| 1. |
- Lundqvist, Eva, 1972-
(författare)
-
Undervisningssätt, lärande och socialisation : Analyser av lärares riktningsgivare och elevers meningsskapande i NO-undervisning
- 2009
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to study teachers’ manner of teaching and its role for students’ meaning making. In order to shed light on this interplay, a methodological approach, based on pragmatism, a sociocultural perspective on learning and Wittgenstein’s later works, is developed and applied. As the methodological approach is designed to study meanings as constituted in action, the empirical material consists of conversations between teachers and students. The practice in focus is science education in Swedish compulsory school. The thesis includes four case studies. In the first study, the method EMA (Epistemological Move Analysis) is developed with the aim of describing teachers’ role for the students’ learning of scientific knowledge. In the second study, another method – CACM (Communication Analysis of Companion Meanings) is developed and illustrated. With CACM, epistemological norms and companion meanings are analysed in order to describe students’ socialisation into a specific practice. In the third study, CACM is used to analyse and describe two central epistemological norms and companion meanings in three teachers’ teaching. The fourth study seeks to describe in full one teacher’s manner of teaching in terms of educational philosophy and selective tradition. Using the developed approach, an analysis of one teacher’s teaching during the course of four lessons is conducted. The results show that, without prescribing teachers and students a specific view of science, it is both possible and fruitful to study how meanings are constituted in action in classroom practice. At the same time as the students learn scientific knowledge, they are also socialised into specific ways of approaching science. Teachers’ epistemological moves, in encounter with students’ meaning making, play an important role for students’ learning in science as well as about science.
|
|
| 2. |
- Bjurulf, Veronica, 1970-
(författare)
-
Teknikämnets gestaltningar : En studie av lärares arbete med skolämnet teknik
- 2008
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The thesis deals with how technology as a school subject is presented to the pupils in the Swedish compulsory school at junior high school level. The main focus is on how teachers work with the subject matter in teaching, which is on the level of the enacted curriculum. The official documents established by the national school authorities, the intended curriculum, and the hidden curriculum are both of special interest in the study. The hidden curriculum refers to possible, but not intended consequences of the enacted curriculum for pupils’ understanding of technology as a school subject. The empirical analysis of the study is based on a narrative analysis on the one hand and the variation theory on the other. The empirical data collection consists of data from: (a) interviews with five teachers and (b) a series of classroom observations, covering an entire section of each teacher’s course of the subject matter. The data from the interviews with these teachers indicated that they understood the concept of technology as human made artefacts aiming to satisfy practical needs. When it came to the understanding of technology as a school subject the teachers differed between understanding the aim of the subject as to: (1) practice craftsmanship, (2) prepare the pupils for future careers as engineers, (3) illustrate science, (4) strengthen girls’ technical self-confidence and (5) get the pupils interested in technology in order to become inventors in the future. The data from the classroom observations indicated that the teaching presented in technology gave the pupils the opportunity to develop three specific capabilities: (1) evaluate and test functionality, (2) be precise and accurate and (3) construct, build and mount. The three capabilities were possible to develop when accomplishing tasks of practical character. Results also indicated that technology as a school subject was taught in different ways depending on the teachers’ educational background, the physical learning environment and the size of the school class. Variation theory was applied as a tool in the analysis of the data from the classroom observations, i.e. the teachers’ ways of working with the subject matter. The analysis indicated that the most frequently used pattern of variation was ‘contrast’. Through the contrast-variation the teachers managed to contrast better or worse alternatives of constructing and using artefacts. It can be argued that this pattern of variation, ‘contrast’, is the proper pattern when pupils are working with limited or expensive material. The overall conclusion of the study is that teachers’ interpretations of current intended curriculum and their choices of subject matter and teaching methods affect which abilities the pupils are offered to develop in technology as a school subject. Based on the results of the study it can be argued that the education and the teaching of technology lacks realism and the result is that technology as a school subject may be experienced by pupils as not very important. It is obvious that the school subject technology, as well as teaching in technology, in the Swedish compulsory school, demands more attention from the national school authorities, in order to develop the pupils’ understanding that technology as a subject is related to the future development of society and social welfare.
|
|
| 3. |
- Eriksson, Maria
(författare)
-
Att kommunicera naturvetenskap i nationella prov : En studie med andraspråksperspektiv
- 2015
-
Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In Sweden, as in many other countries, there are major focuses on knowledge assessment and accountability in school. It has been decided that National Tests will be conducted in biology, physics and chemistry in grade 6 from 2013. According to the Swedish national curriculum, language and communication skills are important in all school subjects. The National Tests are expected to test the skills specified in the curricula, including the ability to communicate scientific knowledge. However, including the use of communication skills in a science test may prevent some students, such as students who do not have Swedish as their first language, from properly displaying their knowledge in science. The results of the national tests in science also show that students with Swedish as a second language perform lower in the tests than students with Swedish as their first language. Based on these results the purpose of this study is to investigate the difficulties of students with Swedish as a second language in relation to the part of the national test in science that assess communication skills. The study also investigates whether students' first language can be a resource in verbal conversation about the test questions. The study is based on test scores and interviews with 15 students with Arabic as their first language. Results from this study show that students' first language are used as a resource in the discussions and then primarily to get difficult words and concepts explained. Furthermore, the results indicate that the authentic (or realistic) questions contained in the tests, are likely to make the students' background important for their test performance, since similarcontents are not necessarily part of the teaching of science subjects. Most of the questions are also presented in an ”everyday context”, while the answers expected include scientific concepts and reasoning. Therefore the requirements and expectations become unclear to the students. Although these difficulties with authentic questions are not specific to students with Swedish as a second language, there is a risk that the difficulties have greater impact on this particular group of students. Thus, this can contribute to these students perform lower in the National Tests in science subjects, compared to students with Swedish as their first language.
|
|
| 4. |
- Ganda Mall, John-Peter, 1988-
(författare)
-
Non-digestible Polysaccharides and Intestinal Barrier Function : specific focus on its efficacy in elderly and patients with Crohn’s disease
- 2018
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A large number of elderly suffer from gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms such as constipation and diarrhoea. The underlying mechanisms of age-acquired GI symptoms are not well studied but are necessary to clarify in order to recommend the right treatment. Non-digestible polysaccharides (NPS) are dietary fibres that could have beneficial effects on the intestinal immune system and barrier function, although their efficacy needs to be evaluated. Paper I showed that elderly with GI symptoms have significantly higher small intestinal permeability than a general elderly population, along with a stronger association to psychological distress. In Paper II we performed a randomised controlled trial with a general population of elderly that consumed either placebo, the NPS’s arabinoxylan or oat β-glucan for a period of 6 weeks. No protective effects were observed related to indomethacin-induced intestinal hyperpermeability, inflammatory markers, or self-reported health if compared to placebo. Paper III showed that stimulation with a yeast-derived β-glucan significantly attenuated Compound (C) 48/80-induced hyperpermeability in colonic biopsies from elderly with GI symptoms mounted in Ussing chambers, but not in young healthy adults. Arabinoxylan attenuated only C48/80-induced transcellular permeability in elderly but both paracellular and transcellular permeability in young healthy adults. Paper IV showed that the same yeast-derived β-glucan from paper III could cross the epithelium of ileal tissues from patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and non-CD controls, mounted in Ussing chambers, and attenuate C48/80-induced hyperpermeability. In conclusion, we found that elderly with GI symptoms display a deteriorated barrier function and that administration of selective NPS can have beneficial effect on intestinal permeability in selective populations.
|
|
| 5. |
- Granklint Enochson, Pernilla, 1965-
(författare)
-
Elevers föreställningar om kroppens organ och kroppens hälsa utifrån ett skolsammanhang
- 2009
-
Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Denna avhandling har fokus på 88 elevers föreställningar om vad som händer i kroppen då de äter en smörgås, dricker vatten och sväljer en värktablett. Sedan har jag studerat hur dessa föreställningar påverkar deras kunskaper vad det gäller kroppens fysiologi och deras ställningstagande i hälsofrågor. Enkäter av olika slag samt intervjuer har använts vid datainsamlingen. Studien bekräftar till vissa delar den forskning som är gjord i främst Europa. Det som är nytt och tidigare inte har publicerats är det som fokuseras i denna sammanfattning av licentiat avhandling - Elevers föreställningar om kroppens organ och kroppens hälsa utifrån ett skolsammanhang.Eleverna hade mycket svårt att se sambanden mellan de olika organsystemen i kroppen. Detta visade sig då eleverna ombads att beskriva hur vattnen tar sig genom kroppen. Studien visade det att endast ett fåtal elever kunde länka ihop: matspjälkningsystemet - blodsystem - njurarna. Det var något lättare om än inte enkelt för eleverna att överföra sin kunskap om matspjälkningssystemets funktion, som i fallet då de beskrev en smörgåsens väg genom kroppen, och överföra denna kunskap till hur en värktablett transporteras genom kroppen. Eleverna har visat att de har lättare att överföra kunskap från ett sammanhang till ett annat, som i fallen smörgåsen och värktabletten, än att föra samman flera olika organsystem som i fallet med vattnets väg genom kroppen.En grupp elever beskrev ett system för vattens transport i kroppen som helt saknar naturvetenskaplig förankring. Dessa elever ritade ett rör som transporterade vatten direkt från munnen ner till njurarna. Detta hade konsekvenser för hur eleverna sedan svarade på andra frågor, dessa elever hade svårare att förstå njurens funktion och de hade också mer vardagsnära förklaringar exempelvis på frågan varför vi människor svettas.När det gäller hälsorelaterade frågor kunde man se att några elever anser att kroppen lagrar näring och energi då de avstår en måltid. Detta resultat är intressant då de har en annan syn på hela näringsupptagningen i kroppen än den vedertagna naturvetenskapliga förklaringen.En grupp elever som hade en mera utvecklad förståelse av hur värktabletter transporteras genom kroppen, var de som främst ansåg att värktabletter kunde ersättas med smärtstillande krämer. Denna grupp angav också spontant färre alternativ för att lindra smärta, så som massage etc. Över hälften av de eleverna som intervjuades ansåg att det fanns näring vatten men de kunde inte närmare precisera vad denna näring skulle bestå av. Den andra mindre hälften ansåg antingen att det inte fanns näring i vattnet eller angav olika mineraler och grundämnen. Jag fann också en föreställning bland eleverna om att man måste dricka vatten för att bekämpa bakterier.När eleverna tillfrågades vad de ansåg att de fått sin kunskap om kropp och hälsa ifrån fann man skolan som den absolut viktigaste källan och där efter föräldrarna och på tredje plats TV:n. Andra alternativ som Internet, tidningar och så vidare var det betydlig färre elever som angav som kunskapskällor.
|
|
| 6. |
- Jakobson, Britt, 1951-
(författare)
-
Learning Science Through Aesthetic Experience in Elementary School : Aesthetic Judgement, Metaphor and Art
- 2008
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis considers the role of aesthetic meaning-making in elementary school science learning. Children’s aesthetic experiences are traced through their use of aesthetic judgements, spontaneous metaphors and art activities. The thesis is based on four empirical studies: the first two examining children’s language use, i.e. the role of aesthetic judgements and the significance of spontaneous metaphors while learning science and the latter two dealing with how art activities mediate what elementary school children learn in science and what a variety of art activities with different purposes afford elementary school children to learn in science.The theoretical stance emanates from pragmatist theories and includes Dewey’s definition of an aesthetic experience, Wittgenstein’s later work on language-games, and socio-cultural perspectives. The analytic approach used is a practical epistemology analysis developed by Wickman and Östman. The empirical data consists of audio- and video recordings of elementary school children’s (aged 6–10 years) discussions in pairs or small groups during science lessons and photographs of children’s pictures, sculptures and poems from a total of 14 different elementary school classes.The main findings of the empirical studies show how aesthetic meaning-making is continuous with elementary school children’s scientific learning. The thesis shows how elementary school children’s aesthetic experiences are related to whole activities and are crucial for the direction that learning takes. Aesthetic experience is important in terms of how and what elementary school children learn aesthetically and normatively in science class, which has consequences for cognitive learning, the possibility of participating in science class and learning the genre of science. Moreover, it can be seen how children’s prior experiences are recurrently reconstructed and transformed through imaginative processes.
|
|
| 7. |
- Östlund-Lagerström, Lina, 1984-
(författare)
-
"The gut matters" : an interdisciplinary approach to health and gut function in older adults
- 2016
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Improved life expectancy is a triumph of modern medicine. However, today’s senior citizens are predicted to soon consume 75% of the available health-care resources. Identifying new strategies to promote a healthy ageing process has thus become a priority. In contribution to the research field of healthy ageing this thesis is focused on the health and gut function of older adults. Paper I explored ‘optimal functionality’; a new approach to put the older adult’s own perspectives on health in focus. According to the results a plethora of factors related to the body, the self and the external environment needs to be considered in order to create a comprehensive understanding of the health experience in old age. Paper II characterised senior orienteering athletes as a new model of healthy ageing, due to their significantly better percived health as compared to other free-living older adults; in particular they report better gut health. As the gut is important to health maintenance and immune function paper III explored inflammation and oxidative stress in senior orienteering athletes, and older adults with gut problems, generally finding low levels in both groups. Subsequently, Paper IV investigated the health status of free-living older adults in Örebro County and also reports the results from a randomised controlled trial evaluating the effect of a probiotic supplement on self-reported health and gut symptoms. Two-thirds of the included older adults reported gut problems, however, the probiotic intervention failed to show any effects.This thesis provides additional perspectives on older adults health and gut function, by concluding that 1) optimal functionality may be a useful concept to map areas of importance to the older adult’s health experience, 2) senior orienteers may be regarded as a suitable model to study healthy ageing, 3) the prevalence of gut problems among the general population of Swedish older adults is high, but was not improved by probiotic supplementation with Lactobacillus reuteri.
|
|
| 8. |
- Elm Fristorp, Annika, 1958-
(författare)
-
Design för lärande : barns meningsskapande i naturvetenskap
- 2012
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of the study was to describe and analyse the design of learning environments and how children in preschool, preschool class and primary school create meaning and learn from the teaching aids offered to them in scientific activities planned by teachers.The theoretical reference frame was obtained from multimodal and design-oriented theory, with its focus on the creative dimensions of learning and detailed aspects of how learning takes place. The study is based on video-observations and constituted an in-depth study of a limited number of occasions spent in preschool, preschool classes and the first year of primary school when science lessons were in progress. Four children’s groups, thirty-six children and five teachers took part in the study, from different schools and municipalities. The children are aged between three and seven. The video-observations have been transcribed as text and analysed with analytical concepts found within the theoretical framework.The results show that considering the number of children in the children’s groups, relatively few children take part in the scientific learning contexts. Changes in the balance of power were evident in the learning settings and followed the interaction patterns that were identified in the children’s groups. The results also show that children create representations – both individually and corporately – in new or different ways that are made up of analogies expressed in terms of equivalent, existential, expressive and figurative analogies. The children’s verbal expressions that corresponded with the responses expected by the teachers were highly valued, were paid attention to and were recognised as know-how. This meant that many of the potential meanings that exist in children’s meaning-making in science become invisible. The results have educational implications for teachers’ work at the local level and for teacher training.
|
|
| 9. |
- Lundin, Mattias, 1970-
(författare)
-
Students’ participation in the realization of school science activities
- 2007
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- I denna avhandling visar jag hur elever och lärare genomför NO-verksamhet i grundskolan. Avhandlingen illustrerar hur elevers frågor och uttryckta erfarenheter blir en del av ett etablerat ämnesinnehåll. Syftet med studien är att skapa förståelse för hur två agendor – varav den ena baseras på elevers deltagande och den andra baseras på ett etablerat ämnesinnehåll – orkestreras så att båda agendorna tillgodoses vid genomförandet av NO-verksamheten. Studien bygger på videoobservationer under NOlektioner i skolår 5-9. Analysen visar hur olika aktiviteter i genomförandet av ett NOprojekt orkestrerar elevers frågor och uttryckta erfarenheter med ett naturvetenskapligt innehåll. Analysen visar också hur naturvetenskapens karaktär, the Nature of Science (NOS), kommuniceras som följemening till instruktioner. Vidare illustrerar avhandlingen olika sätt att använda frågor för att överbrygga vetenskapliga och vardagliga sätt att kommunicera. Resultaten visar också olika roller som elevers erfarenheter antar i en NOverksamhet. Resultaten utgör en konkretisering av skolans naturvetenskap, the Nature of School Science (NOSS). Skolans naturvetenskapliga aktiviteter begripliggörs lämpligen om de betraktas utifrån sina egna syften och förutsättningar. I avhandlingen utvecklas begreppet NOSS för att lyfta fram sådana syften och förutsättningar såsom dessa framträder i aktiviteten.
|
|
