Search results for "educational science"

Virtual reality as a recovering environment - Implications for design principles

2020

In this study, a simulated, VR-based environment was built and analyzed to explore if a VR environment can possess recovering effects. 61 university students tested a VR application depicting a forest and answered survey questions about the experience. The results showed that VR-environment can indeed have recovering effects. Moreover, when comparing to previous studies in real forests, the recovery effects were at similar levels. The study results suggest that as the VR-based environments can possess recovery effects, they can work as recovery environments at schools or similar environments. The study results offer implications for the designers and propose design principles to build recov…

Between theory and practice – foreign language teacher students’ cognition of oral proficiency and grammar teaching in Sweden

2019

The present study explores patterns of cognition among 14 foreign language (FL) teacher students in Sweden regarding teaching oral proficiency and grammar in French German, Italian and Spanish. It is based on reflective cumulative log texts written by the students during a theoretical course in FL pedagogy. The log texts were investigated using qualitative content analysis to uncover central themes and patterns of agency. The findings indicate, among other things, that the FL teacher students hold strong experience-based cognitions regarding teaching both oral proficiency and grammar, and that, regardless if their FL learning experiences at school were based on form-focused teaching or comm…

Temperamentally inhibited children are at risk for poorer maths performance : self-concept as mediator

2020

AbstractIt has repeatedly been found that temperamental inhibition and low academic achievement are associated with each other: children with cautious and wary or shy behaviour are at risk for low academic achievement. Several suggestions about the mechanism behind this association have been made, these highlighting for example, the fewer learning opportunities of cautious and wary children and more negative interaction between teachers and inhibited children. However, the empirical studies about these mechanisms are rare and, thus, they have remained unclear. This study examined whether children’s maths-related self-concept of ability acts as a mediator between their temperamental inhibiti…

Changing vocational special needs education : From teacher to developer

2019

Biographies can be used to examine changes in teaching and analyse how teachers experience education policies. This study focused on 11 vocational special needs education teachers (vocational SNE teachers) who wrote work-related memoirs. Six of them were also interviewed. Qualitative content analysis was used to determine how experienced SNE teachers describe the changes and challenges in vocational education and training since the 1970s. The findings suggested that the work of vocational SNE teachers has changed from segregated student-focused remedial instruction to planning and administrative work with indirect impact. Similarly, a change in competences is evident. The discipline “Specia…

Stories about transnational higher education (TNHE) : exploring Indonesian teachers’ imagined experiences of Finnish higher education

2019

We examined Indonesian school teachers’ perceptions and expectations about their professional learning, and their justifications for these, before they embarked on a transnational master’s programme carried out in both Indonesia and Finland. The data were collected using the method of empathy-based stories. The findings showed that the teachers expected the programme content, execution and internationality to impact positively on their professional learning, while negative professional learning scenarios were framed as stemming from a lack of personal motivation or lack of support from the Indonesian community. Moreover, the teachers expected to become more skilled professionals not only as…

Jedność nauki i dydaktyki a jakość kształcenia w szkolnictwie wyższym

2014

Highly cited educational technology journal articles: A descriptive and critical analysis

2022

Citations are valuable capital in the academy as the number of citations is the most frequently used indicator in evaluating the quality of papers, journals, researchers, and universities. Thus, the characteristics of highly cited articles (HCA) have become a common research topic but the approach has been mainly descriptive with no profound critical reflection of what kind of research is cited, where the research is from, where the research is published, and what do these things mean for edtech research. This paper contributes to this need by providing a descriptive and critical analysis of 200 highly cited articles from 10 edtech journals. To summarize the key findings, a ‘typical’ edtech…

The mismatch between teaching practices and curriculum goals in Norwegian Home Economics classes : a missed opportunity

2020

DOI 10.1080/20004508.2020.1816677 Current curriculum guidelines emphasise the importance of both nutrition education and the development of practical cooking skills in the school subject Food and Health (FH). This study aimed to explore teachers’ and students’ perspectives and experiences of current classroom practices in FH. Focus group discussions (FGDs) with teachers and students at three schools in Southern Norway were conducted and thematically analysed. Our findings suggest there is a mismatch between curriculum guidelines and teaching practices. Although teachers understood the benefits of nutrition education, practical cooking activities were prioritised. Three key themes were ident…

Effects of Prior Knowledge on Comprehending Text About Learning Strategies

2021

Good knowledge and skills in using different learning strategies is important for learning with understanding and even more critical during distance learning. Findings indicate that students tend to use and value ineffective learning strategies, thus there is need to educate students. This study aimed to analyze the possibility of using refutation text on learning strategies that students can study independently. The study examined how reported use of learning strategies and preexisting beliefs about the effectiveness of rehearsal and comprehension-oriented strategies relate to the comprehension of text about learning strategies, and how text comprehension is related to later use of strateg…

‘Human rights and democracy are not self-evident’ : Finnish student teachers’ perceptions on democracy and human rights education

2021

This article discusses democracy and human rights education (DHRE) in Finnish teacher education, drawing on existing literature, curricula and a survey of student teachers’ perceptions. Earlier studies suggested that DHRE in Finnish teacher education is unsystematic, implicit, and dependent on the teacher’s individual interests. These studies highlight a sense of national exceptionalism, where DHRE is assumed to be self-evident. In 2019, we conducted a survey of student teachers (n=300) in one university. Data content analysis reveals that student teachers now see DHRE as relevant and timely, and by no means self-evident. Student teachers believe that DHRE needs to be explicit and part of t…