Browsing by study line "Lärare i slöjd, design och teknologi"

This study aims at describing the relation between students’ fine motor skills and sloyd teachers’ implementation of the teaching as well as the impacts on students’ learning. The study examines how teachers take count of the level of student's skills in the planning and implementation of the teaching and how fine motor skills manifest themselves in the learning situation. This study also examines in what way students’ fine motor skills affect the assessment. Furthermore, the methods for teaching fine motor skills and the consequences of the period of distance education in the spring of 2020 are examined. Previous studies have shown that sloyd teachers see a decrease in students' knowledge and fine motor skills, even though students often value their skills as good. The connection between fine motor skills and sloyd has been little studied. The data was collected in five semi-structured interviews with active sloyd teachers in com-pulsory school grades 3-6. The data was analysed according to the principles of theory-driven content analysis based on an abductive approach. The results show that students’ fine motor skills have an impact on both how the teacher teaches and how the student learns. The teachers reported adjusting their teaching standards to meet student´s ability. Teachers also see a reduction in students’ basic skills. The student's fine motor skills affect the student's motivation and commitment and thereby indirectly the assessment. The study shows that the teachers used various methods to teach fine motor skills and craft techniques. Furthermore, the study shows that the teachers were cautious about estimating the consequences of the period of distance education. The results can be used as a contribution to the discussion about the relevance of sloyd and what skills and knowledge should be included in sloyd education.

This research is about the metal music subgenre, folk metal, which typically combines folk music influences with heavy metal music combined with lyrics based on folklore or native culture. The aim of this study is to find out what kind of folklore influences bands of this genre have in their cover art and promotional imagery. I pay special attention to the symbolism and dressing, which visually embodies folklore. The second aim is to find out how the images have been created. The visual side of metal and folk metal music provides an interesting area of research, which has so far remained limited. Craft science brings a new perspective and opportunities to study this subject matter. The research data includes the cover art and promotional images before the year 2020, as well as interviews with the Finnish folk metal bands: Ensiferum, Moonsorrow, Finntroll and Korpiklaani. The analysis was based on the product essence analysis by Marketta Luutonen (1997), giving methodological tools and structure for the study. Selected images were ana-lysed using a classification frame I developed, based on the image analysis of visual culture by Gillian Rose (2001). The interview data was analysed by qualitative content analysis. The results of the study indicate that the cover art and promotional images were unique, where the bands endeavoured to emphasise their roots and unique style. Nature-related themes were highlighted, such as the traditional Finnish landscape, forests, trees and animals. The images communicate the old times inspired by themes related to the Finnish heritage, mythology and historical themes. Heroic and warrior themes are also prevalent themes, with accessories including swords and shields, as well as traditional dress style of in promotional imagery. There are hints of the past in all the bands' dressing, but in recent years, the outfits have developed more modern nuances. The themes commonly used by the bands also serve as inspiration for the outfits. The role of handicrafts in the manufacture of clothing was relatively apparent. Bands wanted to bring out folklore themes in the images, but not all the bands felt it as important. Design, as well as an integrated ensemble of music, lyrics and visual materials, were important in how the bands conveyed their art.

The Finnish curriculum encourages schools to include interaction between students in teaching and emphasizes the importance of design and ideation as a part of the handicraft projects. Interaction skills, ideation and design are important 21st century skills that the cur- rent primary school students will need in their working lives. Co-design is defined as a process of design and ideation done in cooperation with others, and it is an activity that combines the most remarkable 21st century skills. The aim of this study is to examine how the students experience the co-design in the context of handicrafts. The previous research has shown that outsourcing of thoughts, further developments and technical design can be challenging for the students. Therefore it is interesting to study the possibilities and challenges of co-design in the context of primary school. The material for the case study was collected in Viikki normal school during the autumn of 2019. A group of 8-graders were selected discretionary as the examinees, for the reason that they studied co-design as part of their handicraft studies. Students answered in three (3) dif- ferent questionnaires about co-design during their study module. The questionnaires were implemented with Google Forms. 16 students took part in the study. The methodology of the study was material-based analysis, where the answers were classified by similarities. This study shows that the definition of co-design is challenging for students to understand in the context of handicraft even though they have practised co-design in other school subjects. In accordance with contradictory expectations towards co-design, students had both positive and negative feelings that affected working. Students felt that cooperation went mainly well, even though it was also the area with the biggest challenges. According to this study co- design is act of multidimensional action where the key points to success are cooperation bet- ween group members, students attitudes and motivation. The challenges of co-design lie in how to make cooperation work properly and how to share resbonsibility between all the group members equally.

Invention pedagogy and invention projects can be used to meet the transversal competence objectives of the Finnish curriculum related to invention and technology. The objective of this study is to examine technology competencies in the invention pedagogy among student teachers. This study focuses on describing how technology competencies are utilized in the learning process of student teachers in the Invention pedagogy course, as well as in the invention project of different age groups planned by student groups. This study aims to deepen the readers’ understanding of the utilization of technology competencies in the invention pedagogy. The data for this case study consisted of the learning outcomes of the three implementations of the Invention pedagogy course at the University of Helsinki. The learning diaries of 16 students, and the invention project plans of seven student groups were analysed by using a theory-oriented content analysis. Theoretical framework of the content analysis related to the five technology competencies by Korhonen and partners (2022): craft, design, engineering, pro-gramming, and reflection, documentation and sharing. Through these five technology competencies the data was analysed. The results of the study showed that technology competencies were related and overlapped. In their learning diaries, student teachers often described simple craft in connection with other competencies. The ideation phase was perceived as difficult, and therefore warm-up and guid-ed ideation methods were considered important. In the design, the students also used Tinkercad for 3D modelling. Related to the engineering competence, learning everyday technology before or during the invention projects were perceived as important. The programming competence was mostly related to the microcontrollers or their programming. The programming involved both technical and team-programming related challenges. Different problems were often solved by experimenting, making mistakes and thinking together. The students documented and reflected on the performance of the tasks and the planning of the invention project in different ways with pictures, words and with reference to the sources. Some of the students reached deep reflection by describing their feelings and learning. In the invention projects planned for pre-school and first grades in primary school, drama and storytelling in the warm-up, simple crafts and engineering skills were emphasized. The invention project plans aimed at older students emphasized microcontrollers and their programming, as well as peer feedback and electronic documentation. From the invention pedagogy course, the student teachers also gained important experiences of the invention process, its phases, non-linear and iterative nature, and feelings of irritation and frustration, which will make it easier to understand the pupils’ perspective in invention process in the future.

The task of this thesis was to study the transmediation processes of craft teacher students in the context of a learning assignment during the university course of Materialization in Craft Science. The study specified the starting points for transmediation and the factors that influenced it. In addition, the short videos produced during the learning assignment were analyzed, specifying the craft related meanings conveyed by them. The aim of the study was to describe the transmediation process as a part of craft, from the perspective of craft teacher students. More specifically to build an understanding of how both theoretical and concrete knowledge are transferred from one medium to another through craft and video making. Previous research has shown that transmediating deepens learning and increases understanding of the information being transferred. Video technology has autoethnographically been applied in craft research during the past, which has significantly deepened the understanding of the studied phenomenon. 29 craft teacher students from the University of Helsinki took part in the Materialization in Craft Science course during fall 2020. During the course, they completed a “Article into a Video” learning assignment, which eventually resulted in making a short film. The data of this study was the recording, where craft teacher students presented their short films during the course. The recording was transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The short films were analyzed applying essence analysis. Craft teacher students approached and framed the learning assignment from the starting points of their own lives in relation to the knowledge presented in the research articles of the learning assignment. They transmediated information through craft and video making. The craft teacher students transmediating processes were influenced by both internal and external factors. Internal factors were such phenomena, which the craft teacher students were able to influence. Instead, external factors where such that could not be influenced during the learning assignment. Craft related meanings conveyed in various ways through the short films that craft teacher students had produced.

Objectives. The aim of the study was to examine early-career craft teachers’ conceptions about classroom discipline and how they prevent and solve classroom discipline issues. The study also examined craft teachers’ attributes related to self-efficacy, especially from classroom discipline’s point of view. Angle throughout the study was craft teachers’ novice state. Theoretical background is combined of two main areas. First, concept of classroom discipline, causes behind classroom discipline and classroom discipline issues as well as means to intervene challenging classroom situations are examined. Second main theory was Albert Bandura’s (1977) theory of self-efficacy and related factors, which in this study was connected to examine teachers’s experiences of solving classroom discipline issues. Methods. Data was collected during April and May of 2021 using online inquiry. The inquiry consisted of standardized open questions. The inquiry form was distributed deliberately in internet and social media to locations where the targeted novice craft teachers were reached. Twelve respondents, who had less than five years of teaching experience, took part in the study. Methodological approach to this study was qualitative phenomenography. Collected data was analyzed with phenomenographic analysis and content analysis. Results and conclusions. According to the respondents, classroom discipline is a state where teaching is not distracted. Classroom discipline was said to enable concentration and fluent work. Positive and safe atmosphere was also mentioned as an attribute of classroom discipline. In managing classroom discipline, craft teachers favor preventive methods over corrective methods. Encouraging students to follow rules was the most common preventive method to manage classroom discipline. The most common unverbal corrective method was waiting the class to be silent before beginning teaching, whereas the most common verbal corrective method was reminding existence of rules, using positive phrases in teaching and one-to-one conversations with students. The most used punishments for discipline disruption was taking the student to separate space from others and contacting parents. Craft teachers felt that their survival and self-efficacy experiences related to classroom discipline management were mostly influenced by modeling (for example practices of more experienced colleagues) and social support.

Goals. After the National Core Curriculum update, crafts arts’ teachers’ tasks at work were surrounded by uncertainty. Do they need to know something new? A need to learn more about their competence rose. Hypothesis was that teachers’ will experience their knowledge of hard material technics insufficient. Methods. Four craft arts’ teachers took part of the research. Research material was collected by theme interviewing the teachers individually in Zoom and recording the interviews. Recordings were litterated and material was analyzed to see the results. Results and conclusions. Craft arts’ teachers felt that substance knowledge was very good in textile arts, but with hard material technichs poor. They also felt that their pedagogical skills like motivating were poor. According to earlier researches, personal competence developes through experience and it includes skills to motivate pupils. The amount of technics of hard materials in craft arts’ teachers education was too small at the time these craft arts’ teachers studied and graduated.

The purpose of this study was to find the methods of co-teaching between a craft teacher and a class teacher and the benefits and challenges for joint planning and evaluation. Co-teaching is increasing all the time, and with each use, the school wants the teacher to be ready for co-teaching with another teacher. According to the curriculum (Pops 2014), school operations should be multidisciplinary and, in accordance with the students' interests, teaching should be communal. The co-teaching of a classroom teacher and a craft teacher has not been researched terribly yet, I see that a pilot study like this is important so that the possibility of different kinds of joint work can be seen as part of everyday school life. Previous studies related to co-teaching have shown that co-teaching diversifies planning and eases the teacher's workload in challenging conditions. Studies have also shown that the strengths of both teachers add to the teaching, which would not be there when teaching alone. Teachers can share responsibility for teaching according to their own strengths. Two teachers are participating in my research, one was a craft teacher, and the other was a class teacher, a craft teacher, who work as co-teachers in the elementary school in Uusimaa in the school year 2021-2022. The interview was conducted remotely in early 2022. The interviewees were interviewed together, and they answered together. The small amount of data is justified by the pilot nature of the study. The research showed that co-teaching is perceived as a way of working as a teacher that makes one's own work easier. In particular, the workload related to planning work and evaluation was eased by working together. More insight into issues supported in their tasks both in planning and in evaluating challenging student situations. The cooperation between the classroom teacher and the craft teacher is seen as a fact and as a way of working that eases the teacher's workload. The support of a colleague and solving the issue together increases the teacher's ability to cope and brings the strengths of both teachers to the teaching.