Päivi Virtanen

Previous research in teaching contexts other than Higher Education (HE) has shown that teachers struggle with stress, burnout, and intention to leave the profession. There is rather scarce evidence that HE teachers’ wellbeing is affected by their teaching processes. Thus, in this case study, how HE teacher educators’ (N = 83) risk of burnout is related to their approaches to teaching, their intention to leave teaching in HE, and the stress experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic have been investigated. Based on the correlations and regression analyses of the survey data, the results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic had increased the work stress of over half of the HE teacher educators, but only a few suffered from burnout and had intended to leave teaching in HE. The risk of teachers suffering from burnout was negatively related to having an interactive teaching approach, and positively related to having an unreflective teaching approach. Both intending to leave teaching and the stress experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic predicted HE teacher educators’ risk of burnout. This study has shown the importance of conducting more research on university teachers’ wellbeing.

Tässä artikkelissa tarkastelemme ensimmäisen vuoden opettajaopiskelijoiden osaamisalueita eli akateemista minäpystyvyyttä, moninaisuuden hyväksymiseen liittyvää osaamista ja tunne- ja syväprosessointitaitoja sekä edellä mainittujen alueiden itsearvioidun osaamisen yhteyttä valintakokeen tuloksiin. Tutkimuksen opiskelijat (N=394) oli valittu opiskelemaan Helsingin ja Itä-Suomen yliopistojen yhteistyönä toteuttamassa opiskelijavalinnassa luokanopettajan, erityisopettajan tai varhaiskasvatuksen opettajan koulutuksiin vuonna 2019. Tutkimustulosten mukaan opiskelijat arvioivat taitonsa osaamisalueilla vahvoiksi tai melko vahvoiksi. Tutkimukseemme osallistuneista opiskelijoista erottui kolme osaamisalueiden suhteen toisistaan eroavaa alaryhmää, jotka erosivat myös opiskelijavalintavaiheen menestyksessä ja koulutusohjelmittain. Tutkimuksemme osoittaa, että kaksivaiheisessa yhteisvalinnassa opettajaopintoihin valikoituu pääasiassa opiskelijoita, joilla on opettajan vaativassa työssä tarvittavan osaamisen kehittymistä tukevia monipuolisia taitoja. Tutkimuksemme tulokset tukevat kaksivaiheisen yhteisvalinnan käyttöä kasvatusalan valinnoissa mutta osoittavat tarpeen tutkia valintamenettelyä edelleen.

Avoimen yliopiston väylä voisi avata yhä useammalle mahdollisuuden kouluttautua läpi elämän, jos sitä laajennettaisiin ja reitistä viestittäisiin nykyistä tehokkaammin. Väylän kautta tulleet valmistuvat nopeammin ja menestyvät opinnoissaan yhtä hyvin kuin päävalinnassa tulleet. Opiskelijat kehittäisivät avoimen väylän hakukriteereitä, pääsykokeita ja väylästä tiedottamista

The study identifies the relationships between active learning, student teachers’ self-regulated learning and professional competences. Further, the aim is to investigate how active learning promotes professional competences of student teachers with different self-regulation profiles. Responses from 422 student teachers to an electronic survey were analysed using statistical methods. It was found that the use of active learning methods, such as goal-oriented and intentional learning as well as autonomous and responsible group work, are strongly and positively related to the achievement of professional competences. To develop the best competences, student teachers need high learning motivation and excellent self-regulation strategies. The mean scores in professional competences of highly motivated student teachers with excellent self-regulated learning were significantly higher when their experiences of active learning increased. Moreover, student teachers with high motivation and moderate self-regulation also benefited significantly from the use of active learning methods.

This study investigates how in the self-regulation of learning (SRL; Pintrich 2000; Zimmerman, 2000), the motivational and affective factors are related to regulation strategies of behaviour and context, and learning strategies - and identifies different profiles in SRL. The study also aims to explore which factors of SRL are related to study success and study progress during master degree studies. The data consist of undergraduate students’ (N = 1248) responses to IQ Learn self-report questionnaires, and of data (n = 229) retrieved from the university ’ s study register. The results revealed that the sub-processes of SRL: motivational and affective components, regulation strategies and learning strategies are systematically related with each other. In addition, motivational and affective factors, especially Intrinsic motivation predicted the use of strategies regulating behaviour and context and the use of learning strategies. Study success correlated slightly positively with accumulation of credits indicating that students with better grades proceed efficiently in their studies. Yet, accumulation of credits was evidenced to relate slightly and negatively with expectancy components of SRL and the use of deep learning strategies. Finally, three student profiles in SRL were encountered: (1) Aiming high with insufficient SRL, (2) Excellent in SRL, and (3) Distressed performers. Educational implications and the needs for future research are discussed.

This study explores how university students representing diverse disciplines and gender differ in their self‐regulation in learning. The definition of self‐regulated learning (SRL) in the present study is based on Pintrich’s and Zimmerman’s theories of SRL and comprises motivational and learning strategies. The sample consisted of 1248 undergraduate students at several Finnish universities. The data were retrieved from the IQ Learn online self‐assessment and tutoring system. Female students scored moderately higher than male students on help‐seeking strategies, utility value and on performance anxiety. Among the diverse disciplines, minor mean differences emerged on all the sub‐dimensions of SRL, though no clear regularity on any discipline’s favour was perceived. However, male and female students of behavioural sciences and female students of sciences scored highest consistently, and the technology students, especially the male students, scored lowest. In the future, the relations between the students’ self‐regulation in learning and instructional approach should be studied further.

The paper focuses on the question of how to advance collaboration through the Web and support lifelong learning. First, the theoretical framework and architecture of a new web‐based tool, the ‘IQ Team’, is introduced. IQ Team is an interactive online assessment and support system to learn social skills needed in cooperative work, and belongs in an interactive online assessing and tutoring system, ‘IQ Form’, developed for the Finnish Virtual University. IQ Team has three main elements: (1) interactive self‐evaluation test banks, (2) online tutoring sets and (3) learning diaries. In the creation of IQ Team, the validation process was conducted with two samples ( n = 259 and n = 275). The online students’ social skills in different groups were explored, and the feedback data from different user groups were analysed. The online students scored high values for social skills, and no differences were discerned between university, Open University and technical students. The qualitative data ( n = 35) were collected in order to get users’ feedback of the tool. The qualitative data consisted of interviews, open‐ended questions and online discussions. The users of IQ Team reflected that the tool benefited them to become aware of their group work skills and developed their collaborative learning skills. IQ Team provides a powerful tool for online instruction and communication in higher education and in the Open University to promote joint‐regulated learning.