Browsing by Subject "design-based research"

Interdisciplinary studies are currently an important topic in education. One reason behind this is the idea that students should learn 21st century skills, such as critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills for their future careers. Interdisciplinary education has also been shown to increase students’ interest towards natural sciences. Furthermore, organizing cross-curricular learning units has become compulsory at a curricular level in Finland and other countries. Project-based learning is a widely supported teaching method in which learning is organized around projects. It is also a natural method to carry out interdisciplinary learning units. Project-based learning is usually defined by its characteristic features, and its successful implementation requires the teacher to have a good knowledge of them. However, these characteristics tend to be unknown for teachers. Research has also shown that teachers’ conceptions of what interdisciplinary education and project-based learning are, tend to vary. As such, it has been noted in the literature that there is a need to offer training and materials for the implementation of interdisciplinary and project-based learning for in-service teachers. Although MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have a lot of potential as a means of professional development, they are rarely planned to serve primarily as in-service teacher training. Empirical research into their design is also scarce. The main aims in this study were to 1) provide more information about interdisciplinary education within biology education 2) develop a MOOC for the professional development of biology teachers on the topic of interdisciplinary education and project-based learning. In addition to that the study aimed to develop the StarT programme of LUMA Centre Finland. The study was carried out as design-based research. The main research question that directed the design process was: what should a MOOC that supports teachers to carry out interdisciplinary project-based learning within the theme “nature and environment” in biology be like? Nature and environment was chosen as the context of the study as from the perspective of biology education it offers an important and current topic for interdisciplinary project units. The main research question was approached through a theoretical and empirical problem analysis. Theoretical problem analysis focused on researching the question in earlier literature, and the empirical problem analysis was carried out as a case study in which qualitative data was studied through deductive content analysis. The materials studied in the empirical problem analysis were project-based learning units of comprehensive schools and high schools. Their project units were studied through the following research questions: 1. How did teachers and students carry out the characteristics of project-based learning in the context of the theme nature and environment in biology? 2. How is biology taught in an interdisciplinary way in the theme nature and environment? The first question was studied through the characteristics that were identified for project-based learning in the theoretical problem analysis, and the second by looking at which subjects collaborated with biology, how the collaboration was carried out and how the learning communities experienced it. The goal was to find a) challenging characteristics of project-based learning and interdisciplinary education that should be considered the design of the MOOC b) good examples from the studied learning communities to be shared on the MOOC. The study subjects consisted of 12 learning communities who had participated in the international StarT programme of LUMA Centre Finland. In accordance with earlier studies, also the subjects of this study struggled especially with driving questions, the unity of the project activities and in using the projects as a means to learn central contents. Scientific practices were visible well apart from students’ questions, but it could not be defined how strongly student-led the inquiry was. The connection between instructions of StarT and the characteristics of project-based learning that were well represented in the materials seemed evident: collaboration, sharing results, end products and using technology were all visible throughout the analyzed learning communities. However, the materials offered little information about how the collaboration between different subjects was carried out in practice. The study indicated also that students and teachers paid attention to different aspects of the learning taking place in project-based learning, and that teachers might include topics of certain subjects into the project units without realizing it. This should be further researched, however. The issues identified in the problem analyses were used to design an international MOOC that is suitable especially for biology teachers. The course ”Project-based learning and the theory behind it – create your own project!” was created on the Moodle-platform of the University of Helsinki. In addition to this, a phased model for creating professional development in a situation where the studied materials can be used both to direct the design process and as materials on the course was created. The framework that was created for the analyses in this study can also be further used and developed to study how characteristics of project-based learning are represented in other cases where teachers’ and students’ project units are being studied. The study provided also new information about what is possible and feasible to study from the materials of StarT. New information was provided also of the project-based learning that takes place at the schools of the StarT participants, as they have not been researched from the perspective of the characteristics of project-based learning earlier.

Mindfulness is an increasingly used method both in sports and in educational contexts. One field where mindfulness is not quite used yet is horseback riding and riding pedagogy. Pre-vious research shows that mindfulness meditation can for example enhance concentration, body awareness and the acceptance of feelings. The aim of this study is to analyze how mindfulness can be used in riding pedagogy to support learning and improve the rider’s per-formance. The research questions are: Does mindful learning as a method promote teaching horseback riding? How do students experience the use of mindfulness in training? The research approach of the study was Design-Based Research. Also fenomenology was partly used. The collection of the data took place in April 2018 and the sample consists of eight (8) amateur equestrians. All the equestrians were women and some of them had horses partially as a profession, but mostly they were all leisure riders. All of them owned at least one horse and they rode several times a week. The respondents got a recorded body scan-meditation praxis that they were supposed to listen to at least six (6) times in two weeks time. Further, they all got an individual focus area, which they were ought to concen-trate on extra carefully. For example, one individual focus area was the stability in the pel-vis. Both observation and qualitative semi structured interviews were used as research methods. The material was analyzed inductively. The results show that mindfulness has a place in modern riding pedagogy – the respond-ents had positive experiences of using mindfulness in riding. Their experiences varied sligthly, depending on earlier experiences. Also attitude and temperament can affect how the respondents feel about using mindfulness in riding. It is commonly known that the horse is the mirror of the rider, and the respondents in the study confirmed that. All of them wit-nessed that the horse gave immediate response when the rider herself was more mindful and aware of the situation and her own body. They also experienced that their body awa-reness increased and they felt they could better accept their own weaknesses. A renewal of riding pedagogy was welcomed. More pedagogical methods, where both the rider and the horse feel safe, are needed.

The purpose of this user-centred design-based research was to design trousers individually for a young woman who has special needs for trouser's functional considerations due to a spinal cord injury. In addition to the functionality of the product, the trousers also had to respond to the user needs for her expressive and aesthetic preferences. Earlier studies show that there are not enough fitting, functional and at the same time aesthetically pleasing clothes for physically disabled people. The framework for user needs was based on the FEA consumer needs model developed by Lamb and Kallal (1992), which focuses all functional, expressive and aesthetic considerations to recognize consumer needs and wishes for apparel design. From the user data collection, qualitative content analysis gathered the essential issues and themes to identify the user profile, the context of a use-situation and the needs of the user for the design of the trousers. The gathered material showed the user's need for two different types of trousers: classic and timeless jeans and sporty trousers for casual use. Based on the results and interpretations of the design analysis, the trousers were developed in three different versions: the first jeans, the further developed jeans and the sporty trousers for casual use. The user evaluated the usability of three trousers by Nielsen's (1993) five-point grading scale in each stage of the development process. The comparative starting point for the evaluation was user's everyday trousers used before her disability. According to the evaluation, development on the trousers occurred, when the further jeans and the sporty trousers for casual use corresponded to all the functional, expressive and aesthetic needs of the user. This research provides concrete practical implementation solutions for the functional considerations of an individually designed trousers, but also provides a perspective on the aesthetic and expressive aspects of apparel design. The results of the study confirm Lamb's and Kallal's (1992) view that the functionality, expressiveness and aesthetics of the apparel are not mutually exclusive, as the individually designed adaptive apparel can also be of one's own style.