Integrating art into science education: a survey of science teachers’ practices

ABSTRACT

Numerous case studies suggest that integrating art and science education could engage students with creative projects and encourage students to express science in multitude of ways. However, little is known about art integration practices in everyday science teaching. With a qualitative e-survey, this study explores the art integration of science teachers (n?=?66). A pedagogical model for science teachers’ art integration emerged from a qualitative content analysis conducted on examples of art integration. In the model, art integration is characterised as integration through content and activities. Whilst the links in the content were facilitated either directly between concepts and ideas or indirectly through themes or artefacts, the integration through activity often connected an activity in one domain and a concept, idea or artefact in the other domain with the exception of some activities that could belong to both domains. Moreover, the examples of art integration in everyday classroom did not include expression of emotions often associated with art. In addition, quantitative part of the survey confirmed that integration is infrequent in all mapped areas. The findings of this study have implications for science teacher education that should offer opportunities for more consistent art integration.     

Fostering theory–practice reflection in teaching practicums

This article presents a design for supporting theory–practice reflection in teacher practicums. This design is based on three design principles that promote a transformative stance towards the creation of novel pedagogical approaches: mutual transformation of theory and practice, co-design among supervising teachers, university lecturers and student teachers, and participating in the long-term development of pedagogical practices. To evaluate the design, we analyse and compare student teachers’ portfolios across two implementations of the teacher practicum: a thematic practicum based on the proposed design and the conventional class teacher practicum of the University of Helsinki. The results show that the student teachers who participated in the thematic practicum used theory more frequently in their reflections. Moreover, their theory–practice connections were more robust than those made by student teachers who participated in the conventional practicum. On the basis of our results, we make suggestions regarding how to promote theory–practice reflection in teacher education.     

Individualized special education with cognitive skill assessment

Ahmed is a learning environment which—in addition to supporting openness in learning materials and adaptivity in learning events—supports evaluation of a learner's cognitive skills. The intended learners in the environment are disabled children. We present a justification of the system by comparing it to previous intelligent tutoring systems. Despite some shortcomings in A hmed 's philosophy, it provides a usable addition to the computer-aided special education.     

Dynamics in higher education politics: a theoretical model

This article presents a model for analysing dynamics in higher education politics (DHEP). Theoretically the model draws on the conceptual history of political contingency, agenda-setting theories and previous research on higher education dynamics. According to the model, socio-historical complexity can best be analysed along two dimensions: the political situation and political possibilities. Politics as a situation connotes the idea of an opportune moment when politics can be changed, and political possibilities concern the different alternatives the actors see in different situations. Depending on whether the situation is favourable or unfavourable to change, and on whether the possibilities are politicised or settled, the DHEP model introduces four types of dynamic: reform, gridlock, consensual change and friction. On the empirical level the model has been tested and developed in the context of Finnish higher education by means of interviews and documentary material. It was found, in the Finnish context, that four policy threads functioned according to each of the dynamics. It appears from the empirical findings that dynamics in higher education politics are strongly related to changes that are external to the higher-education system, the changing positions of the actors in different policy threads and the unexpected nature of the dynamics. The DHEP can also be used to shed light on the effects of the silent, settled possibilities that may enable or disable other policy threads within a higher education system.     

Alternative vocational schooling for the dropped‐out: students' perceptions of the Activity School of East Finland

Dropping out of school is a universal problem, concerning fairly similar target groups in all countries. Several action plans to prevent dropping out and to activate the dropouts have been developed worldwide. The object of this study, the Activity School of East Finland, is an exceptionally comprehensive entity, within which alternative pedagogical models are applied during the entire three‐year course of vocational education. In this paper, we will review the key figures for the most important variables related to the experiences on the Activity School during the three years studied. The evaluation is based on the students' assessment of the impact of the activity. The added value generated by the Activity School, and compared to comparison group data from traditional vocational education, is most clearly seen as the general satisfaction experienced by the students with the Activity School's operating model and their satisfaction with the student–teacher interaction.     

Openness in developing inter-organizational innovation

The paper describes empirical findings on how openness is realized in practical innovation projects involving different organizations. The purpose of the study is to increase the understanding of how openness should be managed in the various forms of inter-organizational innovation development. The main research interest is in how openness is manifested in developing innovations with different organizations involved in inter-organizational innovation projects. Subsidiary research questions are: ‘What is open?’, ‘To whom is it open?’ and ‘How open is it?’. The study applied qualitative case study methodology, and empirical data were collected by semi-structured interviews with management personnel in 40 organizations in Finland and the Netherlands. The findings reveal that openness in innovation is a multifaceted issue that can have very different meanings in different contexts. In the context of the study, the answer to the first sub-question (‘What is open?’) is obvious. It is the innovation project; its input, process and outcome. As for ‘To whom is it open?’, interviewees made a clear distinction between projects with known actors and projects that may include unknown actors. Answering ‘How open is the project?’, one can distinguish between different projects according to which attribute best describes the openness of the project – readable, usable, or modifiable. Answers to the three sub-questions conceptualize the issue of openness in inter-organizational innovation development and can be considered theoretical conclusions of the study. By combining the answers, five characteristic levels of openness in inter-organizational innovation were derived as practical implications of the study for R&;D and innovation management.     

Managing knowledge within networked innovation

The purpose of this paper is to research firms’ knowledge management practices within the context of networked innovation between multiple actors. The analysis is based on case research carried out with six companies. Based on earlier literature and the theoretical framework of the paper, two models of networked innovation can be distinguished according to knowledge management needs: networks focusing on the transaction of explicit knowledge and intellectual property, and networks focusing on the co-creation of new knowledge and business opportunities. The paper argues that a strategic approach to knowledge management is a key element of success within networked innovation, both in the theory and in the practices of firms. In that way, firms are able to manage knowledge within networked innovation when they understand their partners’ business models and strategic intents, for example their motivation to collaborate.     

Evaluating university-industry collaboration: the European Foundation of Quality Management excellence model-based evaluation of university-industry collaboration

Tertiary Education and Management - The growth in university-industry collaboration has resulted in an increasing demand for methods to evaluate it. This paper presents one way to evaluate an...