UmSER is a research environment with an open and collegial climate where it is easy to collaborate and receive constructive feedback. This provides good support for conducting research of high quality and productivity - which is reflected in the more than 20 dissertations produced in the environment since 2004. The research includes several different types of theoretical and methodological approaches, and is often conducted in close cooperation with schools, preschools, and other universities.
The research aims at increasing our knowledge about teaching and learning in science, technology, and engineering (STE) education, exploring questions related to teaching practices, subject content, learning contexts, gender issues, epistemic beliefs, emotions, and motivation. The research focuses both students and educators, and includes all stages of formal education, from preschool to university. Our research often employs an applied approach and addresses concerns that are pertinent for teachers in schools and universities. Leaders of the research environment are Professor Mikael Winberg and Professor Christina Ottander. Within the framework of UmSER's seminar series, theoretical, methodological, and practice-related issues are discussed. Besides the general seminar series, Associate Professor Maria Berge leads a seminar series specialized on identity and power perspectives in science and technology education.
Our research can be divided into five general areas, which are briefly described below. For more information about the areas, please see the personal web pages of the contact persons. For information on projects that current postdocs and graduate students are working on, see their personal websites (links below).
Motivation and emotions are central in all teaching and learning processes. Within our research on motivation, we study the relationships between different types of motivation and students’ subject knowledge, learning behavior, and emotions (from an educational psychology perspective). We are also interested in how students’ motivation changes over time, differences between different groups of students, and what role various factors in the teaching have for shaping students’ motivation. The relationship between students’ motivation and their view on knowledge and learning (i.e., epistemic beliefs) is a research area we would like to develop. In our research on emotions, we study how students and educators express and negotiate emotions in STE education. We are particularly interested in students’ emotions as they encounter epistemic challenges (e.g., uncertainty, ambiguity) in environmental and sustainability education – and the ways in which educators can provide emotional support to improve learning.
Contact
Motivation: Mikael Winberg, Eva Knekta, Anders Hofverberg
Emotions: Johanna Lönngren, Mikael Winberg, Christina Ottander, Maria Berge
What norms can we find in classrooms? Who feels welcomed and who does not? These are questions we explore in our research on identity and power issues in Science, Technology, and Engineering education. We are, for example, interested in racial/ethnic, social class, and gender studies. We are interested in discourses related to equity and diversity issues, and the ways those discourses are related to teaching and learning practices. A better understanding of the power dynamics in STE teaching and learning is needed to ensure the best possible education, a vision that most schools and universities put forward as crucial and central.
Contact: Maria Berge, Johanna Lönngren
Educators at all levels of education are today required to integrate sustainability into their teaching, but we still need a lot more research to better understand how such integration can be done successfully. Our research in this area focuses on STE education aimed at developing students’ action competence, preparing them for dealing with wicked sustainability problems, socio-scientific issues (SSI), value conflicts, and irreducible uncertainty. We also study citizenship education and the role of emotions in environmental and sustainability education (see above).
Contact: Johanna Lönngren, Eva Knekta, Christina Ottander, Annika Manni, Mikael Winberg
Our research in this area focuses on how educational cultures, teaching methods, and the physical environment interact and affect science learning in preschool and school year 1-6. Another focus is science teaching continuity across school forms. We conduct research in close collaboration with teachers in preschool and schools, as well with actors in other academic disciplines. One example is studies of arts-science integration, another is sustainable outdoor education at large preschools.
Contact: Sofie Areljung, Christina Ottander, Annika Manni
Within this area, we study how instructional practices influence students’ learning in science, technology, and engineering. Our projects are often design-based and depart from co-operations between teachers and researchers, with the aim to improve instructional practices in diverse educational contexts., For example, we explore how chemistry instruction can be supported by visualizing complex content through digital tools, such as Virtual Reality. We also study how context-based instruction and instruction with socio-scientific issues can support learning of subject knowledge and scientific inquiry practices. Moreover, we study teachers’ instructional practices and their development of didactical strategies. In the context of our research on emotions (see above), we also focus on scaffolding for learning, especially emotional scaffolding for dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity.
Contact: Karolina Broman, Johanna Lönngren, Christina Ottander, Eva Knekta, Anders Hofverberg, Sofie Areljung, Mikael Winberg
UmSER regularly invites national and international researchers to exchange ideas and experiences. Nationally, we collaborate with Chalmers Institute of Technology, University of Gothenburg, Dalarna University, Karlstad University Stockholm University, Uppsala University, and Linnaeus University. We also have good connections with several European institutions, for example, Aalborg University, NTNU (Norway), Åbo Akademi in Vaasa, and through participation in projects within Horizon 2020 and the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI). Beyond Europe, we collaborate with individual researchers and institutions in the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and Malaysia, for example, within the context of the Emotions in Engineering Education Network. We are always interested in exploring new opportunities for collaboration. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with any of us!
