Maija Aksela

A Professional Development Project for Improving the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Science Teaching

This article describes a professional development project aiming to develop practical approaches for the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into science education. Altogether, 13 two‐day face‐to‐face seminars and numerous computer network conferences were held during a three‐year period. The goals for the project were based on the general goals of the Finnish national framework curriculum and ICT strategy. Self‐evaluation data showed that participating teachers had used ICT extensively and integrated it into their science education programmes during the project. The ICT competence of the participating teachers increased substantially. Based on the results of the project, it can be suggested that professional development projects for science teachers in the use of ICT should emphasise the following: (i) empowerment (co‐planning of the project and its activities, and dissemination, allocation of resources, and authentic evaluation); (ii) communication (ensuring a flow of ideas and creativity, allowing communication and reflection in small groups and in optimal locations); and (iii) context (integration of ICT into teaching methods and cumulative development of competencies in the teachers who use it).

Computer-based molecular modelling: Finnish school teachers’ experiences and views

Modern computer-based molecular modelling opens up new possibilities for chemistry teaching at different levels. This article presents a case study seeking insight into Finnish school teachers’ use of computer-based molecular modelling in teaching chemistry, into the different working and teaching methods used, and their opinions about necessary support. The study suggests that most of the teachers studied need personally to discover the benefits of molecular modelling in their own work that illustrate on a practical level how molecular modelling can provide added value for teaching and understanding school chemistry. Teachers state that they need more pedagogical and technical training in molecular modelling so they can use it more and effectively in their own teaching. Furthermore, there is a need for easily adaptable learning and teaching materials to be made available to teachers in their domestic teaching language.

Evidence-based teacher education: becoming a lifelong research-oriented chemistry teacher?

A novel professional development curriculum model has been implemented for a chemistry teacher education programme. The aim of this five-year programme is to educate future chemistry teachers as lifelong learners and researchers, capable of following developments in both chemistry and its teaching, implementing up-to-date research findings in their work as teachers and engaging in research on chemistry teaching. All eight courses for chemical education on the programme are developed with regard to research findings on course instruction. As an example of the design of an evidence-based course, a case study is presented on the M.Sc. course ‘Central Areas of Chemical Education I’ which conveys students’ views of the characteristics of a teacher as researcher. Based on nine years of experience and some studies of students’ views, it can be concluded that this type of evidence-based teacher education emphasising inquiry-based learning can help future teachers to become lifelong research-oriented teachers.

A novel course of chemistry as a scientific discipline:how do prospective teachers perceive nature of chemistry through visits to research groups?

To achieve sufficient pedagogical content knowledge on nature of chemistry related issues, teachers need structured opportunities for reflection and discussion. One way to provide those opportunities is through teacher-scientist interaction. This study is based on reflective essays of thirty prospective teachers who participated in a new course about the nature of chemistry and its implications for teaching, organized by the Chemistry Teacher Education Unit in the Department of Chemistry. As a part of the course, prospective teachers visited various research groups, discussed chemical research with the researchers, and wrote reflective essays about their experiences. The nature of chemistry related issues the students perceived when participating in teacher-scientist interaction during these visits were identified from their essays by qualitative content analysis. According to this analysis, students made observations about i) chemical research as an inquiry, ii) the collaborative nature of chemical research, and iii) the relationship of chemical research and society. The visit provided prospective teachers with opportunities for reflection on several ideas-about-science central to understanding the nature of chemistry. However, teacher-scientist interaction and research group visits are not an all-inclusive context for teaching nature of science related issues in chemistry. For some issues, a historical approach or the discussion and critical evaluation of the scientific arguments seemed to be more fruitful ways of approaching the topics.

Toward citizenship science education : what students do to make the world a better place?

ABSTRACT With increased focus on sustainability and socioscientific issues, dealing with issues related to citizenship is now seen as an important element of science education. However, in order to make the world a better place, mere understanding about socioscientific issues is not enough. Action must also be taken. In this study, 35 international gifted students—potential scientists—aged 15–19 were interviewed to investigate what they were doing to make the world a better place. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with focus on students’ actions toward a better world, their rationalizations for such actions, and the role of science in the rationalizations. The analysis shows that students consciously take a wide range of actions, and that they see citizenship as a process of constant self-development. The three categories created to highlight the variation in the ways students take action were personally responsible actions, participatory actions, and preparing for future. Although many students saw that science and scientists play a big role in solving especially the environmental problems, most of them also discussed the structural causes for problems, as well as the interplay of social, economic, and political forces. The results indicate that citizenship science education should take the variety of students’ actions into consideration, give students the possibility to take individual and participatory action, as well as give students opportunities to get to know and discuss the ways a career in science or engineering can contribute to saving the world.

Education for sustainable development in chemistry – challenges, possibilities and pedagogical models in Finland and elsewhere

This article analyses Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in chemistry by reviewing existing challenges and future possibilities on the levels of the teacher and the student. Pedagogical frameworks that are found eligible in practice are reviewed. Lesson themes that are suitable for implementing socio-scientific issues (SSI) related to ESD into basic chemistry education at schools are discussed. Based on this analysis, three new demonstrative pedagogical models for ESD in chemistry are presented to help guide the work of teachers. The models draw on an interdisciplinary reading of research in the field of SSI-based science education, sustainability science, green chemistry and environmental education. The current state of ESD in Finnish chemistry education is used as an example case throughout the article. Two tasks where future development is required were recognised. The first task concerns supporting chemistry teachers in overcoming the challenges with SSI and ESD they face in their work. The second task is to ensure that students are more often provided with more relevant and flexible chemistry content and studying methods.

Luma Science Education Centre

The Finnish youth’s competence in mathematics and natural sciences is top-level among the OECD countries. However, it has been found that 15-years-old youths’ level of interest towards these subjects is quite low according to the PISA results. The National LUMA Centre (LUMA stands for the Finnish terms for natural sciences and mathematics) was launched in 2004 to serve as a collaborative organisation between universities, schools and business sector.

Inspiration, Joy, and Support of Stem for Children, Youth and Teachers through the Innovative Luma Collaboration

The collaborative LUMA ecosystem encourages universities, schools, teachers, students, guardians, and the industry to collaborate and engage children and young people from age 3 to 19 in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and teachers at all levels in life-long professional development.

The potential of the non-formal educational sector for supporting chemistry learning and sustainability education for all students – a joint perspective from two cases in Finland and Germany

Non-formal education has been suggested as becoming more and more important in the last decades. As the aims of non-formal education are broad and diverse, a large variety of non-formal learning activities is available. One of the emerging fields in many countries, among them Finland and Germany, has been the establishment of non-formal laboratory learning environments. These laboratories were established in universities and research institutes to aim at enriching opportunities for primary and secondary school students to do more and more intense practical work, e.g. in chemistry. The primary rationale of these laboratories, in the beginning, was mainly to raise students’ interest in the fields of science and engineering, possibly inspiring them to pursue a career in these fields. However, recently the movement has started offering more programs aiming at all learners, but especially those students who are sometimes neglected in traditional science education in the formal sector. A focus on all learners is suggested to help raise students’ level of scientific literacy when connecting practical science learning with the societal and environmental perspectives of science. Chemistry learning connected to sustainability issues offers many contemporary topics that are often not yet part of the chemistry formal curriculum but can easily form contexts for non-formal learning. Because of its flexible character, non-formal education can help implementing aspects of sustainability into chemistry education and also can take a gander at the growing heterogeneity of todays students. This paper derives a joint perspective from two non-formal chemistry education initiatives from Finland and Germany focusing education for sustainability for both talented and educationally disadvantaged students in the foreground of a more general perspective on non-formal and sustainability education in chemistry.

Relevance of Non-Formal Education in Science Education

In the past decade there have been numerous studies that have indicated that mathematics and science education is unpopular among youth (Osborne, Simon, & Collins, 2003). Researchers believe that one of the reasons behind this is that the youth often see science education as irrelevant to their everyday lives and to society (Gilbert, 2006).