Teachers are increasingly expected to incorporate Project-based learning (PBL) pedagogy to teach science. While teachers' definitions and challenges in the use of PBL are widely studied, very few studies focus on the development of a teacher's knowledge of the use of PBL over multiple projects. The current research is an in-depth case study aimed…

The aim of this research is to ask what kind of geography is taught in Finnish upper secondary schools and whether this knowledge is powerful knowledge. This is achieved by analysing 11 in-service geography teachers' concept maps and in-depth interviews with qualitative data analysis. The results indicate the dominance of three terms: spatiality,…

This paper utilizes concept mapping as a tool for conscious and deliberate knowledge building in mathematics and its extension to algorithms. Currently, alleged defects in mathematics education are obvious: instead of conceptual elaboration, everyday praxis relies on routine computations that are likely to lead into alienated concepts with weak…

This paper presents the experienced difficulties of students participating in the multidisciplinary, remote collaborating engineering design course challenge-based innovation at CERN. This is with the aim to identify learning barriers and improve future learning experiences. We statistically analyse the rated differences between distinct design…

Professional learning communities (PLC) have been widely accepted as effective with respect to good atmosphere, adequate leadership practices, and functional working practices. However, the outcomes for school improvement depend on case-specific issues. To identify less culturally and contextually bound issues in 3 PLC settings in Canada, Finland,…

This article describes the social networks of four young people with intellectual disabilities in supported adult education, focusing on their inclusion in school and leisure environments. A multiple case study approach with content analysis was used. Data were collected through interviews with young people and their family members, relationship…

University research education in many disciplines is frequently confronted by problems with students' weak level of understanding of research concepts. A mind map technique was used to investigate how students understand central methodological concepts of empirical, theoretical, qualitative and quantitative. The main hypothesis was that some…

In this article, we aim to identify university teachers' experiences of their roles and practices in different internationalising higher education environments. Reflections on the university teachers' self-conceptions are examined using a specific story-writing assignment and content analysis of the stories teachers produce. The method was adapted…

The present study focuses on examining how digitally guided conceptual mapping can be used in orienting students in higher education to learn complex domain content and practices. The outcomes of conceptual mapping were investigated as the orienting bases created by the students that used digitalized conceptual tools to construct an external…

Studies on students' perceptions of learning in business simulations often suggest that students like simulations and view them more positively than both lectures and case discussions. However, research on the actual learning outcomes deriving from participating in business simulations still needs to be pursued. Consequently, the purpose of this…

One of the main components of teachers' pedagogical content knowledge refers to their use of representation forms. In a similar vein, organizing concepts logically and meaningfully is an essential element of teachers' subject matter knowledge. Since subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge of teachers are tightly connected as categories…

Due to the broad acceptance of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and other comparative studies as instruments of policymaking, its accuracy is essential. This article attempts to demonstrate omissions in the conceptualisation, and consequently in calculation and interpretation, of one of the central points of PISA 2006 and…

Considers the problem of how to track a student's real progress in learning and evaluates the success of concept mapping in constructing a learning environment in a Finnish primary school. Highlights include the semiotic paradigm developed by Charles Sanders Peirce; and results of a longitudinal study. (Author/LRW)

Evaluates concept maps (n=36) spontaneously constructed by applicants in a medical school entrance examination for content of relevant terms and the number of interrelationships indicated. Finds that merely including the relevant concepts in a map has little effect on the comprehension of those concepts, but map complexity is strongly related to…

This qualitative study utilises the relational dialectics of Baxter and Montgomery (1996) to examine the relationship communication of six heterosexual intercultural couples living in Finland. In this study, I attempt to answer the following questions: what cultural issues are relevant in the couples' relationship? What intercultural relational…