Research group
Knowledge Building and Knowledge in Education
Knowledge building and knowledge in education are central to the group's work. This target formulation indicates a normative positioning but is also aimed at studies of forms of knowledge and knowledge practices in education. The group has an interdisciplinary profile linked to studies of the use of technology in education, and also to surveys of knowledge, knowledge practices and educational practices in school subjects, curricula, political documents etc.
The strategy of the faculty (FLU) seems to be concerned with research-based knowledge in education, and more generally to develop good academic quality in the master program of primary and secondary teacher’s education (MAGLU). This goal requires an emphasis on specialized knowledge, both in teacher education and in schools. KKBU shares this view with the faculty and will work to strengthen the position of knowledge in teacher education and schools. The subject renewal in the school emphasises in-depth learning, related to the subjects' theories and concepts. KKBU aims to contribute to what we can understand with in-depth learning and progression in the subjects, through surveys of segmental and cumulative forms of knowledge building in education.
Active research projects
Project manager/coordinator: Erik Bratland and Mohamed El Ghami
This project will be based on LCT specialization (Maton 2014, 2016), and highlights the subjects' forms of knowledge and the importance of this knowledge for the integration of technology in school. It is assumed that the school subjects, as described in the curriculum, are based on different forms of knowledge.
This project will investigate how including the scope and form of integration of technology in the classroom is dependent on various forms of knowledge; as they exist in subjects and their knowledge practices in school. In this way, the project aims to increase the understanding that integration of technology in school depends on the subjects' forms of knowledge. More precisely, the project will include an empirical study of a selection of schools and secondary school teachers in Northern Norway.
Project manager/coordinator: Patrick Murphy and Morten Mediå
The aim of the project is teaching topics / main focus is practice-based: The extended classroom / school's use of local learning resources / place-based learning.
This project is based on pragmatism and phenomenology theories of the relationship between man, culture and place. In pragmatism and phenomenology, place is central in our existence. For children, much of the knowledge and life experience will come from the place they know. Alone or with friends, they explore their immediate area. A school that is based on the children's world and their knowledge, and builds on this, can create motivation for learning. This will also be important in children's process of forming their identity.
With this theoretical starting point, Project Part I investigated how much schools and teachers in Helgeland use local learning resources, why local learning resources are used in schools, which local learning resources are used, and what the challenges are.
Part II is a survey of two schools in Helgeland that use local learning resources. The focus here is why schools use local learning resources. How do principals and teachers justify this? What do pupils and parents think about the schools' focus on local learning resources?
Part III is the study of specific projects in schools that use local learning resources. The focus is on what happens with motivation, social environment in the classes and the students' relationship with their local community during the project / activity.
Project manager/coordinator: Erik Bratland
This project is based on LCT specialization (Maton 2014, 2016), and examines what kinds of perceptions of knowledge form the basis of the Norwegian authorities' strategy to digitalize the school. In addition to analyzing key documents, such as the Program for Digital Competence 2004-2008 (PDK 2004) and Future, Renewal and Digitalization.
Digitalization strategy for basic education 2017-2021 (FFD 2017), the project will investigate further effects for the school. The effects of the authorities' strong emphasis on social conditions and a new labor market will be related to school education, including possible collisions between the government's strategy and knowledge practices in the school's subjects.
Publications: https://wo.cristin.no/as/WebObjects/cristin.woa/wo/12.Profil.29.25.2.3.15.1.5.3
PhD-projects
PhD student: Maria Herset
Supervisor: Mohamed El GhamiThe theme of the project is ability grouping and self-efficacy in mathematics. Ability grouping is used to adjust teaching to students’ ability, whereby textbook problems and tests generally are grouped by level of difficulty. This enables students to adapt problem solving to their academic level and promote academic self-beliefs. The purpose of this project is to investigate if ability grouping affected students’ motivational, decisional, cognitive and emotional processes. My research question is: To what extent can the level marking of the math task have one effect on students’ self-efficacy? This is important since there is a strong connection between self-efficacy and achievements in mathematics.
