Mona Holmqvist Olander

Learning Study Guided by Variation Theory: Exemplified by Children Learning to Halve and Double Whole Numbers.

This study aims to describe how the learning study model can be used to improve lesson design and children’s learning outcomes by enabling them to perceive and define the critical aspects of the object of learning, guided by variation theory. Three lesson designs were used with three groups of children (A = 24, B = 13, C = 14) from two schools. The results of the first design were analyzed before the second lesson was designed and conducted in a new group, and the results of the second were analyzed before the third was designed. The patterns of variation were based on simultaneous discernment of a base amount and half or double that amount. This was made to prevent the children from understanding doubling as just copying the original amount without including the original amount in the total sum, giving the double of 4 is 4 instead of 8. The use of varied original amounts made the children separate the concepts double and half from the amount, to conceive them as relative, rather than constant, values. The results show increased learning outcomes in all groups; however, differences between pre- and posttest were significant only for Group B (p = .015).

Social Review as a Tool for Developing Social Skills: Using Contrasting Cases

The aim of this study is to, based on a theory of learning, compare in what ways two different cases of the use of self-monitoring videotapes for developing social skills in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) facilitates social behavior studied with a micro-level approach. Two verbal 15-year-old male students with ASD and cognitive disabilities were filmed for 20 min in three different situations. Student A (Adam) was shown contrasting videotaped examples of his desired/undesired behaviors and questioned about his perceptions. Based on variation theory, the conjecture to use contrasts to enhance learning has been implemented. Student B (Bill) was videotaped in three different situations on three different occasions, and his behavior was analyzed before and after the intervention by counting incidents of deviant behavior in all nine videos. Both participants expressed increased awareness of their behavior and were able to sustain change, and Bill decreased deviant behavior in one of the focused situations (practical instruction) from 37 to 3 incidents after 6 months.

Theorising teaching and learning: pre-service teachers’ theoretical awareness of learning

We examine pre-service teachers’ theoretical learning during one five-week training module, and their educators’ learning about better lecture design to foster student learning. The study is iterative: interventions (one per group) were implemented sequentially in student groups A–C, the results of the previous intervention serving as the baseline for the design developed for the next. These learning study participants, 79 students from year three of a teacher training programme, studied the variation theory (VT) of learning. Three lesson cycles were completed, each comprising four steps: (1) a pre-test, (2) a 15-min intervention discussing VT, (3) a post-test and (4) a delayed post-test conducted eight weeks later. The results indicated learning differences between groups; qualitative analysis identified three categories of student answers, i.e. emergent, premature and unaware, regarding their theoretical understanding. Group C had more students with emergent knowledge (36%) than did groups A (20%) or B (17%) at post-testing.

Exploring the impact of contrasting cases in text and picture processing

Abstract Multimodal learning materials are frequently met in education assuming enhanced learning outcomes. This study examined whether contrasts in such materials are likely to support reading comprehension for all readers. Young adults (n=46) met either text-only or text+picture material. Participants (19 with low phonological awareness [PA] and 27 controls with high PA) thereafter answered open interview questions to check for reading comprehension. Learning materials were designed to focus readers on aspects critical to understanding the content by the use of contrasts; eye-tracking was used as method. Well-known pictures aided information recall, but contrasts described in the text were most effective for learning.

The Effect of Illustration on Improving Text Comprehension in Dyslexic Adults

This study analyses the effect of pictures in reading materials on the viewing patterns of dyslexic adults. By analysing viewing patterns using eye‐tracking, we captured differences in eye movements between young adults with dyslexia and controls based on the influence of reading skill as a continuous variable of the total sample. Both types of participants were assigned randomly to view either text‐only or a text + picture stimuli. The results show that the controls made an early global overview of the material and (when a picture was present) rapid transitions between text and picture. Having text illustrated with a picture decreased scores on questions about the learning material among participants with dyslexia. Controls spent 1.7% and dyslexic participants 1% of their time on the picture. Controls had 24% fewer total fixations; however, 29% more of the control groups fixations than the dyslexic groups fixations were on the picture. We also looked for effects of different types of pictures. Dyslexic subjects exhibited a comparable viewing pattern to controls when scenes were complex, but fewer fixations when scenes were neutral/simple. Individual scan paths are presented as examples of atypical viewing patterns for individuals with dyslexia as compared with controls.

Chapter 4 Using Learning Study as in-Service Training for Preschool Teachers

The main focus of this study is preschool teachers’ own learning from a specific course aimed to develop their knowledge of how to use learning study (LS) in preschool. The study included 24 qualified and experienced preschool teachers who took part in the course. The course was funded by the Swedish National Agency for Education and the teachers were chosen by their municipal employers. An analysis is made of their experiences of the in-service course on LS and variation theory. The 24 preschool teachers were divided into seven groups, each of which implemented one LS. A total of 162 preschool children participated. After the course, the participants were asked, “How do you think LS can contribute in preschool?” Their answers were analyzed, and six qualitatively different categories were found, capturing their different perspectives. In the studies reported in this chapter, the results of the childrens learning outcomes are also briefly reported to offer readers a background understanding of the teachers’ experiences. The childrens learning outcomes did all show an improvement. In describing their experiences of the in-service training using LS, all of the 24 participating preschool teachers reported that their understanding of childrens learning had changed and improved. They specifically mentioned having a stronger focus on content than before, seeing the difference between learning and method by separating them, and focus on the learning of a defined content in the first place.

Theory-based instruction – a key to powerful improvements when learning to regulate body tension in an upper secondary school

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore in what way gradually increasing teachers’ theory-based instruction affects the students’ learning outcomes, illustrated by the example of learning how to regulate body tension in the upper secondary school. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 72 students from four classes participated in the study. The way the students were offered to understand “regulation of tension” was designed by variation theory, and the method used was learning study, an iterative process whereby the results from the first lesson are the basis for the design of the next implementation in a new group of students. Findings – There is a significant increased learning outcome in all four lessons, but in Lesson D, where the highest increase (129 percent) was found, all students improved their results. The use of the theoretical framework had effect on the teachers to vary only the most important aspects in the instruction in the last cycle, where the features chiselled out during th...

Teaching democracy – a complex object of learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a learning study with a complex object of learning – democracy. Design/methodology/approach – The study consists of four research lessons in four different classes in grade 6. In the study two teachers, 78 students and two researchers participated. In the first lesson (A) 21 students participated, in the second class (B) 17, in the third class (C) 21 and in the last lesson (D) 19 students. The research lessons were 80 minutes each, designed based on variation. The students took a pre-test before the lesson and a post-test after. Findings – The results show the relationship between the pattern of variation used by the teacher during the lesson and students’ learning outcome. In lesson A contrast was used between democracy and dictatorship. In lesson B the aspects were varied due to the discussions between the teacher and the students that resulted in less focus on the whole perspective. The design of lesson C offered students a sequential presentation of t...

Transforming new curriculum objectives into classroom instruction with the aid of learning studies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report a case study that qualitatively describes and analyses teachers’ discussions when planning and evaluating lessons under supervision, and what is described is the focus on their reasoning, the activities decided upon and how they decided to assess the pupils’ learning outcomes when transforming formal curriculum objectives for English as a foreign language (EFL) into classroom instruction. The effect of this transformation, expressed in different ways of designing lessons, is evaluated by assessing the pupils’ learning outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – The content analysis is based on variation theory. An iteratively designed method, the learning study, is used and data from five teacher meetings in this iterative process is analysed. Findings – The analysis shows that the areas the teachers focus on initially are: implementation (activities); content; and pupils’ knowledge, prioritised in this order, even if they partly seem to be intertwined and hand...

Understandings of climate change articulated by Swedish secondary school students

Abstract This study investigated beliefs about climate change among Swedish secondary school students at the end of their K-12 education. An embedded mixed method approach was used to analyse 51 secondary school students’ written responses to two questions: (1) What implies climate change? (2) What affects climate? A quantitative analysis of the responses revealed that ‘Earth’, ‘human’ and ‘greenhouse effect’ were frequent topics regarding the first question, and ‘pollution’, ‘atmosphere’ and ‘Earth’ were frequent regarding the second. A qualitative analysis, based on a ‘conceptual elements’ framework, focused on three elements within responses: atmosphere (causes and/or consequences), Earth (causes and consequences) and living beings (humans and/or animals and their impacts on climate change). It revealed a predominantly general or societal, rather than individual, perspective underlying students’ responses to the second question. The ability to connect general/societal issues with individual issues relating to climate change could prompt students to reflect on the contributions of individuals towards climate change mitigation, thereby constituting a basis for decision-making to promote a sustainable environment. Although the students did not discuss climate changes from an individual perspective, their statements revealed their understanding of climate change as a system comprising various components affecting the overall situation. They also revealed an understanding of the difference between weather and climate.