LUMA News

National development program, LUMA2020, brought new openings, materials and inspired collaboration between schools, universities and industry

LUMA Centre Finland (11 universities and 13 centers) implemented a national LUMA2020 program (2019-2020) which was funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The main objective of the national LUMA2020 program was to inspire and motivate children and young people to engage in mathematics, science and technology. To achieve that goal, the program produced new solutions and pedagogical models based on the latest research and co-design. The program also generated collaboration between schools, universities and industry. The concept of learning community was promoted, and program aimed to support implementation of the national core curriculum.

The national LUMA2020 program provided all teachers, from early childhood education to universities, continuous professional development. It offered an opportunity for cross-curricular collaboration and development of teaching methods. The main objectives were achieved well despite the program’s fast schedule and exceptional circumstances. The participating teachers were very satisfied with the program based on the evaluation. It has provided tools e.g. to support multidisciplinary project-based learning, and to support co-design and learning community approaches.

The program inspired teachers to try new methods and increased collaboration between teachers as well as between the students. The LUMA2020 also increased collaboration with the 13 LUMA centres. Teachers felt that the program developed the skills of learning and teaching, and increased the interest of both, teachers and students, in the thematic areas of the program. More than two-thirds of teachers responded that they would re-participate in similar programs in the future.

The learning communities worked in the program under four themes: Sustainable Development (e.g. climate change and circular economy), Mathematics around us (e.g. art, economics and statistics), Technology around us (e.g. mobile device, artificial intelligence, robotics) and My LUMA (optional theme related to STEAM subjects).

Working together, getting excited and learning. Our program created inspiring new openings and increased a collaborative culture. In particular, virtual materials and educational models developed with co-design, increased equal science education for all. A great tool for this was the design-based research, which has long been used in LUMA operations. The collaboration with the industry was fruitful and we created new materials and ways of working, says Professor Maija Aksela, Director of the LUMA2020 program and LUMA Centre Finland.

All materials produced in the program are shared on the program’s website with a charge. The materials also include three Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for lifelong learning that are open throughout 2021. Courses are aimed for pre-service and in-service teachers from early childhood education to high school and vocational school education. LUMA2020 provided new, collaboration-based virtual education models, such as teacher workshops, several virtual science clubs and camps and Science in society -series that was created with the industry.

A total of 81 experts from 11 universities participated in the program. Experts supported approximately 450 in-service teachers in a total of 381 program-related events. There were 160 learning communities, including kindergartens, primary schools, high schools, vocational schools and hobby schools. The events included, for example, study visits to universities, schools and kindergartens, in-service training and meetings, and online meetings. In the spring, the program was made completely virtual due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The final report of the LUMA2020 program can be read here (in Finnish).

All the materials, MOOCs and more information here (in Finnish and in Swedish).

Contact information:

  • Professor Maija Aksela, LUMA Centre Finland, University of Helsinki, maija.aksela@helsinki.fi
  • Project Manager Oona Kiviluoto, LUMA Centre Finland, oona.kiviluoto@helsinki.fi
  • Counsellor of Education Paavo-Petri Ahonen, Ministry of Education and Culture, paavo-petri.ahonen@minedu.fi

 

Open positions: Four Doctoral Students in Science Education

Kuvassa työttä ja poika ratkovat matemaattista tehtävää kävyillä ja kivillä kalliolla istuen.

Do you want to have a role in ensuring a good future for children and young people? Are you interested in developing and studying new initiatives in science education? Are you interested in national and international collaboration? Are you interested in promoting continuous learning? Are you interested in working in a communal team focused on a positive future?

The Science Education Centre of the University of Helsinki/LUMA Centre Finland invites applications for

four (4) DOCTORAL STUDENTS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

for a fixed term appointment from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2024.

The aim of the Science Education Centre of the University of Helsinki is to inspire and encourage children, young people and families to study various disciplines or learn about them as a hobby. Science education entails the promotion of mathematics and natural sciences skills and encouraging people to study them through formal, non-formal and informal science education.

Science education operations are one of the University of Helsinki’s strategic focus areas and part of the implementation plan of the Faculty of Science.

These operations allow the University of Helsinki to study and develop new pedagogical solutions. In addition to development and research, both future and current teachers are trained and supported in utilising them in teaching.

The operations include collaboration with Finnish and international parties. The Science Education Centre is also part of the LUMA Centre Finland network (https://www.luma.fi/en/) comprising 13 regional LUMA centres operating within Finnish university consortia. Further information on the operations is available in the book Collaborative Science Education at the University of Helsinki Since 2003: New Solutions and Pedagogical Innovations for Teaching from Early Childhood Education to Universities (https://www.helsinki.fi/sites/default/files/atoms/files/isbn-978-951-51-…).

About the position

The doctoral students’ duties include drawing up their doctoral thesis (50% of working hours) in the field of science education. In addition, the doctoral students will develop and implement science education in the Faculty of Science (50% of working hours). The position is closely related to science class activities. The aim is to link the duties as closely as possible to the research topic of the appointees. The appointees hired will make up a team and science education will also be implemented in cooperation with other faculties. The duties may also include administrative duties. There is a six-month trial period for the position. The research topics in science education of the appointees may be discipline-specific (e.g., mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography) or multidisciplinary, which promotes the strategic plan of the Faculty of Science (e.g., sustainable development, climate change, digitalisation).

The activities and research will be supported by the steering group of the LUMA Science Helsinki research team with representation from subject teacher education at the Faculty of Science, among others.

Selection criteria

The appointees must have a right to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Helsinki. If the doctoral student does not yet have a right to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Helsinki, the appointee to the position of a doctoral student must receive the said right within the six-month trial period. Further information on applying for doctoral education is available here: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/research/doctoral-education/the-application-p….

In addition, contractual employment of doctoral students requires the ability and motivation, as demonstrated in previous degree studies and otherwise, to complete a doctoral degree.

The position requires good interaction skills. Experience of teaching or other science education, knowledge of the Finnish education system, international work experience and a master’s degree in science will be considered an asset.

Salary

The salary for the present post will be based on levels 2 to 4 of the requirement level chart for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal work performance. The salary range will be between €2,380 and €3,000 per month depending on the qualifications and previous experience of the appointee.

Application instructions

The application must be submitted through the University of Helsinki electronic recruitment system by clicking on the link “Apply for the position” below. Current employees of the University of Helsinki must submit their applications through the SAP HR portal (https://saphr.it.helsinki.fi/irj/portal).

Include in your application the following as PDF files:
• CV containing a possible list of publications and contact information of two referees
• Application letter where you describe your aptitude and motivation for the position (max. two pages)
• Preliminary research plan topics and grounds for them (max. two pages)
• Transcript of record of the studies completed for your master’s degree and any previously completed doctoral studies

The closing date for applications is 2 November 2020.

Additional information

Further information about the position can be obtained from:
Professor Maija Aksela, science education, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, maija.aksela@helsinki.fi
and
Specialist Topias Ikävalko, Science Education Centre, University of Helsinki, topias.ikavalko@helsinki.fi, +358 50 311 4536

Apply for the position

Due date 02.11.2020 23:59 EET

 

New climate change education project CLIMATE? about to begin

Concerns and questions about climate are part of everyday discussions in our societies. Also students in schools have questions they seek answers to. They are related to for example scientific, societal, ethical, and moral aspects. Students` questions can be used as part of climate change education in classrooms to make the topic approachable for the students, to activate students to learn, and raise hope for the future. The Finnish national core curriculum has also emphasized the importance of students` questions and climate in education.

LUMA science education centre (part of LUMA centre Finland) launches a research-based climate change education project CLIMATE?, the aim of which is to co-design and test pedagogical models for student-question-based climate change education with teachers all over the world using an online platform. Project is part of a larger research-based climate change education program. Recent years we have organized for example Teachers` climate change forum together with INAR. Project is co-designed with teachers as well as experts, such as assistant professor Dr. Cliona Murphy from Ireland.

During the project, teachers get concrete ideas and examples on how to use students` questions as part of their climate education and discuss with other teachers about their ideas and experiences in the classroom using student-question-based pedagogy. The goal is that teachers` self-efficacy for the pedagogy improves and student-question-based pedagogy in climate change education is developed into new didactic models for teachers all over the world to be able to utilize in their teaching.  

The project begins in October 2020. Teaching models are tested in schools in 2020-2021. More detailed schedule is designed with the participants. There are registered participants from over ten countries already, but you can still join the project by emailing the project leader Jaana Herranen by October 15th 2020 (jaana.herranen@helsinki.fi).

For more info: project leader Dr. Jaana Herranen, or leader of climate change program in LUMA science education professor Maija Aksela, University of Helsinki.

Teachers in our international Teacher Climate Change Forum (TCCF) event learning with researchers in Hyytiälä. 

New professor of science education encourages scientific thinking

As a first in Finland, the University of Helsinki has established a professorship in science education focused on the natural sciences. Professor and Research Director Maija Aksela, DPhil, has been invited to the position. After being found indisputably qualified in an international assessment, she will assume the post as of 1 May.
 

With a 20-year academic career at the Faculty of Science, Professor Maija Aksela is known for her inspiring, innovative and inclusive efforts to promote science education in the natural sciences as well as related teacher training and research in Finland and abroad.

Under Aksela’s direction, LUMA Centre Finland, a network of 13 science education centres, has been established in conjunction with 11 Finnish universities, carrying out a national mission assigned by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The mission of science education in the natural sciences is the enhancement of scientific competence.

Boost­ing science education

The toolbox of research-based science education includes science classrooms, clubs, camps and birthday parties, as well as science videos and online journals. Of equal importance to science education is the provision of inspired teacher training in order for teachers to be able to educate pupils into people who understand science and use its methods. Collaboration with the families of children and adolescents is another integral component.

One of the strategic objectives of the University of Helsinki is to improve the current science education and expand it, through new initiatives, to engage the entire University community. As evidenced by the establishment of the professorship in science education, the goal is to promote science education and science communication.

Currently, a steering group appointed by the rector of the University of Helsinki is drawing up a strategic plan for science education and preparing related operations for the next strategy period.

A power­ful cycle of research, prac­tice and education

Maija Aksela, who describes herself as a catalyst, says that she strives to engender opportunities for future professionals to learn and to make the world a better place. Science education advances critical thinking, problem-solving skills, inclusivity and creativity.

“It’s important to get learners to wonder, enquire and call things into question, just like natural scientists do. The questions ‘why’ and ‘how’ are central to scientific thought and to the promotion of understanding of all kinds,” Aksela says.

In fact, a multidisciplinary research group headed by Aksela has produced a number of international publications and theses on science education, including doctoral dissertations, of which Aksela has already supervised 15 to date. Current research topics include the modelling of contemporary research and future issues in the natural sciences, as well as questions pertaining to climate change.

Aksela considers inclusivity, reliance on research and multidisciplinarity key to science education. Operational models are established in an agile and engaging manner in interaction with students, scientists, children, pupils and the elderly, future and current teachers, families as well as specialists active in professional life, with everyone learning from one another. Indeed, Aksela’s motto is “Together we are more!”

In Aksela’s line of thinking, research, practice and education go hand in hand. She thinks that new solutions and pedagogical innovations required for a sustainable future, such as online courses, can be discovered by examining the practice and theory of science education. Science education also works well as an element of higher education. Together with the practices of continuous learning and teacher training, science education is disseminating the latest knowledge all across Finland.

According to Aksela, skilled teachers play a crucial role.

“The impact of each individual teacher lasts roughly a century; first during their own activity and then, later on, through their former pupils and students. It’s very important for teachers to have the most recent knowledge of the fields of science and how to provide instruction on them.”

Con­tin­ued in­volve­ment in science education

The duty of a professor is to carry out and supervise scientific work, provide education based on it, follow developments in research and participate in societal interaction and international cooperation in his or her field. This is nothing new to Aksela.

For now, Professor Aksela will also continue serving as director of LUMA Centre Finland as well as its LUMAT Science Research Forum. In addition, she will continue serving in roughly 10 national positions or international projects related to LUMA operations, such as the post of editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Math, Science and Technology Education, which she founded.

At the University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Science, she contributes to subject teacher training in mathematics, physics and chemistry as the deputy director of the degree programme. At the Department of Chemistry, she heads the teacher training unit and its science education activities, including the prize-winning ChemistryLab Gadolin.

An award-win­ning aca­de­mic

Aksela’s research career got its start in Canada in the field of computer-assisted modelling (today known as computational chemistry). She is also a trained subject teacher, with experience in the profession after working as a teacher for six years as a young adult. Aksela has published more than 350 articles, some of them co-authored with scholars from 12 different countries. For her contributions, she has been awarded over ten national or international awards, including an award for the natural scientist of the year and the State Award for Public Information.

Professor Aksela is interested in international science education, and she has repeatedly been invited to give addresses to her scientific community, in addition to which she has been an active member of the networks of the scientific journals in the field and has contributed to international cooperation through the Finnish National Commission for UNESCO, working groups of the European Commission and ALLEA working groups relevant to the field. Aksela is one of the invited founding members of the University of Helsinki’s Teachers’ Academy and a member of the national Teacher Education Forum.

Aksela’s hobbies include spending time outdoors and photography, painting, music and visits to her summer cottage. She is interested in different cultures and ways of thinking. At the moment, Aksela is looking back on the past and present highlights and achievements of LUMA science education by writing two books on the topic with her community.

Text is originally published in University of Helsinki’s page.

 

Welcome to the international LUMAT Research symposium

Welcome to a virtual research symposium on June 3rd – 4th, 2020. The LUMAT symposium is free of charge.

The theme of the symposium is Promoting STEAM in education, in which S stands for Science, T for Technology, E for Engineering, A for All subjects in this case, and M for Mathematics. The symposium invites researchers, teachers, and students to discuss and learn about the possibilities and challenges of STEAM in various and interdiscilpinary perspectives.

Read more and take a look at the preliminary program!

REGISTER HERE!

In­ter­na­tional course for youth on global chal­lenges

The University of Helsinki organizes an international course for youth next time on 2021. The course will not be organized on 2020 due to the corona situation.

The course is based on working with global challenges on four themes:

  • Climate Change
  • Digitalization
  • Circular economy
  • Wellbeing

During the course, the students carry out small learning projects together in teams with the university students and researchers.

The course starts with an intensive period on August in Helsinki, Finland. It continues as an online course after that during early Autumn.

The program of the course is diverse and is built on the basis of the participants’ interests. 

The course itself will be free of charge, but the participants should reserve and pay for their own traveling, accommodation, and meals. 

Read more info here

 

Welcome to an international summer school

Welcome to the first International LUMAT Research Summer School on 2.6.2020. Due to the corona situation, the summer school will be virtual and free of charge this year. Register by 15.5!

The summer school is organized by LUMAT Science Research Forum within LUMA Centre Finland (national network of 11 Finnish universities) and Finnish Mathematics and Science Education Research Association. The summer school is part of LUMAT Symposium 2020.

The goal of the summer school is to reinforce collaboration among doctoral students, researchers, and teachers and future teachers of mathematics, science, and technology education and to discuss and learn about research according to participants` interests and needs. 

The program of the summer school will be planned by the organization committee taking the participants` wishes and needs into account.

The summer school is led by an organizing committee: Professor Maija Aksela (director of LUMA Centre Finland and its research forum), Dr. Veli-Matti Vesterinen (president of the Finnish Mathematics and Science Education Research Association), Dr. Pasi Nieminen (vice president of the Finnish Mathematics and Science Education Research Association), Dr. Johannes Pernaa (managing editor of LUMAT journal) and, Dr. Jaana Herranen (the coordinator of LUMAT Science Research Forum).

Registration through registration form by 15.5. Please, register here Jaana will answer all further inquiries about the summer school (jaana.herranen@helsinki.fi | +358 294 150 464). 

Warm welcome to LUMAT Research Summer School to learn together!

Maija Aksela, Veli-Matti Vesterinen, Pasi Nieminen, Johannes Pernaa, and Jaana Herranen

MORE DETAILS:

Creating bet­ter world to­gether! 2nd In­ter­na­tional Teach­ers’ Cli­mate Change Forum 2020

How to make better world together through education? How to teach climate change? How to collaborate with scientists in climate change? We welcome you to participate in our international Teachers’ Climate Change Forum! Application period starts at March 1st.

Climate change is one of the biggest global challenges of our time. Teachers have a key role in educating children and youth in their knowledge, skills and attitude. The Science Education Centre and Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) from University of Helsinki are organizing international and participative Teachers’ Climate Change Forum 2020 – continous professional development program for teachers on all school levels from around the world.

The continuous professional development (CPD) -program consists of two parts. The first part  is the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course). The second part is teachers’ summer course organized in Hyytiälä on August 3rd – 6th, 2020.

TCCF2020 MOOC is open for all and everyone has an opportunity to complete the course.

A maximum of 30 teachers will be selected to participate the Summer Camp. They will also have an extra section available on the MOOC.

The application period for the Summer Camp is from March 1st until March 22nd.

The applicants will be notified whether they have been selected on March 31st, 2020.

The Course will open on the 1st of April and the section for Summer Camp will open at 20th of April.

So, save the date of the Summer Camp and apply on the beginning of the March.

Read more about the pro­gram’s webpage >>
 

Click here to read about last year’s Summer Camp experiences and atmosphere.

LUMAT Special Issue on Educational Design Research is published

During the past few decades, several interconnected research traditions have paid more and more attention to the process of educational design. Educational design research and other design-oriented methods seek complex educational problems through systematic, iterative, and continuing process of design, development, and evaluation of educational practices. This special issue presents six articles including research on educational design research methodology as well as research utilizing educational design research methods.

You can find the special issue on LUMAT-journal.

Editors
Johannes Pernaa, The Unit of Chemistry Teacher Education, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, Finland
Veli-Matti Vesterinen, Department of Chemistry, University of Turku, Finland

Doctoral thesis: Learner-driven sustainability education

For a sustainable future, there is a need for science teacher education in which both science and sustainability are taken into consideration. In addition, the needs and hopes of the students should be in core as they are making the decisions in the future.

M.Sc. Jaana Herranen presented her PhD dissertation on learner driven science teacher education for sustainability in the SECO research group. The thesis was written in the Unit of Teacher Education with the guidance of professor Maija Aksela and associate professor Erik Fooladi. The opponent was associate professor Jesper Sjöström from the Malmö University, Sweden.

The thesis argues that learner-centred and learner-driven sustainability education are different constructs, and examined the possibilities and challenges of those approaches. It was noticed that higher education students can plan courses and parts of courses in which they can take the relevant aspects of e.g. sustainability and inquiry in account, although they also faced challenges in their student-led collaborative planning. As a result, a model was also created to support the use of students` own questions in inquiry-based learning.  

Thesis is also in electronic form and you can find it here.
More about research by Jaana Herranen.

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