Browsing by Subject "yhteisopetus"
Now showing items 1-12 of 12
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(2023)The purpose of this master’s thesis is to determine to what extent co-teachers working in primary school experience burnout and work engagement and to explore a possible correlation between burnout and work engagement. In addition, the aim is to establish in what way the prerequisites of successful co-teaching are connected to burnout and work engagement among co-teachers. Furthermore, it is explored which background variables are connected to burnout, work engagement and the prerequisites of successful co-teaching. The method of this thesis was quantitative. The survey data was obtained by posting a questionnaire on a social media group aimed principally at teachers in May of 2022. 54 co-teachers took part in this study. The research material was analysed statistically with IBM SPSS software utilising exploratory factor analysis, descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and the Kruskal-Wallis H-test. On average, co-teachers experienced burnout symptoms rarely and work engagement a few times a week. A negative correlation was observed between burnout and work engagement. The more the co-teachers reported satisfaction with equal distribution of work and responsibility and interaction with their co-teaching partner the less they reported feelings of exhaustion and more work engagement. Satisfaction with the administrative support of co-teaching was connected to lower burnout and higher vigor. Experience as a teacher, age group or the length of co-teaching partnership were not connected to burnout, work engagement, or satisfaction with the administrative support of co-teaching. The longer the duration of the co-teaching partnership, the more satisfied the co-teachers were with the equal distribution of work and responsibility and the interaction with their co-teaching partner. This study presented new findings about burnout and work engagement among primary school co-teachers. In addition, the study brought additional evidence about the importance of the equal distribution of work and responsibility and the interaction between co-teaching partners. The study also highlighted the importance of administrative support towards co-teaching. The results of the study can be considered indicative. Further research is needed.
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(2018)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.
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(2022)As a result of inclusive thinking, students with disabilities are increasingly being transferred to mainstream classes. According to the current support model, support measures must be transferred with the student, and according to the Basic Education Act, a special support decision entitles the students to receive full-time special education. In full-time co-teaching between a special classroom teacher and a classroom teacher, students from all three levels of support study in the same classroom. Previous research has shown that co-teaching is one effective way to achieve inclusion. The aim of this study is to find out what benefits teachers perceive from full-time co-teaching. The study examines how responsibilities are shared between the co-teaching couple from the perspectives of teaching design, implementation, and evaluation. In addition, this study examines how co-teaching supports inclusive education. This study was conducted as a qualitative study. The research material was obtained through interviews with a total of three special class teachers and three class teachers. The teachers who participated in the interviews formed a total of three full-time co-teaching work pairs. The data were analysed by data-driven content analysis. According to the study, the benefits experienced by teachers from co-teaching were reflected in terms of both the benefits to teachers and the benefits to students. The most significant benefits that teachers received from co-teaching were the importance of dialogue, the reduction of workload, the improvement of well-being at work and one's own professional development. Teachers perceived the benefits to students to be primarily social, such as a broader social environment, multi-adult presence, and peer learning. In terms of the division of responsibilities, the study showed that each working group shared responsibilities according to their own interests and specific competencies, especially in terms of teaching planning. Teachers used a wide range of co-teaching models. With regard to evaluation, the importance of the working couple was emphasized, as evaluations were always preceded by a joint discussion. The teachers interviewed felt that co-teaching would increase student equality and student participation, which they felt were included in the definition of inclusion. The results of the study thus confirm previous research findings on the positive link between co-teaching and inclusion.
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(2019)Tiivistelmä - Referat – Abstract Objectives. The aim of this study is to analyze and interpret team-teachers' perceptions of co-teaching within a craft education project, in co-operation with Helsinki University´s Co4Lab-research. Co-teaching is commonly understood as a teaching method, where two or more teachers equally share the responsibility of planning, implementation and evaluation of teaching. There are many methods of co-teaching and it is said that team-teaching is the most intensive and well-developed method. The study explains how team-teaching is co-planned and arranged and how it has developed during the project. The main part of the study is give a voice to teachers who are doing co-teaching together. As a result, the study also gives examples of co-teaching methods used in a craft education project. Methods. A total of 4 teachers from one metropolitan area elementary school took part in this study. Three of the participating teachers were class teaches and one was a craft teacher. The teachers were interviewed in the summer of 2017, using a semi-structured theme interview and the research material was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. There was also limited documentation from the Co4Lab-research, collected earlier by other researchers. Results and Conclusions. The study highlighted that team-teaching is a very functional method of teaching in a craft project. Team-teaching has slowly develop good choice by the years teachers has used it as a teaching method. Co-planning and teamwork has got easier year by year, and teamwork has helped the leading of this kind of an educational project. The key elements of successful team-teaching were well-arranged co-planning, conversations with colleagues and the feeling of shared responsibility of teaching and evaluation. Collegial support was an essential part of team-teaching. Whenever teachers felt that they did not know enough about the technical craft details of the project, they could rely on their team-member and learn from each other. Some teachers had other strengths; such as giving more support in education, structured teaching and schedules. It doesn´t take so much time to co-teach: small conversations with a team partner can lead to successful team-teaching.
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(2023)According to the Finnish National Core Curriculum (2014), the goal of craft teaching is to guide pupils’ holistic craft process. The teaching is usually divided between two teachers teaching different areas (technical work and textile work). The purpose of this research is to depict, analyze and intercept the cooperation between the craft teachers. The aim of this research was to examine how craft teachers execute cooperation, how the cooperation appears, what are its goals and how the cooperation could be improved. The subject of this study was the cooperation between craft teachers who work in the same school. This research is a continuation of my bachelor’s thesis in 2019, in which I investigated how schools organize the shared multi-material craft subject according to the curriculum (POP 2014), how teachers understand multi-materiality and how it is reflected in student’s work. The results of the research showed that the teaching was organized in shifts, in which students were alternately under the guidance of the technical work teacher and the textile work teacher. Multi-materiality was understood such that the students could freely choose the materials and techniques used in their own craft projects. The implementation of shared multi-material craft subject requires the cooperation of the teachers. The research was carried out using qualitative methods. Nine teachers from five different schools were interviewed for the data. Four of the interviewees were technical work teachers and five were textile work teachers. The interviews were conducted as semi-structured theme interviews. The final material was gathered from eight interviews. The data was analyzed using theory-based content analysis. Based on the results, the working pairs formed three different type descriptions of co-teaching. The cooperation of the least cooperating work pair was limited to joint evaluation. The students didn’t do a joint project, and the teachers didn’t want to increase co-operation. The cooperation between the other two pairs varied slightly, in both the teachers planned and evaluated the teaching together. There was no joint teaching, but at the end of the school year the students did a holistic craft project supervised by both teachers. The teachers were satisfied with the cooperation and wanted to increase it. Successful co-teaching requires above all the effort of both teachers and the ambition to commit to common goals.
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(2019)Because of inclusive school system a wide group of pupils with different challenges are met in craft education groups. Inclusive craft groups will also have an influence on teachers’ job descriptions. Theoretical literature and previous research suggests co-teaching as one way to support inclusion in schools. The aim of this study was to illustrate craft teachers’ experiences when teaching inclusive craft groups. The study also illustrates the assistance needed by the craft teachers. In addition to teachers experiences the purpose of this study is to describe craft teachers’ opinions about co-teaching with special education teachers. This study was fulfilled as a qualitative survey research. The research call and the questionnaire were distributed to craft teachers via the Internet. The survey contained both closed and open questions as well as a section on teachers' background information. Altogether 46 craft teachers participated in the study. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze teachers' responses. Teachers felt that inclusive craft groups were challenging in terms of the quality of teaching and the well-being of pupils and teachers. Additional support was rarely available in the inclusive craft groups. Teachers felt that they could use the assistance provided by special education teachers during and outside lessons. Craft teachers saw many benefits when co-teaching with special education teachers, however collaboration between craft teachers and special education teachers was uncommon/unusual. Limited special education resources in craft education is a major challenge for co-teaching and special educators support in the craft lessons. Based on the results of this research, the real inclusion in the craft education where students get needed support, is rarely true and the situation will not change without additional resources and support in craft education.
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(2022)In 2016, after the introduction of the new national core curriculum for basic education in Finland, open and flexible learning environments have been incorporated in new or thoroughly renovated schools, to some extent. The purpose of the new learning environments is to support the new curriculum goals that advocate phenomenon-based and versatile learning, student-centered learning, student autonomy and the use of technology. Previous research suggests that increased collaboration among teachers is required for a functioning everyday life in school. Furthermore, research also suggests that co-teaching has had a positive impact on teachers’ workload and well-being. This study examines how teachers in grades 1–6 experience the opportunities and challenges of co-teaching in open learning environments. In addition, the aim was to find out how teachers use the open learning environments in their co- teaching. The study was conducted in spring 2022 as a case study consisting of semi-structured interviews and observations. Four teachers from two different schools in Swedish-speaking regions in Finland participated in the interviews. The interviews were recorded for transcription and the data was analyzed thematically. The observations were used to support the interviews and played an important role in the interpretation of the results. The results state that the teachers used different co-teaching methods depending on goals, subject and content. Flexible furniture and creative floor plans provide an opportunity for teachers and students to modify the learning environments as needed. According to the teachers there were several opportunities with co-teaching such as shared planning and responsibilities and collegial support. The open learning environments gave the teachers an opportunity to be more flexible and mobile. Several adults in the learning environment made the teachers feel that they had more time for the students. Collaborative planning and open communication proved to be important, although this was considered time consuming. Likewise trust, personal chemistry and participation proved to be essential for a functional co- teaching. It was clear that it takes time for both teachers and students to adapt to the work in open learning environments. Similarly, co-teaching requires time for adaption.
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(2013)Aim of the study. Traditionally teaching has been lonely work. Demands for towards teaching has been increased during the last decade: need for special education is growing, the contents of the curriculum has grown and there are also new challenges in the co-operation between school and families. Finnish students rank well in international comparison, but feel less comfortable at school. Teachers are tiring themselves out and choose other professions. Lack of resources does not allow smaller class sizes or more input in special education. Interest in a collegial collaboration between teachers has been suggested as a solution. The idea of inclusion and the changing law of special education stating that all pupils would attend the same classes are in the background. Co-teaching aims at avoiding extra special education by using existing resources, by combining two classes and with collaboration of teachers. The aim of the study is to find out the characteristics of co-teaching with two teachers and its added value to the teaching work. Methods. Eight pairs of co-teachers were interviewed, five of them co-teaching full time and in three cases the other teacher joining the class only for certain lessons. Research type was qualitative multi-case study. The study material was collected by observing the classes and by interviewing the pairs. The observations were reported as narratives describing the co-teaching of each teacher pair. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis, which was steered by the theory and the collected material. Results and conclusions. According to this study co-teaching was considered as a means to enhance quality of teaching, reduce teachers' work load, increase professionality, and to increase the motivation of pupils. Nineteen different forms of co-teaching were formulated based on the literature and the material collected at observations and interviews. These forms may be useful in better recognizing the individual needs of pupils and to better use the presence and experience of two teachers. As a conclusion, the didactic triangle was extended to form a didactic-collegial square, where the collegial relationship between the two teachers brings a new dimension to the picture reflecting the many dimensions of co-teaching and difference to the work of a teacher alone.
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(2020)This thesis aims to examine teachers’ conception and experiences of co-assessment. School assessment is a surface issue right now. New curriculum in 2014 shifted the focus from the assessment of pupils to the assessment of learning. The new curriculum did not work as well as hoped, so chapter 6 assessment of learning was renewed. The newest version which aims to increase equality will be implemented in the autumn of 2020. Teaching has traditionally been seen as independent work done alone. Co-teaching is a method where two or more teachers plan, teach and assess together in equal collaboration. Studies have shown that the benefits of co-teaching are worth pursuing. The concept of co-assessment was derived from the key concepts of the thesis. The purpose of the study is to examine teachers' perceptions of co-assessment as well as its benefits and challenges. The research was carried out with a phenomenographic research approach. The research material was collected through interviews with 13 teachers in an elementary school in Vantaa. The semi-structured group interviews were held in April 2019. The material was analyzed with phenomenographic analysis. Teachers described co-assessment as a formative and summative assessment. Co-assessment was carried out everyday life and in planning of assessment in various ways. Co-teaching teams also split assessment tasks. Teachers spoke about formative assessment a little bit more than about summative assessment. Formative co-assessment was seen as more diverse and there were more differences of opinion. Conceptions of summative co-assessment were more similar. According to the teachers the challenges of co-assessment are related to time, teamwork, differences of opinion and pupil-related worries. Co-assessment benefits both teachers and pupils. Co-assessment provides an opportunity to improve well-being at work and simplify assessment. Co-assessment is higher quality and more equitable for students. The benefits were related to the challenges in many ways, and were perceived as mitigating them.
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(2023)Objectives. Finland has been moving towards an inclusive education policy for a long time and the new curriculum from 2016 requires the school to develop in line with the principle of inclusion. This means that special schools and classes will be abolished, and special education should be organised as part of general education. However, the heterogeneity of classes brings its own challenges to the classroom and teachers experience challenges in performing their work, which is reflected in the quality of teaching. It is therefore important to explore what different ways can be found to address these challenges, and one option could be co-teaching. In previous studies, teachers have found that co-teaching is a good way of working, supporting pupils’ learning, making teachers’ work more meaningful, and reducing workload. The aim of this study was to find out what pupils’ experiences of the benefits and challenges of co-teaching are, and what they consider requirements for effective co-teaching. Methods. I obtained my data by interviewing nine 6th grade pupils who were studying in a co-educational class. I conducted the interviews using the thematic interview method. My research was a qualitative study using a phenomenographic research analysis model to explore the different ways in which students experienced learning in a co-taught classroom. Results and conclusions. Students associated five different benefits with co-teaching: easier access to support, the possibility of small group teaching, good group management and working in peace, flexible working methods, and the combined expertise of two teachers. There were four challenges of co-teaching: disruption of teaching, becoming more alienated from the other teacher, scheduling challenges in teaching, and the pupils’ perceived resentment of being divided in a smaller group. In addition, pupils described effective co-teaching requiring teachers to be cooperative, have common ground rules and be equal. The results suggest that pupils perceive co-teaching as a way of working that supports their learning, but that it requires certain conditions to work. Although the results cannot be considered universal, they do suggest that co-teaching is a way of working that, if it works, can significantly facilitate pupils' learning and access to support.
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(2022)Special needs education has undergone ideological changes over the past decades. The inclusive education system has become the new ideal. Its main idea is that all pupils learn together from the start, and that pupils with special needs are not relegated to their own classes. An increasing proportion of pupils with special needs are in mainstream classes. At the same time, the number of pupils with special needs has increased. Studies also show that teachers’ burnouts are ever more common. Previous studies have suggested co-teaching as a possible solution to these challenging trends. For teachers, it has been seen as a way to better meet the needs of a heterogeneous class. In co-teaching two or more teachers together plan, implement and evaluate the teaching of a group of pupils together. In this study, I have wanted to find out what kind of to experiences teachers have concerning co-teaching. More specifically, I am interested in what exactly are the circumstances, that from teachers’ experience have influence to the success of co-teaching teachers think influences the success of co-teaching. I also wanted to know what kind of benefits and challenges teachers perceive to come with co-teaching, both for themselves and for their pupils. As my research is focusing on the personal experiences of teachers, the analysis has phenomenological features. The data was collected by interviewing 13 classroom teachers remotely in September and October 2021. Seven of the interviews were conducted as individual interviews. In addition, my data includes a group interview with six teachers. I analysed the data using theory-driven content analysis. Teachers felt that the two most important preconditions for the success of co-teaching are finding a suitable teaching partner and administrative support. Teachers felt that the practice of co-teaching had many benefits for themselves and their students. The benefits of co-teaching that emerged from my data were a lighter workload, increased sense of community, improved quality of teaching, normalisation of diversity and a safer learning environment. Interviewees had also recognized challenges in using this form of teaching. The main challenges cited were mismatched teaching pairs, uneven distribution of responsibilities and lack of administrative support. Teachers also felt that co-teaching was not suitable for all pupils because of its variable elements. These included changing classrooms and teachers. However, all the teachers interviewed reported, that their job satisfaction improved as a result of co-teaching. They felt that pupils received more help and individual support through co-teaching. Thus my study strengthens the earlier views, that co-teaching is a possible way to reduce teacher fatigue and to support pupils with special needs.
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(2020)Through the strengthening of the inclusive ideology, Finnish primary school general education classes have an increasing number of students, who have different learning related needs for support. Due to this, the cooperation between general and special education has increased and schools have developed many practices to teach inclusive classes. One of these practices that has been noticed effective is co-teaching, which has not yet been widely adapted in Finland. The basis of this study is, how co-teaching abilities of future teachers can be supported already in the student teachers’ education phase and teaching practice. The study examines general and special education co-teaching executed in teaching practice. The study investigates the experiences of special education, class and subject student teachers regarding co-teaching executed in teaching practice. Additionally, the possible future development points of co-teaching in teaching practice will be examined on the basis of the students’ experiences. The study is a qualitative case study, which material was collected through two methods of data collection: questionnaire forms and interviews. The material was collected from special, class and subject student teachers, who carried out co-teaching lessons in teaching practice at the Viikki Normaalikoulu of the University of Helsinki in November and December of 2018. The questionnaires were answered by fifteen (15) student teachers after which six (6) of these students were interviewed. Both, the responses of the questionnaire and the transcriptions of the interviews, were analyzed with a data directional content analysis approach. The study shows that a part of the students felt co-teaching in the teaching practice gave them good readiness to utilize co-teaching between general and special education after their studies in the working life. However, not all of the students felt that the teaching practice sufficiently supported their readiness for coteaching. The obscurity regarding the role of the special education student teacher in co-teaching lessons and the lack of utilizing the expertise related to special education in planning and execution of the lessons were considered as main challenges. In cases where the students did not plan the co-teaching lesson together, the role of the special education student teacher was to maintain a peaceful environment and to take on different assisting tasks. The study shows that the students had very different impressions on what co-teaching is. The conclusion regarding the development of teaching practice in this study is that the supervision concerning co-teaching should be developed especially in the part of the following fields: increasing knowledge regarding the students’ co-teaching, coaching for co-teaching lessons and the students’ equal possibilities for feedback after a co-teaching lesson. With these means, the fruitful execution of co-teaching could also be supported in the long run in Finnish primary schools.
Now showing items 1-12 of 12