Significant networks and meaningful conversations observed in the first-round applicants for the Teachers’ Academy at a research-intensive university

The University of Helsinki established a Teachers’ Academy to reward excellence in teaching. This study focuses on teachers’ significant networks and their meaningful conversations about teaching and learning before the establishment of the Teachers’ Academy. The research data consisted of answers to open-ended questions, and were examined using social network analysis. The teachers’ network consisted of significant relations with (1) colleagues and other teachers, (2) peers in pedagogical courses and pedagogical experts, (3) students, and (4) family members and friends. The conversations with different parties varied in nature, content and the level of confidentiality.     

Critical thinking as room for subjectification in Education for Sustainable Development

Issues of sustainability are complex and often steeped with ethical and political questions without predefined or general answers. This paper deals with how secondary and upper secondary teachers discuss these complex issues, by analysing their aims for Education for Sustainable Development. With inspiration from discourse theory, their articulations about students as political subjects are analysed. Critical thinking emerged as a nodal point in teachers’ discussions. In this study, critical thinking is articulated as having various qualitative meanings related to different epistemological views. On one hand, critical thinking is articulated to invite room for subjectification; but on the other hand, room for subjectification is challenged when critical thinking is articulated through the educational aims of qualification and socialisation. A consequence of changing epistemological view might be that political and ethical issues take a back seat.     

Measuring pre-service teachers’ noticing competencies within a mathematical modeling context – an analysis of an instrument

Educational Studies in Mathematics - Teaching mathematical modeling is a demanding task. Thus, fostering teachers’ competencies in this regard is an essential component of teacher education....     

Integration of Scientific Competence into Gross Anatomy Teaching Using Poster Presentations: Feasibility and Perception among Medical Students

Scientific competencies, as defined in the German competency framework, describe the ability to think independently and act scientifically which is a central component of medical education. This report describes integration of scientific competencies into anatomical teaching. Based on findings seen in two consecutive years of dissection courses, students worked on either a case report (n = 70) or an original research study (n = 6) in the format of a scientific poster while learning to use primary literature. Posters were evaluated by juror teams using standardized evaluation criteria. Student perception of the project was assessed by quantitative and qualitative data obtained from the faculty's course evaluation and an online-survey. Overall, students worked collaboratively and invested extra-time (median 3.0 hours) in poster creation. Primary literature was integrated in 90.8% of the posters. Overall poster quality was satisfactory (46.3 ± 8.5 [mean ± standard deviation] out of 72 points), but several insufficiencies were identified. Students integrated information gained from the donor's death certificate, post-mortem full-body computed tomography (CT) scan (22.4%), and histopathological workup (31.6%) in their case reports. Students responded positively about learning new scientific skills (median 4.0 on a six-point Likert scale), but free-text answers revealed that some students experienced the project as an extra burden in a demanding gross anatomy course. In summary, it was feasible to introduce students to scientific skills during the dissection course and to increase interest in science in approximately a third of the survey respondents. Further adjustments to ensure the posters' scientific quality might be necessary for the future.     

What factors motivate male and female Generation Z students to become engaged as peer teachers? A mixed-method study among medical and dental students in the gross anatomy course

Peer-teaching is widely established in anatomy teaching and offers well-described advantages. Nevertheless, at Ulm University, Germany, a reduction in the number of peer teacher applicants for the dissection course was observed. This study examined factors related to the attractiveness of a position as a peer teacher for Generation Z students. Participants of the gross anatomy course were asked to evaluate factors influencing the attractiveness of a peer teacher position using a six-point Likert scale. Additionally, open-ended questions were analyzed qualitatively. Sex-specific subgroup analysis was performed comparing students of low and high motivation to apply for a tutorship. Of the 374 students who participated in this study (response rate 53%), 38% stated that they were intending to apply as peer teachers. Data indicated that students displayed intrinsic motivation to apply for a tutorship because of the opportunity to improve their anatomy knowledge and/or their pleasure in teaching. In contrast, extrinsic factors like remuneration of the tutorship and its relevance for their curriculum vitae were least important. Anatomy educators underestimated the demotivating factor of the workload associated with the tutorship and encouraged students less frequently to apply than peer teachers. Only minor sex-specific differences could be identified. Nevertheless, female students were encouraged less frequently to apply than their male peers. In summary, Generation Z students apply as peer teachers because they are enthusiastic about the task. To motivate students to commit to extracurricular activities like a tutorship, anatomy educators should actively encourage students—particularly females—more frequently to apply.