction over the past decade. Open learning environments are thought to offer opportunities for increasing students' self-directedness, group-based and active learning, and co-teaching. However, the effects of open spaces on learning and classroom management have not been thoroughly researched yet. Media reports have been critical of the noise in open schools, raising concerns about the burden on teachers and students. In this study, I examine the practices of classroom management in elementary education within an open learning environment. This includes how teachers prevent disturbances in the classroom, the types of disturbances that occur during the lessons, and the corrective practices the teachers use to address disturbances in an open learning space. I also explore the teachers' perspectives on the benefits and challenges of open spaces from the standpoint of classroom management. The research material consists of ethnographic observation data focused on two first grade elementary school classes and their two teachers, who partially work as co-teachers. In addition to the observation data, the study includes interviews with the teachers of these classes. The data was collected in November-December 2023 over three school days and analyzed through content analysis. The study found that in classroom management, the emphasis was on preventive practices against disturbances, including routines and structures, positive feedback and motivation, variation in teaching and learning methods, and the teacher's presence. Different methods supported each other and were integrated into the teachers' work. Classroom disturbances were minimal, with the most typical being speaking without permission or making extra movement or noise. The teachers consistently addressed disturbances with various corrective practices, such as a gentle touch and eye contact, and by mentioning the pupil's name, and having a private conversation with them. Teachers thought that open learning environments provided opportunities for versatile teaching methods, functionality, and physical activity, but if the use of space is not practiced with the pupils, the stimuli caused by the space can pose challenges to classroom management. It is important to keep different types of learners in mind while developing future learning environments. In elementary education, it is also crucial that the pupils have their own safe place or seat in the school.

This thesis examines the descriptions of co-teaching by home economics teachers at the beginning of their career from the perspective of planning home economics education. The aim of the thesis is to examine how home economics teachers implement co-teaching and what they tell about the joint planning of teaching. The background of this research consists of discussing the changes of the school culture in primary schools, especially focusing on the perspective of the implementation of co-teaching and the joint planning of home economics education in the era of the 2014 curriculum of primary school. In my research, co-teaching is seen as the form of work of teachers, which is examined from the point of view of planning home economics education. Answers to the research questions were sought using the research method of qualitative research. As a data collection method was used a semi-structured thematic interview which I con-ducted on with the Microsoft Teams application. The interview framework contained four themes, which were used to discuss the realization of cooperation in the home economics teacher's job description. The information was written into one text document and after that the material was searched for expressions related to cooperation, co-teaching and teaching planning, which were formed in their final form by a material-based content analysis. The main categories were formed by coding in order to obtain summarized answers to the research questions. In this study, co-teaching was seen as a form of work for teachers and a way of cooperation that could be implemented in different variations. Based on the results, home economics teachers at the beginning of their careers implement joint planning of teaching in terms of sharing, updating and producing teaching material. In addition, the collegial support received through cooperation was seen as important, especially in challenging situations. However, the empirical data I collected show that co-teaching as a form of cooperation between teachers enables collegial support and the sharing of expertise in the job description of a home economics teacher. The home economics teachers who participated in the study saw the implementation of cooperation as an opportunity to make and implement home economics teaching. The conclusion was the development of co-teaching in home economics education. Empirical data showed that home economics teachers had faced challenges at the beginning of their careers that affect the implementation of cooperation. In the light of this research, parallel teaching as a form of activity for home economics teachers seemed to be minor in terms of teaching planning. However, home economics teachers saw cooperation and co-teaching as a possibility to implement home economics teaching.