Verkostonalyysiä soveltamalla voidaan tutkia kuinka opettajaopiskelijat näkevät yhteydet opetttajantiedon osa-alueiden välillä

In this article we present a new approach to investigating teacher knowledge. The essay data related to Finnish future teachers' (N = 18) perceptions of the "knowledge required for teaching mathematics" were transformed into a network. We classified the knowledge topics using the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) framework and examined the relationships between the issues raised with the aid of network analysis. According to the results, the future teachers see the six MKT domains in a hierarchical sequence. As it is not subject specific, this approach is also applicable in the investigation of teacher knowledge of other subjects. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Teachers and their Educators - Views on Contents and their Development Needs in Mathematics Teacher Education

Finland has scored well in international assessments (e.g. PISA, TIMSS), and the pressure to attain excellent scores has activated a drive toward even more effective mathematics teacher education. This article presents the results of a qualitative assessment of the mathematics teacher education provided by the University of Eastern Finland. In this study, the views held by practicing teachers (N=101) and teacher educators (N=19) are compared so that the outstanding development needs of mathematics teacher education in terms of their contents can be revealed. The data was gathered via an electronic survey and was mainly analyzed using data-driven methods. In addition, framework provided by Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) was used to categorize the respondents’ views regarding the contents of mathematics teacher education and to develop general guidelines for the reform of mathematics teacher education. The results indicate that mathematics teacher education should include pure mathematical content (Common Content Knowledge, CCK) and mathematical content that will have been designed only for future teachers (Specialized Content Knowledge, SCK). Teacher educators and practicing teachers both held the view that the relevance of CCK studies depend on the connections between university and school mathematics. Pedagogical studies should also be reformed because practicing teachers have realized that effective teaching (Knowledge of Content and Teaching, KCT) requires knowledge about learning mathematics (Knowledge of Content and Students, KCS) that is not offered in the current educational system on a sufficiently broad basis. In this study, suggestions for developing mathematics teacher education were mostly connected to four domains of MKT: (CCK, SCK, KCT and KCS). Interestingly those domains are the same domains which has been empirically tested and better conceptualized

A New Approach for Designing Orthogonal Wavelets for Multicarrier Applications

yesThe Daubechies, coiflet and symlet wavelets, with properties of orthogonal wavelets are suitable for multicarrier transmission over band-limited channels. It has been shown that similar wavelets can be constructed by Lagrange approximation interpolation. In this work and using established wavelet design algorithms, it is shown that ideal filters can be approximated to construct new orthogonal wavelets. These new wavelets, in terms of BER behave slightly better than the wavelets mentioned above, and much better than biorthogonal wavelets, in multipath channels with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN). It is shown that the construction, which uses a simple simultaneous solution to obtain the wavelet filters from the ideal filters based on established wavelet design algorithms, is simple and can easily be reproduced

Early Geometrical Thinking in the Environment of Patterns, Mosaics and Isometries

This book discusses the learning and teaching of geometry, with a special focus on kindergarten and primary education. It examines important new trends and developments in research and practice, and emphasizes theoretical, empirical and developmental issues. Further, it discusses various topics, including curriculum studies and implementation, spatial abilities and geometric reasoning, as well as the psychological roots of geometrical thinking and teacher preparation in geometry education. It considers these issues from historical, epistemological, cognitive semiotic and educational points of view in the context of students' difficulties and the design of teaching and curricula

Suspected Motor Problems and Low Preference for Active Play in Childhood Are Associated with Physical Inactivity and Low Fitness in Adolescence

Background - This prospective longitudinal study investigates whether suspected motor problems and low preference for active play in childhood are associated with physical inactivity and low cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescence. Methodology/Principal Findings - The study sample consisted of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (NFBC 1986) composed of 5,767 children whose parents responded to a postal inquiry concerning their children's motor skills at age 8 years and who themselves reported their physical activity at age 16 years. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured with a cycle ergometer test at age 16 years. Odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the level of physical activity and fitness were obtained from multinomial logistic regression and adjusted for socio-economic position and body mass index. Low preference for active play in childhood was associated with physical inactivity (boys: OR 3.31, 95% CI 2.42–4.53; girls: OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.36–2.36) and low cardiorespiratory fitness (boys: OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.27–2.74; girls: OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.09–2.11) in adolescence. Suspected gross (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.33–3.49) and fine (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.35–2.60) motor problems were associated with physical inactivity among boys. Children with suspected motor problems and low preference for active play tended to have an even higher risk of physical inactivity in adolescence. Conclusions/Significance - Low preference for active play in childhood was associated with physical inactivity and low cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescence. Furthermore, children with suspected motor problems and low preference for active play tended to have an even higher risk of physical inactivity in adolescence. Identification of children who do not prefer active play and who have motor problems may allow targeted interventions to support their motor learning and participation in active play and thereby promote their physical activity and fitness in later life.peerReviewe

Explorations of Finnish mathematics students' beliefs about the nature of mathematics

According to certain surveys made in Germany, mathematics can be seen either as a stagnant structure (formalism-related orientation), a collection of rules, formulas and methods (scheme-related orientation), an active and creative construction process (process-related orientation), or as a method of describing the real world (application- related orientation). We examine how a twenty-item test of students’ orientations for students’ beliefs on the nature of mathematics, which was developed in the German context, translates to the Finnish culture remaining validity. Altogether 310 first-year students from three Finnish universities took part in the study. We apply confirmatory factor analysis to reveal that a slightly modified version the translated questionnaire is applicable also in the Finnish context. Using data collected with the translated questionnaire, we construct a binary regression models to predict students’ choosing between a technical and an ordinary university, and how probability that a student chooses teacher’s study programme slightly decreases if the static view grows stronger in his/her view of mathematics. Further, we see that all four orientations exist almost equally strong in the Finnish students’ beliefs.Validerad;2018;Nivå 1;2018-02-07 (andbra)</p