Investing in home–preschool collaboration for understanding social worlds of multilingual children

In the present study, the critical role of education in promoting social and cultural sustainability is a premise for understanding learning opportunities that are actualized in the preschool context. Information and dialogue as forms of collaboration are investigated through a directed content analysis to interpret empirical data from an in-schooling model in two preschool units, with caregivers and educators with first languages other than Swedish. The analysis shows that collaboration is expressed in terms of information passed from educators to caregivers. The caregivers are not expected to have context-relevant experience to share with the educators. At the same time, however, caregivers are presented as the experts in knowing their child. The educators take the role of expert of knowing the caregivers, based on their earlier experience, and the in-schooling model is used as a tool to anticipate problems. Caregivers’ ‘active’ participation as advocates becomes primarily a question of fitting into the preschool. Two relevant interpretations of findings are discussed: 1) educators taking responsibility for collaboration and collaboration as a communicative space for dialogue, and 2) possible innovative ways of taking the child’s perspective on becoming a member within the new language and educational contexts

Play-Responsive Teaching in Early Childhood Education

This open access book develops a theoretical concept of teaching that is relevant to early childhood education, and based on children’s learning and development through play. It discusses theoretical premises and research on playing and learning, and proposes the development of play-responsive didaktik. It examines the processes and products of learning and development, teaching and its phylogenetic and ontogenetic development, as well as the ‘what’ of learning and didaktik. Next, it explores the actions, objects and meaning of play and provides insight into the diversity of beliefs about the practices of play. The book presents ideas on how combined research and development projects can be carried out, providing incentive and a model for practice development and research. The second part of the book consists of empirical studies on teacher’s playing skills and examples of play with very young as well as older children

Hyaluronan impairs vascular function and drug delivery in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is characterised by stromal desmoplasia and vascular dysfunction, which critically impair drug delivery. This study examines the role of an abundant extracellular matrix component, the megadalton glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA), as a novel therapeutic target in PDA. METHODS: Using a genetically engineered mouse model of PDA, the authors enzymatically depleted HA by a clinically formulated PEGylated human recombinant PH20 hyaluronidase (PEGPH20) and examined tumour perfusion, vascular permeability and drug delivery. The preclinical utility of PEGPH20 in combination with gemcitabine was assessed by short-term and survival studies. RESULTS: PEGPH20 rapidly and sustainably depleted HA, inducing the re-expansion of PDA blood vessels and increasing the intratumoral delivery of two chemotherapeutic agents, doxorubicin and gemcitabine. Moreover, PEGPH20 triggered fenestrations and interendothelial junctional gaps in PDA tumour endothelia and promoted a tumour-specific increase in macromolecular permeability. Finally, combination therapy with PEGPH20 and gemcitabine led to inhibition of PDA tumour growth and prolonged survival over gemcitabine monotherapy, suggesting immediate clinical utility. CONCLUSIONS: The authors demonstrate that HA impedes the intratumoral vasculature in PDA and propose that its enzymatic depletion be explored as a means to improve drug delivery and response in patients with pancreatic cancer

Distinct populations of inflammatory fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) differentiate into cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) that produce desmoplastic stroma, thereby modulating disease progression and therapeutic response in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). However, it is unknown whether CAFs uniformly carry out these tasks or if subtypes of CAFs with distinct phenotypes in PDA exist. We identified a CAF subpopulation with elevated expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (alphaSMA) located immediately adjacent to neoplastic cells in mouse and human PDA tissue. We recapitulated this finding in co-cultures of murine PSCs and PDA organoids, and demonstrated that organoid-activated CAFs produced desmoplastic stroma. The co-cultures showed cooperative interactions and revealed another distinct subpopulation of CAFs, located more distantly from neoplastic cells, which lacked elevated alphaSMA expression and instead secreted IL6 and additional inflammatory mediators. These findings were corroborated in mouse and human PDA tissue, providing direct evidence for CAF heterogeneity in PDA tumor biology with implications for disease etiology and therapeutic development

Flerspråkiga barn i förskolan: Villkor för deltagande och lärande

The aim of this research was to study the learning conditions in preschool that support young multilingual children’s language and communicative development, and their participation in activities. A sociocultural theoretical approach provides a means to understand the dynamics of children’s learning and development within a strong theoretical framework. Analytical foci used in this research included: activity, activity systems, participation, ZPD, scaffolding, interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, and artefacts. An ethnographical and interaction analytic approach was used to study the preschool environment as a context for learning through child-initiated play activities and teacher-led group activities. Play, mealtime, singing, and story time activities in eight preschools were analysed through the experiences of ten multilingual children (aged 1.7 to 2.11 years). The findings show that play, mealtime, singing, and story time are a part of regular and recurring patterns of the activity system. Pedagogy; organising of activities in time; spatial and social organisation; play materials and other physical artefacts contributed to creating conditions for children’s communication and language learning. Preschool is an environment where Swedish is the dominant language of communication. From an early age, children make a distinction about what language should be used in any particular context. Languages, other than Swedish, were largely invisible in the preschools studied. There was considerable space for varied individual participation in the activities. The specific nature of this activity system implies that there are opportunities for children to participate in a range of activities with others and also to manage or change their level of participation. The activities offered different resources (other than verbal communications) for participation, such as repetition of actions, use of artefacts and involvement in music. Participation in Swedish by each child was not demanded. Differences in children’s language skills did not therefore constitute a barrier to participation in most activities. However, how effectively the learning resources were used depended on the teachers’ scaffolding. Focusing on the preschool activities and the communication opportunities provides new perspectives for understanding young multilingual children in preschool and the preschool as institutional practice. Additionally, the study provides knowledge about how to use scaffolding as a tool for learning in multilingual contexts

Uusi näkökulma histologian opetukseen : yhteistoiminnallinen ryhmäopetuskokeilu

Yliopistojen opetuksen kehittämisohjelmissa on usein tavoitteena monipuolistaa yliopisto-opetuksessa käytettäviä opetusmenetelmiä. Tässä kehittämishankkeessa selvitettiin 1) soveltuuko yhteistoiminnallinen ryhmäopetus Kuopion yliopiston histologian eli kudosopin opetukseen, 2) miten opiskelijat kokivat uudentyyppisen harjoitustyöopetuksen ja 3) miten käytettävät opetusmenetelmät vaikuttivat opiskelijoiden oppimistuloksiin opiskelijoiden ja opettajien arvioinnin sekä tentissä osaamisen perusteella. Histologia-opintojakson kymmenestä ryhmäharjoituksesta kahdeksan ensimmäistä oli perinteisiä opettajajohtoisia mikroskooppiharjoituksia ja kaksi viimeistä toteutettiin yhteistoiminnallisina ryhmäopetuksina. Jälkimmäisissä opiskelijat tekivät ryhmätöitä annettujen ennakkotehtävien aiheista ja opettivat oman aiheensa muille opiskelijoille muunnellun näyttelykävelyn avulla. Ennakkotehtävien tekeminen auttoi opiskelijoita orientoitumaan käsiteltävään aiheeseen. Yhteistoiminnallinen ryhmäopetus aktivoi opiskelijat osallistumaan ja he kokivat aiheesta keskustelun ja aiheen opettamisen muulle ryhmälle edistävän heidän oppimistaan. Vastanneista 54 % oli sitä mieltä, että he oppivat yhteistoiminnallisen opetusmenetelmän avulla käsiteltävänä olevan aiheen paremmin kuin opettajajohtoisissa mikroskooppiharjoituksissa. Vastanneista 24 % oppi mielestään huonommin ja 22 % ei osannut kommentoida oppimistaan. Vaikka kaikki opiskelijat eivät kokeneet oppineensa histologisia yksityiskohtia yhteistoiminnallisessa ryhmäopetuksessa yhtä hyvin kuin mikroskooppiharjoituksissa, he oppivat niiden aikana mielestään ymmärtämään paremmin kudoksien rakenteen ja toiminnan välisen yhteyden. Kyselyyn vastanneista opiskelijoista 78 % toteuttaisi osan histologian ryhmäopetuksesta jatkossakin yhteistoiminnallisena opetuksena. Kehittämishankkeen tulosten perusteella voidaan päätellä, että yhteistoiminnallinen ryhmätöihin perustuva oppiminen soveltuu histologian opiskeluun ja auttaa ymmärtämään rakenteen ja toiminnan välisen yhteyden. Lisäksi aktiivinen osallistuminen edistää lääketieteen opiskelijoille tärkeitä vuorovaikutus- ja yhteistyötaitoja.Many Finnish universities are aiming to improve their pedagogy by diversifying their current teaching methods. In this study three aspects were investigated in order to develop the teaching of histology at the University of Kuopio: 1) whether co-operative instruction may be applied to the teaching of histology, 2) how the medical students experience this teaching method, and 3) what are it’s effects on learning. After a pedagogical course experiment, data was collected from the students by two self-evaluation questionnaires and official histology course examination, and from the instructors by interview. The histology course included ten group instruction sessions, of which the first eight were carried out as traditional microscopy laboratory practice using directed teaching and the last two as co-operative instruction. In the latter, the students were given pre-assignments, which they studied individually or in groups prior to the instruction session. During the session they worked in the groups of 5-7 students and prepared an educational poster of one of the pre-assignments, and then taught the subject to the other students. The pre-assignments helped the students in orientating to the subject of the course. The co-operative instruction activated the students to participate in the learning process, and they felt that teaching the subject to the other students improved their personal learning. Of the respondents 54 % thought that they learned more effectively by co-operative instruction than directed teaching, while 24 % felt that their learning had been weaker and 22 % were not able to comment their learning. Though some students expressed that they had not learned all the histological details in the co-operative sessions so well as in directed teaching, they felt that during co-operative sessions their understanding of the relationship between histological structures and the function of tissues had improved. 78 % of the respondents were in favour of having some of the group teaching in the histology course carried out as cooperative instruction in the future. Co-operative instruction can be successfully used in teaching histology at universities, and it helps medical students to understand the relation between histological structures and the function of tissues. In addition, cooperative teaching improves the students’ social and teamwork skills, which are essential for future doctors

Rapport av pilotstudien: Förskolan som resurs för barns välbefinnande och lärande

I denna rapport redovisas en pilotstudie med syfte att undersöka förskolan som resurs för barns välbefinnande och lärande på kommunnivå inom Västra Götalandsregionen. I studien relateras barns välbefinnande och lärande till hälsa och hållbarhetsfrågor, med särskilt fokus på social och kulturell hållbarhet. Studien är finansierad av folkhälsokommittén 1 och har genomförts i samverkan med Institutionen och Institutionen för pedagogik, kommunikation och lärande vid Göteborgs universitet och Västra Götalandsregionen (VGR), under hösten 2015 - våren 2016. I rapporten redovisar vi studiens bakgrund, design och metod samt resultat. Rapporten avslutas med en sammanfattning och reflektion. Studiens största bidrag är att den tydligt pekar ut viktiga områden att arbeta vidare med på kommunnivå alternativt att forska vidare om. På kommunnivå riktas resultaten fram för allt mot utvecklingsområden för förskolechefer och beslutsfattare att diskutera och ta ställning till. Exempelvis kan det handla om att lokalisera de barn som inte läses för varken hemma eller i förskolan, inte har tillgång till digital teknik eller inte har goda möjligheter att lära genom sina språk i förskolan

Förskollärares ledarskap som ett kunskapsfält i behov av begreppsliga resurser i förskoleverksamhet, utbildning och forskning

The present study aims to investigate supervision activities as a form of teaching leadership in preschool teacher education. Work-based education constitutes a particular context for understanding of leadership in preschool due to its intention of bridging between practical and theoretical experience and knowledge. The empirical data analyzed consist of audio-recorded supervision in the form of weekly conversations between the student teacher and the preschool teacher within a five-week course with leadership as the learning content. Theoretically grounded in a sociocultural perspective on learning and communication, the analysis shows how leadership is mediated as a relational practice but without a definition. In addition, the conversations focus on the student teacher’s trajectories of developing leadership. In these conversations, the contents: meanings of leadership and the students’ appropriation of leadership, are blurred. Without an explicit meta-perspective in the conversations, it becomes analytically unclear whether, or to what extent, the participants establish conceptual intersubjectivity. The findings are discussed in relation to work-based education as a context for teaching and learning the prospective occupation. We conclude that theoretical knowledge of preschool teachers’ leadership becomes invisible in supervision without an education offering conceptual resources for this content

Therapeutic Targeting of Hyaluronan in the Tumor Stroma

The tumor stroma, consisting of non-malignant cells and the extracellular matrix, undergoes significant quantitative and qualitative changes throughout malignant transformation and tumor progression. With increasing recognition of the role of the tumor microenvironment in disease progression, stromal components of the tumor have become attractive targets for therapeutic intervention. Stromal accumulation of the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan occurs in many tumor types and is frequently associated with a negative disease prognosis. Hyaluronan interacts with other extracellular molecules as well as cellular receptors to form a complex interaction network influencing physicochemical properties, signal transduction, and biological behavior of cancer cells. In preclinical animal models, enzymatic removal of hyaluronan is associated with remodeling of the tumor stroma, reduction of tumor interstitial fluid pressure, expansion of tumor blood vessels and facilitated delivery of chemotherapy. This leads to inhibition of tumor growth and increased survival. Current evidence shows that abnormal accumulation of hyaluronan may be an important stromal target for cancer therapy. In this review we highlight the role of hyaluronan and hyaluronan-mediated interactions in cancer, and discuss historical and recent data on hyaluronidase-based therapies and the effect of hyaluronan removal on tumor growth