Translating student diversity

The dissertation examines how German universities respond to student diversity in the context of the widening participation agenda and how variations in organizational responses can be explained. As a theoretical framework, the study builds on Scandinavian institutionalism (Czarniawska & Joerges, 1996) that seeks to understand how organizations interpret institutional pressures and how these interpretations affect their daily organizational practices (Boxenbaum & Strangaard Pedersen, 2009; Sahlin & Wedlin, 2008). The study chooses the QPL funding program as one concrete example for a soft steering instrument within the widening participation agenda. To account for local variations, this study builds on a multiple case study design including three universities that participated in the QPL funding program and differ in type of institution, location and institutional profile. Data sources from the three case study universities include publicly accessible text materials, semi-structured interviews, group discussions and protocols from participatory observations. The processes of data collection and analysis were guided by strategies of grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The findings indicate how diversely universities interpreted the idea of student diversity in the context of the QPL initiative. Here the study explores not only how universities translate the institutional demand rhetorically or make ceremonial decisions, but also how these translations affect their daily routines and activities of teaching and studying. In addition, the results support theoretical assumptions that the act of interpretation is guided by institutional beliefs and norms that derive from the local context (Boxenbaum & Jonsson, 2008). The study identified institutional characteristics and dominant diversity paradigms as explanatory factors for local variations. Finally, in accordance with Scandinavian institutionalism, the study pays special attention to how the idea of student diversity is materialized on the level of concrete actions at German universities. Using the coding paradigm (Corbin & Strauss, 1990), the study identified seven organizational practices to deal with student diversity that differ not only in their definitions of student diversity but also in terms of the contextual conditions in which they appear

Participatory Instructional Design: a contradiction in terms?

This dissertation is an inquiry into the apparent absence of participatory approaches in instructional design (ID). It explores the question what happens when ID becomes participatory? with the help of three articles. The first article proposes a new approach in ID called Participatory ID, which incorporates principles and techniques of participatory design (PD), a software design approach that calls for genuine user involvement in the design, development, implementation, and maintenance of educational technology. Article 2 explores the feasibility of such an approach in higher education by studying an authentic case of participatory design and development of an electronic portfolio system by its users, namely, by Ph.D. students and faculty members. The design team consisted of 8 Ph.D. students, 1 faculty member, and 1 systems analyst at a large Midwestern US university. The study used qualitative methods to identify activities and processes invented by the design team members to satisfactorily complete their design task. The study also explored ways in which these activities reflected PD principles. Findings indicated five key factors that characterized the design process: (1) maintaining transparency of work processes, (2) continued invoking of the design ethos, (3) maintaining a sense of community, (4) embedding design in user context, and (5) recursive design. Article 3 presents a microanalysis of the participatory ID process described in article 2. It studies the use of language in user-designer conversation during design work. The goal of this article was to understand how design team members used language to negotiate power differences that typically arise when multiple stakeholders participate in a design project. The study used Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough, 1995), a research approach from sociolinguistics and influenced by critical theory, to examine user-designer conversation from the first year of the electronic portfolio design project. Analysis indicated a strong use of modality (words such as would, could, need to ), cohesion ( and, therefore, then ), and intertextuality (repeating or revoicing other people\u27s utterances), which seems to have helped create a non-threatening atmosphere and support a critical, democratic, and constructive environment for creative design work

An analysis of the role of the textbook in the construction of accounting knowledge

This report examines the role of the textbook and training manual in the teaching of introductory financial accounting. Although it has long been recognised that the textbook plays an important role in the education process, the issue has not been systematically examined in a comprehensive manner with respect to the teaching of introductory financial accounting. Based on research carried out in 2005, the current report addresses this issue. It does so using a research framework proposed by Thompson (1990) which recommends a comprehensive approach to the understanding of texts involving three separate aspects: the production of the textbook/training manual; the content of the textbook/training manual; the usage of the textbook/training manual

Conflicting Approaches to User Information Seeking Education in Scandinavian Web-Based Tutorials

The purpose of this paper is to make visible different approaches to university librarians’ professional expertise such as they are mediated through user information seeking education. The empirical basis of the study consists of an analysis of 31 web-based tutorials in information literacy accessible via Scandinavian university libraries’ web-sites. The results make apparent four, sometimes conflicting, approaches to user information seeking education expressed in the tutorials: a source approach, a behavior approach, a process approach and a communication approach. These approaches disclose different ways of defining central concepts such as information, information seeking and the user. A study of attitudes to user education is important as attitudes entail practical consequences for the operation of user education

Dimensions of learning mathematics via technology

Mathematics is a comprehensive, even esthetical experience, affecting a person intellectually, emotionally and physically. The purpose of this study is to determine and examine the dimensions of technology-enhanced mathematics learning. The three learning domains cognitive, psychomotor and affective, ranging from uncomplicated to more complex learning outcomes, as defined by Bloom, have been used a great deal in mathematics pedagogy (Krathwohl, Bloom, & Masia, 1964). This study goes deeper and also examines motivation theory and learning theories when applying technology to the teaching of mathematics. To get a broad picture of the impact of these dimensions on mathematics learning via technology, research was conducted in an array of contexts, including South Af-rica, Mozambique, Germany and Finland. The cross-cultural and cross-countries ap-proach was chosen to ensure wider generalizability of the research. The study invol-ved an action design research (ADR) approach of creating and evaluating artifacts; (i) a novel pedagogical INBECOM model for mathematics learning advocating both behavioristic and constructivist perspectives, and (ii) a newly designed and created story-based UFractions mobile game for learning of fractions incorporating tangible manipulatives. In particular, the affective domain of participants in the study was being studied throughout a ten-year research process from 2009 to 2019. The INBECOM pedagogical model was tested by organizing a fraction course for 21 grade 10 students. The development and evaluation of the pedagogical INBECOM model gives a concrete example of how two learning approaches, constructivism and behaviourism, can be combined in teaching fractions. Furthermore, the results of the qualitative evaluation confirm the view that successful instructional practices have features that are supported by both constructivism and behaviorism. The UFractions mobile game was evaluated with 305 grade 8 students and 12 teachers. Empirical tests indicate that combining concrete manipulatives and mobile phones is a meaningful way to learn the abstract concept of fractions, increasing active student participation. On the basis of the collected data, I initiated a taxonomy for the variety of play motivations in the UFractions game. The dynamics between game motivations and disturbance factors (DF) was analysed. Each motivation relates to a set of DFs typically affecting the player motivation negatively. By becoming aware of these relations, we are able to design more motivating educational games and give guidelines for game developers, users and educators. To explore the affective learning experiences of the three groups of research participants, the qualitative data was derived from the interviews with researchers, teachers and students, as well as from learning diaries, feelings blogs, observations (311 documents) and quantitized (Saldaña, 2009). All the data was explored from the affective perspective, by labelling the feelings the participants experienced according to the affective levels of the Krathwohl et al. (1964) framework. I concluded that affective learning at all five levels was recognized among the three groups of participants. However, the results show that affective learning mostly took place at the receiving level, indicating that the participants received more than they responded, valued, organized or internalized. There was also a significant effect of research participants pertaining to receive; students’ affective learning occurred more at the receiving level than that of the teachers; and teachers’ affective learning emerged more at the value level. Moreover, I define a dimension taxonomy of learning to be used as a framework in the design and implementation of technology-enhanced mathematics teaching and learning including the following three dimensions: (i) Domains of learning, (ii) Orientation of learning, and (iii) Motivation of learning. More precisely, the five domains of learning are cognitive, psychomotor, affective, interpersonal, and intra-personal. Considering orientation of learning, combining behaviorism and constructivism, would lead to more motivating and meaningful teaching and learning strategies. Furthermore, the level of technology integration, the level of students’ cognitive process, and the level of teachers’ knowledge, are intertwined. Motivational fac-tors are an essential part of learning, and it is important to acknowledge connections between motivations and disturbances, when using technology.--- Matematiikka on moniulotteinen kokemus vaikuttaen henkilöön älyllisesti ja tunnetasolla samalla kytkeytyen myös fyysiseen ulottuvuuteen. Tämä tutkimus määrittää ja tarkastelee teknologia-avusteisen matematiikan oppimisen dimensioita. Bloomin määrittämät kolme oppimisen osa-aluetta, kognitiivinen, psykomotorinen ja affektiivinen, jotka etenevät yksinkertaisista monimutkaisempiin oppimisen tasoihin, ovat olleet laajasti käytössä matematiikan pedagogiikassa (Krathwohl, Bloom & Masia, 1964). Tämä tutkimus laajentaa käsitystä oppimisesta tutkimalla motivaatio ja oppimisteorioita sekä niiden käytännön soveltamista matematiikan opetuksessa teknologian avulla. Laajan ymmärryksen saavuttamiseksi siitä, miten nämä tekijät vaikuttavat matematiikan oppimiseen teknologian avulla, tutkimusta toteutettiin monissa eri ympäristöissä, mukaan lukien EteläAfrikka, Mosambik, Saksa ja Suomi. Tutkimuksessa huomioitiin kulttuuriset ja kansainväliset näkökulmat tulosten laajemman yleistettävyyden varmistamiseksi. Tutkimus hyödynsi suunnittelutoimintatutkimuksen (Action Design Research, ADR) menetelmää artefaktien luomiseksi ja evaluoimiseksi: (i) uudenlaista behavioristisia ja konstruktivistisia näkökulmia yhdistävää pedagogista INBECOM-mallia matematiikan oppimiseen, ja (ii) käsinkosketeltavia matematiikan apuvälineitä hyödyntävää UFractions-mobiilipeliä murtolukujen oppimiseen. Erityisesti osallistujien affektiivista oppimista tutkittiin kymmenen vuoden tutkimusprosessin aikana vuosina 2009–2019. INBECOM-pedagogista mallia testattiin järjestämällä murtolukukurssi kansanopiston 10luokalle, jolla oli 21 oppilasta. Pedagogisen INBECOMmallin kehitys ja arviointi antavat konkreettisen esimerkin siitä, miten kahden oppimisteorian, konstruktivismin ja behaviorismin, voi yhdistää murtolukujen opetuksessa. Lisäksi laadullisen arvioinnin tulokset vahvistavat käsitystä siitä, että menestyksellisillä opetusmenetelmillä on piirteitä, jotka hyödyntävät sekä konstruktivistisia että behavioristisia periaatteita. UFractions-mobiilipeli arvioitiin 305 8-luokan opiskelijan ja 12 opettajan avulla. Empiiriset testit osoittavat, että konkreettisten apuvälineiden ja matkapuhelimien yhdistäminen on mielekäs tapa oppia abstrakti murtoluvun käsite ja edistää opiskelijoiden aktiivista osallistumista. Kerätyn datan perusteella kehitettiin taksonomia UFractions-pelin pelimotivaatioista. Pelimotivaatioiden ja häiriötekijöiden (Disturbance Factors, DF) välistä dynamiikkaa analysoitiin. Jokainen motivaatio liittyy tiettyihin häiriötekijöihin, jotka yleensä vaikuttavat pelaajan motivaatioon negatiivisesti. Näiden suhteiden tiedostaminen auttaa suunnittelemaan motivoivampia opetuspelejä ja antaa suuntaviivoja pelikehittäjille, käyttäjille ja opettajille. Affektiivisen oppimisen kokemusten tutkimiseksi tutkimukseen osallistuneiden kolmen ryhmän dataa tarkasteltiin laadullisen tutkimuksen keinoin; tutkijoiden, opettajien ja opiskelijoiden haastattelut, oppimispäiväkirjat, tunneblogi sekä havainnot (311 asiakirjaa) kvantifioitiin (Saldaña, 2009). Kaikki data analysoitiin affektiivisesta näkökulmasta merkitsemällä osallistujien kokemat tunteet Krathwohlin ym. (1964) viitekehyksen affektiivisten tasojen mukaisesti. Tutkimus osoitti, että affektiivista oppimista tunnistettiin kolmen osallistujaryhmän keskuudessa kaikilla viidellä tasolla. Tulokset osoittavat kuitenkin, että affektiivinen oppiminen tapahtui pääasiassa vastaanottotasolla, mikä viittaa siihen, että osallistujat vastaanottivat enemmän kuin he vastasivat, arvostivat, järjestivät tai sisäistivät. Myös osallistujaryhmien affektiivista oppimista koskevat tulokset vaihtelivat merkittävästi: opiskelijoiden affektiivinen oppiminen tapahtui enemmän matalammalla vastaanottotasolla kuin opettajien, ja opettajien affektiivinen oppiminen ilmeni enemmän korkeamman, arvotason oppimisena. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa määritellään oppimisen ulottuvuuksien taksonomia, jota käytetään teknologia-avusteisen matematiikan opetuksen ja oppimisen suunnittelussa ja toteutuksessa. Tähän kuuluu seuraavat kolme ulottuvuutta: (i) Oppimisen osa-alueet, (ii) Oppimisen orientaatio ja (iii) Oppimisen motivaatio. Tarkemmin sanottuna viisi oppimisen osa-aluetta ovat kognitiivinen, psykomotorinen, affektiivinen, interpersonaalinen ja intrapersonaalinen. Yhdistämällä behavioristisia ja konstruktivistisia elementtejä saadaan innostavia ja merkityksellisiä opetus ja oppimisstrategioita. Motivaatiotekijät ovat olennainen osa oppimista, ja teknologiaa käytettäessä on tärkeää tunnistaa yhteydet motivaation ja erilaisten häiriötekijöiden välillä. Lisäksi teknologian integraation taso, opiskelijoiden kognitiivinen prosessi ja opettajien tietotaso ovat kietoutuneet toisiinsa