Browsing by Author "Saari, Milja"

Tiivistelmä - Referat - Abstract In recent years, open-plan schools have been widely discussed in schools, homes and the media. There are both passionate supporters and unwavering opponents to these more open and adaptable environments. There is a limited amount of research evidence for new learning environments, but they are still common in many schools around Finland. This master`s thesis examines the opinions of classroom teachers about the advantages and disadvantages of new learning environments in primary education. Classroom teachers are also allowed to tell what kind of new learning environment would be best suited for primary education. The research material has been collected from two Facebook groups of teachers. A total of 22 classroom teachers responded to the survey. Respondents wrote their answers freely. The material was analyzed using the method of data-driven content analysis. The majority were positive about the new learning environments in primary education. Teachers said that the new learning environments benefit beginners in many ways: for example, students learn to work together and develop their thinking and learning skills. They facilitate functional and diverse teaching. Students can be divided and flexibly divided into different groups and differentiation is easy. On the other hand, teachers also carefully described the challenges of new learning environments in the primary school context. Often new learning environments have too much noise and stimuli. Respondents put forward many ideas how existing environments should be modified to allow for quality primary education.