| 1. |
- Bjursten, Eva-Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Assessment practices in Computer Programming
- 2022
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Ingår i: 11<sup>th</sup> Biennial International Design and Technology Teacher’s Association Research Conference (DATTArc). 7-10 Dec.2022. In collaboration with the International Conference on Technology Education (ICTE) – Asia Pacific, Technology Education New Zealand (TENZ), International Technology Engineering Education Association (ITEEA), and 2022 Venue Host, Southern Cross University, Gold Coast Campus, QLD.<em> </em>.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Computer programming education in schools has increased in recent years. It has been implemented in schools in different ways and contexts. Programming was embedded in the Swedish national curriculum in 2018, with a particular focus on the following compulsory subjects: mathematics, social sciences and technology. Teachers therefore face teaching completely new content within the current content domain in an already crowded curriculum. This is a major challenge, particularly in technology, due to the lack of Swedish and international research on how teachers can understand, implement and assess programming in schools. Nevertheless, collaborative assessment can lead to an increased understanding of teaching objectives and knowledge requirements. This study explored teachers’ assessment practices in programming in technology. Based on a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews (n = 14), the results show that teachers lack professional dialogues and are left alone to sort assessment out. Teachers also find it difficult to assess different levels and have low expectations. Suggestions are made for further research on which programming solutions should correspond to which assessment level.
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| 2. |
- Bjursten, Eva-Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Computer programming in primary schools : Swedish Technology Teachers’ pedagogical strategies
- 2022
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Ingår i: International journal of technology and design education. - : Springer Nature. - 0957-7572 .- 1573-1804.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is a recognized need for research on how to teach computer programming in primary schools in Sweden grades 4–6 (10–12-year-old pupils). Studies of teaching show the importance of teachers’ knowledge of content and pedagogy and how these two parts affect each other (i.e. pedagogical content knowledge [PCK]). Most teachers in Sweden have little or no formal education in computer programming, the revised Swedish curriculum requires them to teach it. The aim of this study is to explore the pedagogical strategies teachers use when they teach computer programming. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 participants, comprising 12 teachers and 2 teacher trainers. The data were analysed deductively with themes from previous research. The results show that teachers use eight pedagogical strategies, including three new strategies that have been constructed inductively: do-it-yourself, gamification and progression. These eight pedagogical strategies are mostly general, and teachers may be considered regressed experts, as they lack formal training in computer programming. They facilitate learning in a general sense, but, compared to other subjects, their PCK in computer programming is problematized. In-service teacher training is needed to increase content knowledge, thus enabling to develop PCK in computer programming. It would also be fruitful to deepen our knowledge regarding pedagogical strategies in the PCK domain of computer programming.
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| 3. |
- Angelin, Marcus, et al.
(författare)
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Rocket scientist for a day : Investigating alternatives for chemical propulsion
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Education. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0021-9584 .- 1938-1328. ; 89:10, s. 1301-1304
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This laboratory experiment introduces rocket science from a chemistry perspective. The focus is set on chemical propulsion, including its environmental impact and future development. By combining lecture-based teaching with practical, theoretical, and computational exercises, the students get to evaluate different propellant alternatives. To complete the task, they need to use several important curricular concepts, such as the breaking and formation of bonds, redox reactions, and thermodynamics. They also apply basic computational electronic structure calculations to investigate the energetic content of hitherto nonexisting alternatives. Finally, actual chemical rocket propulsion is demonstrated through the assembly and testing of a model rocket motor, employing a commercially available kit. The full experiment was developed for upper-level high school classes and is completed in a 3-h lab period. The experiment, or parts of it, has also been successfully used both in undergraduate programs and continuing education for teachers.
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| 4. |
- Björlin Svozil, Louise, et al.
(författare)
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Portrayals of Technology Education in Swedish Upper Secondary Education
- 2020
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Ingår i: 2020 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE). - : IEEE.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this Research Full Paper we contribute to the research on constructions of technology education. Why are women and minority groups often under-represented in student cohorts in STEM programmes? Many studies have addressed this question, and much is known about the impact of representations of technology studies on the choices and motivations of these demographic groups in many countries. Many of the recent studies published in the English language address the North American education system. This paper investigates if perpetuation of gender norms might be evident in recruitment materials for Swedish upper secondary education. This research question is addressed through an analysis of how upper secondary education schools use images in presenting their university preparatory programs to prospective students. Swedish postcompulsory school education comprises a number of specialised upper secondary school programmes in Technology, Natural science, Social science and Economy. A significant display area of the web content regarding these programmes is pictorial information. In this study Technology Education is viewed as a societal construction and images representing the technology program are here used as a way of discovering both perceptions about them, and underlying themes that the choice of images might communicate. Three themes, Environment, Pedagogical approach and Human presence, emerge and serve as a foundation from which similarities and differences in the visual messages associated with these programs are investigated. Our major finding is that images used in association with Technology Education portray a paucity of social relations and a dominant culture of working/studying alone. These findings are of concern, as this type of profile has been shown to reduce motivation of women and minority groups to pursue such a career.
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| 5. |
- Buckley, Jeffrey, 1992-, et al.
(författare)
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A comparison of swedish and Irish secondary students conceptions of engineers and engineering using the draw-an-engineer test
- 2019
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Ingår i: ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings. - : American Society for Engineering Education.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Women are significantly underrepresented in engineering and engineering related disciplines. One area where this is clearly illustrated is in the percentage of females enrolled in higher education engineering courses. The 2016 data on enrolment by field from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that the maximum percentage of female enrolment in “engineering and engineering trades” education at Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral level in OECD countries is 28.33% in Sweden. As this form of education is likely to lead to a career in an engineering related field, there is a clear need to understand the factors which influence female students' decisions to enroll in higher education engineering courses. There are many influences on students' choices to pursue specific career paths. For example, how students conceive a particular discipline or career will influence this decision, as what they believe it to involve will likely affect their interest in engaging with it. In engineering, students often have misconceptions regarding what it means to be an engineer and the Draw-an-Engineer Test (DAET) has frequently been used to investigate these misconceptions. Studies using DAET have found that young students typically conceive engineers to be male, with the majority of male students typically representing engineers as male, but, with female students drawing more frequent but still relatively small proportions of female engineers. However, at least with the original “Draw a” instrument, the Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST), children's drawings of scientists have been found to be becoming more gender diverse over time. In this study, the DAET is used in a comparative study between Sweden and Ireland. These countries were selected as according to the 2016 OECD data on higher education enrolment, Sweden has the highest representation of female engagement with engineering in higher level education (28.33%), while Ireland has one of the lowest (14.13%). The study cohort (ntotal = 513; nIreland = 302; nSweden = 211) in the context of both countries includes students who are approximately 15 years old. This age is of cultural significance in both countries as students are at a juncture in second level education where they must make a choice on what they will study at upper secondary level, which will consequently have an impact on their decision on what to study should they choose to progress to higher level education. Results are presented in relation to participants engineering stereotypes in terms of gender and the nature of engineering activities, and also in terms of their level of interest in engineering. Importantly, the results indicate that in order to understanding engineering stereotypes and young people's interest in becoming an engineer, the complex relationship between a student's gender, cultural context, and conception of engineering must be considered.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Buckley, Jeffrey, 1992-, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring the Prototypical Definitions of Intelligent Engineers Held by Irish and Swedish Higher Education Engineering Students
- 2021
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Ingår i: Psychological Reports. - : SAGE Publications. - 0033-2941 .- 1558-691X.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Males are generally overrepresented in higher education engineering. However, the magnitude of this variance differs between countries and engineering fields. Evidence associated with the field-specific ability beliefs hypothesis suggests that perceptions of intelligence held by actors within engineering affects the engagement of underrepresented groups. This study examined perceptions of an intelligent engineer held by undergraduate and postgraduate engineering students in Ireland and Sweden, countries selected based on their levels of female representation in engineering education. It was hypothesised that there would be a significant difference in perceptions between countries. A survey methodology was employed in which a random sample of Irish and Swedish university students completed two surveys. The first asked respondents to list characteristics of an intelligent engineer, and the second asked for ratings of importance for each unique characteristic. The results indicate that an intelligent engineer was perceived to be described by seven factors; practical problem solving, conscientiousness, drive, discipline knowledge, reasoning, negative attributes, and inquisitiveness when the data was analysed collectively, but only the five factors of practical problem solving, conscientiousness, drive, discipline knowledge and negative attributes were theoretically interpretable when the data from each country was analysed independently. A gender × country interaction effect was observed for each of these five factors. The results suggest that the factors which denote intelligence in engineering between Irish and Swedish males and females are similar, but differences exist in terms of how important these factors are in terms group level definitions. Future work should consider the self-concepts held by underrepresented groups with respect to engineering relative to the factors observed in this study.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Buckley, Jeffrey, 1992-, et al.
(författare)
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Framing the constructive alignment of design within technology subjects in general education
- 2020
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Ingår i: International journal of technology and design education. - : Springer. - 0957-7572 .- 1573-1804.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Design is core element of general technology education internationally. While there is a degree of contention with regards to its treatment, there is general consensus that the inclusion of design in some form is important, if not characteristic, of the subject area. Acknowledging that design is important, there are many questions which need to be considered in order to guide policy and practice, such as whether a singular general design ability can be explicitly defined empirically beyond an implicit verbal definition, and whether it can be taught and assessed. In order to address these questions in a systematic fashion, a framework is needed in order to guide relevant investigations. Having such a framework would allow for theory to be generated, hypotheses to be tested, and assumptions to be challenged. In response to this apparent need, this article presents a theoretical discussion pertaining to the constructive alignment of learning to design, wherein theories of knowledge, variation theory, knowledge transfer, and assessment validity and reliability are reflected upon.
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| 10. |
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