Opiskelijoiden tieteellisen ajattelun valmiudet : Yliopisto- ja ammattikorkeakouluopiskelijoiden loogisen ajattelun taidot ja käsitys tieteellisestä ajattelusta

This dissertation investigated the two approaches of scientific thinking, more precisely logical thinking and conceptions of scientific thinking as epistemological beliefs of knowledge and knowing, in different contexts in higher education: in universities and universities of applied sciences (UAS), in three different phases of studies, and in the field of economics and business administration. The balance between theoretical and scientific, and professional and practical orientations both in the two higher education sectors, universities and UASs in the field of economics and business administration, created a context to this study. Four empirical studies were applied. The aim of the first study was to investigate students logical thinking skills including metacognitive awareness of the reasoning process. The focus of logical thinking was on the formal operational stage of thinking and in the hypothetico-deductive causal reasoning process. Three measures were used to find out students causal reasoning skills and metacognitive awareness of the reasoning process: Science Reasoning Tasks called the Pendulum, Chemicals for measuring formal reasoning, and the Comparison task for measuring the metacognitive awareness of the reasoning process. The aim of the second study was to explore students epistemological beliefs about knowledge and knowing by analysing the students conceptions of scientific thinking. The qualitative content analysis was applied to create categories of description of epistemological beliefs on thinking and knowing. The aim of the third study was to explore the connections between the development of logical thinking skills and epistemological beliefs on knowledge and knowing and to create an approach which combines the two traditions of scientific thinking. The aim of the last part of the study was to explore students conceptions of the skill requirements in higher education and to analyse the effects of the learning environment, aims and epistemological beliefs in the field of business and administration and the two higher education sectors on students scientific thinking. 338 business major students from five UASs and four universities participated in the study. The results demonstrated that students logical and metacognitive thinking skills in the two higher-education sectors are different. In addition, students epistemological beliefs concerning scientific thinking in the two sectors are different, but reflect the characteristics of the field of economics and business administration. Further, the results showed that the two approaches of scientific thinking, logical thinking and conceptions of scientific thinking are related to each other. Differences in the scientific thinking skills between the sectors were interpreted from the perspectives of the different learning environments and knowledge aspirations of the sectors, and of the theoretical and practical orientations of the students.Tieteellisen ajattelun kehittyminen, kriittinen ja arvioiva lähestymistapa tiedon käsittelyyn sekä uuden tiedon tuottamiseen liittyvät valmiudet ovat korkeakouluopintojen keskeisiä tavoitteita. KM Hannele Seppälän väitöstutkimus tarkastelee korkeakouluopiskelijoiden tieteellistä ajattelua ja sen kehittymistä opintojen eri vaiheissa kauppatieteellisellä tieteenalalla yliopistoissa ja ammattikorkeakouluissa. Tutkimuksessa käytetyn viitekehyksen mukaan tieteellisen ajattelun keskeisiä valmiuksia ovat opiskelijan loogisen ajattelun taidot sekä tieteellisen tiedon luonteeseen ja tietämisen tapaan liittyvät käsitykset. Kahden eri korkeakoulusektorin erilaiset teoreettiset ja tieteelliset sekä ammatillisesti ja käytännöllisesti painottuneet tavoitteet muodostavat mielenkiintoisen kontekstin opiskelijoiden ajattelun taitojen tutkimukselle. Tutkimukseen osallistui 338 kauppatieteellisen alan pääaineopiskelijaa viidestä ammattikorkeakoulusta ja neljästä yliopistosta. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että loogisen ajattelun taidot sekä niihin liittyvät metakognitiiviset taidot ovat kehittyneempiä yliopisto-opiskelijoiden keskuudessa. Myös opiskelijoiden tieteelliseen ajatteluun liittyvissä käsityksissä on eroja sektoreiden välillä. Yliopisto-opiskelijat korostavat kriittistä ja loogista ajattelua sekä yleisesti oman ajattelun merkitystä tiedon käsittelyssä. Ammattikorkeakouluopiskelijat sen sijaan korostavat enemmän tiedon objektiivisuutta ja olemassa olevan tiedon soveltamista. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat myös, että opiskelijoiden loogisen ajattelun taitojen kehittyneisyys ja tietokäsitykset ovat yhteydessä toisiinsa. Edistyneet loogisen ajattelun taidot omaavat opiskelijat korostavat subjektiivista lähestymistapaa tietoon, omien ajatusten muodostamisen tärkeyttä sekä tutkimusmenetelmien merkitystä uuden tiedon tuottamisessa. Tutkimus osoittaa, että korkeakoulusektoreiden väliset erot opiskelijoiden tieteellisen ajattelun valmiuksissa liittyvät sektoreiden erilaisiin tavoitteisiin ja opiskelijoiden teoreettisiin ja käytännöllisiin orientaatioihin, jotka vaikuttavat opiskelijoiden suuntautumiseen jo opiskelupaikkavalintoja tehtäessä. Opiskelijoiden tieteellisen ajattelun valmiuksien kehittämiseksi tulisi kiinnittää entistä enemmän huomiota sellaisten oppimisympäristöjen luomiseen, joissa opiskelijat saavat mahdollisuuden ajattelun taitojen kehittämiseen, keskusteluun ja oman ajattelun reflektiiviseen tarkasteluun

Arvioinnit ammattikorkeakoulujen ja yliopistojen kehittämisen tukena

Kansallisen korkeakoulujen arviointitoiminnan tavoitteena on tukea ammattikorkeakoulujen ja yliopistojen kehittämistä. Tässä artikkelissa tarkastellaan korkeakoulujen teema-arvioinneissa käytettyjä menetelmiä ja niiden vaikuttavuutta ammattikorkeakoulujen ja yliopistojen kehittämisessä. Artikkelin teoreettinen viitekehys muodostuu arviointitutkimuksen kentällä esitetyistä kehittävän arvioinnin periaatteista, joita peilataan kansallisen arviointitoiminnan tavoitteisiin. Korkeakoulujen käsityksiä arviointien vaikuttavuudesta tarkastellaan teema-arviointeihin osallistuneiden korkeakoulujen palautteiden pohjalta. Korkeakoulujen arviointineuvoston (1.5.2014 alkaen osa kansallista koulutuksen arviointikeskusta) keräämissä palautteissa korkeakoulut ovat pohtineet arviointien toteutuksen toimivuutta sekä arviointimenetelmien ja raportoinnin vaikuttavuutta korkeakoulujen kehittämisen tukena. Artikkelin tavoitteena on tuottaa meta-arviointi teema-arviointien toteutuksesta ja tuoda sen avulla esiin arviointimenetelmiin sisältyviä vahvuuksia ja kehittämisalueita. Lopuksi pohditaan, miten kansallinen arviointitoiminta voisi jatkossa yhä paremmin vastata odotuksiin, jotka liittyvät arviointien vaikuttavuuteen ja käytettävyyteen.The purpose of national evaluations of higher education institutions is to support the development of universities of applied sciences and universities. This article examines the methods used in the-matic evaluations of higher education institutions and their impact on developing universities of applied sciences and universities. The theoretical framework of the article comprises the principles of enhancementled evaluation put forward in the field of evaluation research, which are juxtaposed with the objectives of national evaluation activities. The higher education institutions’ views of the impact of evaluations are examined on the basis of feedback received from higher education institutions having taken part in thematic evaluations. In the feedback collected by the Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council, the higher education institutions reflected upon the effectiveness of the manner in which the evaluations were conducted and the impact of evaluation methods and reporting on supporting the development of higher education institutions. The article aims to produce a metaevaluation of the implementation of thematic evaluations and use it to highlight the strengths and development areas of the evaluation methods. Finally, the article discusses ways in which national evaluation activities could in the future better meet expectations related to the impact and usability of evaluations

Silage intake and milk production in cows given barley or barley fibre with or without dried distillers solubles

Twenty Friesian cows in four pens were arranged in a 4 x 4 Latin Square with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments to evaluate the effect of barley fibre with solubles and dried distillers solubles (DDS) as a protein supplement on silage intake and milk production. Each experimental period lasted 4 wk, during which the cows were given ad libitum silage with one of the four supplements: barley (B), barley+ DDS (BD), barley fibre (F) and barley fibre+DDS (FD). All the supplements were given at the rate of 7.5 kg/day on dry matter (DM) basis. In cows given DDS, 0.9 kg of barley or barley fibre was replaced by DDS on DM basis. The principal carbohydrate constituent of the B supplement was starch and of the F supplement hemicellulose. Silage DM intake was 0.38 kg/day (

National policies for the promotion of physical activity and healthy nutrition in the workplace context : a behaviour change wheel guided content analysis of policy papers in Finland

Peer reviewe

Response of silage intake and milk production to replacement of barley by barley fibre derived from integrated starch-ethanol process

A duplicated 4 x 4 Latin Square experiment was conducted to determine the effects of a gradually increased level of barley fibre in the diet on ad libitum grass silage intake and milk production. Barley fibre is a fibrous ethanol-starch by-product (120 g crude protein, 550 g neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and 120 g starch/kg dry matter (DM)). The four supplements, given at the rate of 6.5 kg/d on DM basis, were barley (B) and barley of which 333 g/kg (BF), 667 g/kg (FB) and 1000 g/kg (F) were replaced by barley fibre. In addition the cows were given 1 kg of rapeseed meal and 0.25 kg of mineral mixture. As the proportion of barley fibre in the diet increased there was a linear (

Audit of Hanken School of Economics 2014

The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council has conducted an audit of the Hanken School of Economics. Based on the international audit team’s recommendation and the audit report, the Evaluation Council has decided to require the institution to undergo a re-audit. In its current state the quality system of Hanken School of Economics does not fulfil the national criteria set for the quality management of higher education institutions, and thus the system cannot be said to correspond to the European quality assurance principles and recommendations for higher education institutions. The object of the audit was the quality system that the Hanken School of Economics has developed based on its own needs and goals. The optional audit target chosen by the institution was the Assurance of Learning process. The following were regarded as key strengths of the quality system: n There is a strong organisational culture characterized by a strong sense of purpose, result orientation and a commitment to advancement of the university. n Student feedback is taken seriously and leads to changes at course level. n There are established and natural ways of involving alumni and corporate connections in the operations. n There is a very systematic process for implementing the strategy throughout the organisation using performance agreements and development discussions. Among other things, the following recommendations were made for the Hanken School of Economics: n The accreditations that Hanken has pursued have led to the development of many established quality management procedures which contribute to the development of the operations. However, Hanken would benefit from integrating these into one overall quality system and defining the objectives, structure and operating principles of this system. This would provide opportunities to enhance efficiency, to reduce risk and to help Hanken respond to change. n It would be desirable if Hanken were to develop more systematic methods to manage its quality processes in order to give more emphasis to the evaluation and improvement stages of the Hanken Quality Loop 2013. n It is recommended that Hanken structure the documentation of the procedures, processes and systems that it uses to maintain and develop the quality of its activities, paying particular attention to access to information. This would lead to better traceability and would help identify inefficiencies and areas in need of development in its operations. The re-audit will concentrate on the quality policy of the higher education institution (audit target 1), on samples of degree education at bachelor’s and master’s level (audit target 5) and on the quality system as a whole (audit target 6)