Using self-assessment to enhance self-regulated learning – an intervention study in a Finnish lower secondary school

The aim of this intervention study was to explore how the emphasised use of self-assessment in Swedish language classes affects ninth graders’ perceptions of self-regulated learning and their self-assessments in Finland. The dataset includes the survey responses of 36 students and their written self-assessments. The results suggest that the quality of the self-assessments increased during the intervention, although the level of reflection was still superficial. The students exhibited more positive perceptions of their skills in self-regulated learning at the end of the intervention. The results indicate that incorporating self-assessment into teaching boosts students’ perceptions of self-regulated learning and enhances the quality of their self-assessments. Swedish language teachers should consider the extent to which they use self-assessment in courses and whether their practices could be adjusted to promote reflection and self-regulated learning.Peer reviewe

DIALOGISUUS KIELIKASVATUKSEN KEHYKSENÄ

Artikkelissa pohditaan, voisiko dialogisen kielifilosofian nähdä kielikasvatuksenyleisenä taustakehyksenä. Artikkelissa kuvataan suomalaisessakielenopetuksen kentässä meneillään olevaa paradigman muutostaopetuskeskeisyydestä lähestymistavasta kohti kokonaisvaltaisempaanäkemystä. Tätä muutosta esitellään keskittymällä tarkastelemaankielikasvatuksen keskeisiä ilmiöitä, kuten oppimis- ja kielikäsitykset,arviointi sekä ymmärrys pedagogisen tiedon luonteesta. Lisäksi artikkelissatarkastellaan dialogisen lähestymistavan keskeisiä käsitteitä suhteessakielikasvatuksessa keskeisinä pidettyihin ilmiöihin. Lopuksi viitataanartikkelissa esitetyn näkemyksen tarjoamiin mahdollisuuksiin ja rajoituksiinkäytännön luokkahuonetyölle.Avainsanat: Dialogisuus, kielikasvatus, paradigman muutosKeywords: Dialogism, language pedagogy, paradigm shif

In Teachers We Trust – the Finnish Way to Teach and Learn

Finland has received very good results in international student achievement tests such as PISA and ICCS in the 21st century. Consequently, education authorities and researchers from all over the world have attempted to find reasons for Finland’s success. In this article, we are looking at Finnish education from the inside, from the perspective of Finnish teachers and schools. Our hypothesis is that Finnish teachers, who have a high-quality academic education and who work as trusted professionals, have played a key role in making such results possible. Thus, we will concentrate on Finnish teachers, their role in education as well as teacher education and training in this article

Metaforia, piirroksia ja akronyymeja – työkaluja kieltenopettajan käyttöteorian rakentamiseen ja vahvistamiseen ohjatussa harjottelussa

nonPeerReviewe

Intracranial Aneurysm Risk Locus 5q23.2 Is Associated with Elevated Systolic Blood Pressure

Peer reviewe

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Genetic insights into resting heart rate and its role in cardiovascular disease

Resting heart rate is associated with cardiovascular diseases and mortality in observational and Mendelian randomization studies. The aims of this study are to extend the number of resting heart rate associated genetic variants and to obtain further insights in resting heart rate biology and its clinical consequences. A genome-wide meta-analysis of 100 studies in up to 835,465 individuals reveals 493 independent genetic variants in 352 loci, including 68 genetic variants outside previously identified resting heart rate associated loci. We prioritize 670 genes and in silico annotations point to their enrichment in cardiomyocytes and provide insights in their ECG signature. Two-sample Mendelian randomization analyses indicate that higher genetically predicted resting heart rate increases risk of dilated cardiomyopathy, but decreases risk of developing atrial fibrillation, ischemic stroke, and cardio-embolic stroke. We do not find evidence for a linear or non-linear genetic association between resting heart rate and all-cause mortality in contrast to our previous Mendelian randomization study. Systematic alteration of key differences between the current and previous Mendelian randomization study indicates that the most likely cause of the discrepancy between these studies arises from false positive findings in previous one-sample MR analyses caused by weak-instrument bias at lower P-value thresholds. The results extend our understanding of resting heart rate biology and give additional insights in its role in cardiovascular disease development