Sirpa Kärkkäinen

Career-related instruction promoting students’ career awareness and interest towards science learning

The aim of this study was to investigate how career-related instruction implemented in secondary school chemistry education concerning water issues influences students’ career awareness and their interest towards science learning. This case study is part of a larger design-based research study for the EU-MultiCO project, which focuses on promoting students’ scientific career awareness and attractiveness by introducing them to career-based scenarios at the beginning of the instruction unit. The participants in this study were three eighth-grade classes with 46 students in total, and 2 science teachers. Data consisted of observations throughout the intervention and a questionnaire which the students took afterwards. Descriptive statistics taken from the questionnaire were used together with the content analysis of open questions and observation notes. The results reveal that the students acquired knowledge about science, science-related careers and working life skills and that they enjoyed studying chemistry and engaged in learning during the intervention. The students recognized the need for professionals and their responsibilities as well as the importance of water-related issues as global and local problems, but these issues were not personally important or valuable to students. The type of career-related instruction discussed in this paper can give guidelines for how to develop teaching to promote students’ science career awareness, trigger students’ interest and engage them in science learning.

Pre-service teachers' experiences of scaffolded learning in science through a computer supported collaborative inquiry

Scaffolding helps the novice to accomplish a task goal or solve a problem that otherwise would be beyond unassisted efforts. Scaffolding firstly aims to support the learner in accomplishing the task and secondly in learning from the task and improving future performance. This study has examined pre-service teachers’ experiences of technologyenhanced/computer-supported collaborative inquiry learning when studying the anatomy of fish. The study investigated pre-service teachers’ experiences of scaffolded use of a Wiki in structuring a dissection inquiry activity combined with scaffolded use of digital imaging to support problematizing during the sense making process. Quantitative data on the benefits experienced by the pre-service teachers in using the Wiki and in digital imaging were collected through responses to questions posted through an online questionnaire. Structure equation modeling was used to investigate the relationship between scaffolding with the Wiki and the experienced benefits of using technology. The use of structural scaffolding with the Wiki was not seen to be directly related to the experienced benefits. In encouraging knowledge acquisition and supporting deeper thinking on the topic, digital imaging had the strongest positive relationship to the experienced benefits of the technology, but there was no direct relationship with the use of the Wiki. However, scaffolding by structuring the activity with the Wiki had meditational, indirect, effects through visualizations and peer support to intentional and active participation and thus the scaffolds were working during the inquiry synergistically. For teacher education this means that pre-service teachers may recognize the benefits of using technology only through a significant experience and thus under value the role of the technology itself.

Fourth graders’ perceptions about medicines and medicine use

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the development of medicine education by examining pupils’ perceptions of medicines and medicine use. Design/methodology/approach – Fourth graders’ (n=51, aged 10-11) perceptions about medicines and their use were collected in one school through mixed-methods using a questionnaire, a drawing and discussions. Findings – Listing several over-the-counter medicines, pupils most frequently perceived that medicines are meant for treating headaches, wounds or temporarily when they are sick or have some pain, and that medicines help to ease symptoms and speed recovery. Pupils mentioned getting information about medicines from the pharmacist, the internet, the physician, as well as from medical packages. Research limitations/implications – This study was carried out in one school context and is therefore not necessarily generalizable, it does, however, bring an awareness of concrete pedagogical needs to the debate on health education and was conducted using m...

Implementing Education for Sustainable Development in Namibia: School Teachers’ Perceptions and Teaching Practices

Abstract Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been viewed as education that helps people develop the attitude, skills, and knowledge to make well-informed decisions for the benefit of the present and future generations. It aims at providing quality education through shared understanding and multi-disciplinary approaches in meeting the developmental and environmental apprehension for a sustainable future. Many theorists envisaged ESD as enhancing active involvement of learners both in school and out of school learning initiatives to acquire knowledge about sustainable development issues. The present paper discusses Namibian school teachers’ (n=9) perceptions of ESD and the teachers’ teaching practices using a qualitative-explorative study design. The data were gathered through two semi-structured interviews and lesson observations. The findings have revealed that senior secondary school teachers perceive ESD in terms of knowledge acquisition about the environment in order to use its resources sustainably for the benefit of future generations. The study has also revealed that teachers have positive sentiment toward the inclusion of ESD into the senior secondary school curriculum. Following this, they suggested that ESD should be either implemented as an independent subject or integrated with other existing subjects as a multi-disciplinary subject.

Nordic Student Teachers’ Views on the Importance of Species and Species Identification

ABSTRACT People’s knowledge about nature, their interest in nature, their nature experiences, and their values and emotions regarding nature are factors that promote people’s positive views on environmental issues and sustainability. Knowing the variation and patterns in teachers’ and student teachers’ views is an essential step in considering the ways in which sustainability might be interpreted and enacted in schools and in teacher education. The aim of this study is to analyze student teachers’ views on the importance of species and species identification in general and as a part of their professional development regarding their understanding of biodiversity and sustainability. A total of 426 student teachers in Finland, Norway, and Sweden answered a questionnaire consisting of fixed and open-ended questions. Mixed methods were used: t test and analysis of variance for quantitative data and inductive and deductive, model-based content analysis for qualitative data. According to the majority of student teachers (85%), both species identification and biodiversity are important for sustainability; species identification in general was important to 58% of them. Their statements about importance contained mostly ecological views (46%), followed by emotional (17%), educational (16%), and utilitarian (11%) views. The remainder of the student teachers’ statements (10%) contained negativistic or indifferent views. The reasons for the low percentage of educational views are discussed. The implications of the results for teacher education worldwide are emphasized, especially the importance of those teaching methods that have the potential to increase student teachers’ understanding of sustainability.

The effects of socio-scientific issue based inquiry learning on pupils’ representations of landscape

Abstract Research has demonstrated that socio-scientific issues based inquiry learning has significant advantages for learning outcomes and students’ motivation. Further, a successful understanding of landscapes in environmental and geographical education can be achieved by combining informal learning environments with school education. Therefore this case study focuses on how socio-scientific issues based inquiry learning carried out in school and in a Nature Park, influences primary school pupils’ (n = 36) representations of landscapes. The pupils were asked to draw and write about landscape both before and after intervention. The data was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to investigate the impact of the intervention on the representations that pupils used in their descriptions of landscape. It was found that socio-scientific issues based inquiry learning in varied learning environments, noticeably enriched the pupil’s representations and lead to a multifaceted holistic understanding of landscape. Many of the representations produced were considered to be fairly sophisticated.

Collaborative Processes in Species Identification Using an Internet-Based Taxonomic Resource.

ABSTRACT Visual databases are increasingly important resources through which individuals and groups can undertake species identification. This paper reports research on the collaborative processes undertaken by pre-service teacher students when working in small groups to identify birds using an Internet-based taxonomic resource. The student groups are conceptualised as ‘knowledge-building communities’ working in a ‘joint problem space’ comprising the collective knowledge of the participants interacting with the taxonomic database. Collaborative group work and associated dialogue were recorded with digital video. The recordings were analysed for the categories of dialogue and the categories of knowledge used by the students as they interacted with the taxonomic database and how they drew on their previous experiences of identifying birds. The outcomes are discussed in the context of the interplay of individual and social processes and the interplay between abstraction and lived experience in the joint problem space.