Search

The study aims to clarify how Finnish teacher educators integrate research and teaching to support their approaches to teaching. Research questions cover teacher educators' forms of research-teaching integration, approaches to teaching, and the relationship between them. With a survey methodology, the study obtained 101 responses with a questionnaire. Six forms of research-teaching integration were identified with a qualitative content analysis. Integrating research with teaching content was mentioned most often, whereas integrating research with teaching methods and applying inquiry-oriented methods in teaching were reported less. Three kinds of approaches to teaching were found by cluster analysis. The participants with different approaches differed in their ways of research-teaching integration. However, the differences were not statistically significant in Chi-square tests. The study contributes to the international research on teacher educators and the variety in research-teaching integration in teacher education. Future research could further explore the individual and contextual factors influencing their research-teaching integration.

The present mixed-method longitudinal study examines students' experiences of study-related exhaustion, regulation of learning, peer learning and peer support during university studies. At the first measurement point, 188 first-year students completed the questionnaire. At the second measurement point, 91 of the 188 students participated in the follow-up study at their fourth study year and completed the same questionnaire again. Of these, twelve students were interviewed. The results showed that experienced study-related exhaustion and self-regulation of content increased during studies. However, the results also showed a large individual variation in experienced study-related exhaustion. The students whose exhaustion decreased described experiences of peer support that helped them to develop their self-regulation skills. Students whose study-related exhaustion remained low evaluated their self-regulation skills as good. They experienced that they did not need other students' support in the regulation of learning. The students whose study-related exhaustion increased or remained high described more problems in self-regulation. Most students relied on peer support because of self-regulation problems. However, not all students used other students' support despite of problems in studying. It can be concluded that regulation skills have a key role in experienced study-related exhaustion during studies.

This study examines the profiles of self-regulation of learning, peer learning and peer support among students. The study investigates whether the profiles differ in terms of reported study-related exhaustion. Students completed a questionnaire regarding their use of self-regulation of learning and peer learning and perceived peer support and study-related exhaustion. Four different student profiles were found. The profiles differed in terms of self-reported study-related exhaustion. Self-regulated students with a low level of peer learning and low perceived value of peer support reported the lowest levels of study-related exhaustion, whereas students with self-regulation problems, a high level of peer learning and high perceived value of peer support reported the highest levels of study-related exhaustion. The results showed that problems in self-regulation were positively related to self-reported study-related exhaustion. Identifying different student profiles helps to recognise students who may need more support in studying.

PhD in the field of medicine is more common than in any other domain. Many medical doctors are driven towards PhD, but also students with other backgrounds (usually MSc) are conducting a PhD in medical schools. Higher education has invested a lot in developing generic and research competences. Still little is known about how PhD students themselves perceive the competence of future PhDs. The aim of this study is to determine how medical PhD students perceive their future competences and whether there is a difference between MD PhD and MSc PhD students' perceptions. Moreover this study examines students' perceptions of their learning environment and their experienced well-being. The data were collected from 163 medical PhD students. The survey data consisted of Likert type statements, open-ended questions and background variables. PhD students' perceptions of acquired competences were content analysed. The connection between conducted degree and emphasised competences were analysed using cross tabulation and ?[superscript 2]-test Perceptions of well-being and the learning environment were examined using descriptive statistics of scales. The results showed that PhD students considered a wide variety of competences to be central to future PhDs. Their perception of their future competences consisted of scientific and generic competences. All students emphasised scientific competences over generic competences but MSc PhD students emphasised generic skills more than MD PhD students. PhD students' perceptions of their well-being and the learning environment showed that PhD studies are a burdening and stressful process. However students also felt that they received feedback from the scientific community.

The study explored university undergraduates' dilatory behaviour, more precisely, procrastination and strategic delaying. Using qualitative interview data, we applied a theory-driven and person-oriented approach to test the theoretical model of Klingsieck (2013). The sample consisted of 28 Bachelor students whose study pace had been slow during their first university year. Three student profiles emerged. The first concerned strategic delay and was represented by motivated students with strong self-efficacy beliefs who had intentionally postponed their studying. The second consisted of students whose delaying was unnecessary in nature; these students had minor self-regulation problems but were still motivated to study. The third profile consisted of procrastinating students who lacked self-regulation skills and had weaker self-efficacy beliefs. The results indicate that dilatory behaviour can vary from strategic delay to dysfunctional procrastination, and that different factors are related to these various types of dilatory behaviour. This study adds to our theoretical understanding of academic procrastination by empirically testing a new theoretical model of procrastination. In addition, the study shows the value of using a qualitative approach in understanding the phenomenon of dilatory behaviour.

Despite vast research on transitioning to higher education and student diversity, little longitudinal evidence exists of how individual differences of first-year students predict their graduation times. The present study explored the relation between first-year students' study profiles and graduation times in two different disciplines, by following the same students' (N = 65) study progress for six years using student records data. Profiling students was based on student interviews. Statistical analysis of time to degree completion was conducted using event history analysis. The results revealed that first-study-year study profiles clearly predict graduation times and degree completion. Disciplinary differences existed between graduation times, which may be explained by the different structures of the disciplines. The results imply that individual students need tailored support at different phases of their studies.

Students are expected to develop academic competences during their studies. However, research regarding the relation between academic competences and student learning is scarce. The present mixed-methods study aims to investigate the complex interrelations between academic competences and approaches to learning using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The data included 1023 graduates' survey answers and 83 interviews. The results showed that academic competences correlated positively with a deep approach to learning as well as with organised studying, and negatively with a surface approach. The qualitative analysis, however, revealed that descriptions of a deep approach were also found among graduates who evaluated academic competences less highly. Further, the results showed that putting effort into studying and seeing various competences as transferable were also positively related to academic competences and greater satisfaction with the degree obtained. The present study also showed that approaches to learning are closely intertwined with academic competences. The study suggests that the development of academic competences and an ability to identify them can be supported by emphasising deep-level learning and organised studying.

The aim of the present study is to explore changes both in approaches to learning as well as in students' experiences of the teaching-learning environment and how these changes are related to each other during their Bachelor studies by using a longitudinal data set. The aim is further to explore how students' approaches to learning and their perceptions of the teaching-learning environment relate to study success. Participants comprised of 103 students at the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences who participated in the present study from the first to third year of their Bachelor degree studies. We used a modified version of the ETLQ questionnaire and conducted Confirmatory factor analyses on scales representing approaches to learning and the teaching-learning environment at both measurements. We investigated changes at the group level using a paired sample t-test and conducted the final analysis with regression analyses. We then used Structural Equation Modelling to analyse the relationship between approaches to learning, perceptions of the teaching-learning environment, and study success. The results showed an increase in the deep approach to learning and a decrease in students' perceptions of teaching for understanding. Organised studying and interest in studies were related to study success. The results reveal the existence of complex relations between changes in approaches to learning and perceptions of the teaching-learning environment.

The study utilized a multi-method approach to explore the connection between critical thinking and epistemological beliefs in a specific problem-solving situation. Data drawn from a sample of ten third-year bioscience students were collected using a combination of a cognitive lab and a performance task from the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA). The cognitive-lab data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings showed that students' epistemological beliefs were interwoven into their critical thinking: students used critical thinking as a tool (1) for enhancing understanding and (2) for determining truth or falsehood. Based on this classification, students could be placed in one of two qualitative profiles, either (1) thorough processing or (2) superficial processing. The results indicated that students who showed superficial processing palmed off justification for knowing on authoritative figures. In contrast to previous studies these students did not consider knowledge to be absolutely certain or unquestionable. The findings also show that students with thorough processing believed knowledge to be tentative and fallible, but did not share the relativist view of knowledge where any claim counts because all knowledge is relative. All ten students shared a fallibilist view of knowledge.

Since the late 1970s numerous studies have explored students' approaches to learning (referred to as the "SAL" tradition). These studies have provided valuable evidence of students' study strategies and intentions at the university. Since extensive research already exists on students' approaches to learning, there is a need to move forward and analyse student learning from new perspectives. In the present in-depth qualitative study, we analyse interviews of 34 students who scored extremely highly on the deep approach scale in a pre-test in our previous quantitative study (Lindblom-Ylänne, Parpala & Postareff, 2013) and thus are likely to have a strong commitment to understand, and a "disposition to understand for oneself" which is a recently introduced, yet unexplored phenomenon (see Entwistle & McCune, 2009; McCune & Entwistle, 2011). We identified several individual and contextual elements which provided explanations for the students' high scores on the deep approach, as well as for the increase, decrease or stability in their deep approach during one course. The results showed that most students showed a strong commitment to understand, but those whose deep approach sharply decreased during the course showed less commitment and their descriptions revealed problems with, for example, study skills, time management and regulation of learning. However, contextual elements such as the students' experiences of the course teaching and their interest in the course content did not clearly provide explanations for the changes in the deep approach. Elements of a "disposition to understand for oneself" clearly emerged among students whose deep approach did not decrease, or decreased only slightly.

A successful transition from university to working life requires that graduates are able to employ their education and academic competences in real working-life contexts. Our previous research showed that graduates varied in how they were able to reflect on their competences at the time of graduation. The present longitudinal mixed-method study follows the same graduates and explores their evaluations of the usefulness of university education and career success, three years after graduation. The follow-up data consisted of 57 graduates' survey answers analysed by quantitative and qualitative methods. The results showed that graduates who were able to describe and evaluate more competences at the time of graduation perceived their current jobs to correspond more to their education. Graduates with more limited evaluations of their competences, on the other hand, had experienced more challenges related to employment and were more uncertain of their goals. The results also showed that having diverse competences and an ability to recognise them at the time of graduation is important for later career success and may also be related to what kind of challenges graduates face in working life.

This study aims, firstly, to examine the nature of the surface approach to learning in today's university context, and secondly, to explore the factors that explain variations in the use of this approach. The 61 participants were studying in six Bachelor programmes representing various disciplines. These students scored above average on a surface approach scale and volunteered to be interviewed. One compulsory course was selected from each programme. Five surface approach profiles emerged showing variation from a "full surface approach" to a "deep approach with memorisation." Despite very similar high scores on the surface approach scale, students varied in their use of surface-level processes. Thus, the inventory data did not capture the full variation in the students' use of the surface approach to learning. Rich research methods are therefore needed to better understand the nature of students' personal aims as well as their study processes and practices.

The relationship between study success and the nature of 550 first-year law students' study processes was investigated using a modified version of the Approaches to Learning and Studying Inventory. The students were classified into four study profiles according to their approaches to learning, indicating the nature of their study processes. In addition, the students were divided into six study success groups on the basis of their earned study credits and grade point average. The results showed that both approaches to learning and study success in the first study year predicted graduation time and the completion of the degree. Thus, it is important that faculties actively use measures, such as the inventory used in the present study, to promote first-year students' awareness of their study practices and support the progress of their studies. Individual students need tailored guidance in transitioning to university studies and identifying the demands of the study programme.

The aim of the present study was to explore the individual profiles of successful, rapidly progressing first-year university students. The participants numbered 38 humanities and law students, who volunteered to be interviewed. The interview data were analysed using abductive content analysis. Two student profiles were distinguished: "strenuously progressing students," who were interested and motivated but had to work hard to meet their deadlines and maintain a rapid study pace (applying a defensive pessimism cognitive strategy), and "effortlessly progressing students," who had very good self-regulation skills, strong self-efficacy for self-regulation and the most positive experiences of their learning environment. These students applied a deep approach to learning and an optimistic cognitive strategy. The results highlight the complex interplay between motivational and volitional factors, the approaches to learning and the cognitive attributional strategies affecting individual study paths.

The demands and pressures during the first study year at university are likely to arouse a variety of emotions among students. Nevertheless, there are very few studies on the role of emotions in successful studying during the transition phase. The present study adopts a person-oriented and mixed-method approach to explore, first, the emotions individual students experience during the first year at university. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to group students (n = 43) on the basis of the emotions they described in an interview. Second, the study investigates how the students in the different clusters scored on approaches to learning (as measured on the Learn questionnaire) and how they succeeded (GPA) and progressed (earned credits per year) in their studies. Three emotion clusters were identified, which differed in terms of the deep and surface approaches to learning, study success and study progress: (1) "quickly progressing successful students experiencing positive emotions," (2) "quickly progressing successful students experiencing negative emotions" and (3) "slowly progressing students experiencing negative emotions." The results indicate that it is not enough to focus on supporting successful learning, but that attention should also be paid to promoting students' positive emotions and well-being at this time.

Time and effort management skills have proved to be very important in studying, as they provide a foundation for both study success and engagement in university studies across the world. The paper focuses on how these skills develop during university studies in veterinary medicine, and examines possible changes in relation to students' experiences of the teaching-learning environment and study success. The results suggest that students' experience of interest and relevance of the subject matter explained the changes in their time and effort management skills. Moreover, students who scored high in these skills during their Bachelor's studies succeeded well in their later studies. The findings highlight the need to support the development of students' time and effort management skills from the very beginning of university studies. Moreover, the teachers should pay greater attention to the relevance of the subject matter, as it may also support the development of these skills.

The present study aimed to identify difficulties in writing at the beginning of educational science programmes in the Finnish Open University by analysing the students' written argumentation and use of sources at the textual level. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results showed that many students began their educational studies with weak writing competencies. While many of the problems were directly related to students' failure to explain the ideas in their sources in their own words, some problems pertained to other aspects, such as the inability to construct convincing arguments. Understanding the nature of the problems in writing encountered by beginning students in educational sciences can help teachers foster students' participation in academic discourse.

Drawing on research on both engagement in learning and approaches to learning, we examine the associations between international students' approaches to learning, factors in the teaching/learning environment and self-assessed academic outcomes. A total of 307 students responded to our survey. Their experience of the purposefulness of their course assignments and the relevance of their studies was related to students having a deep approach to learning and being organised in their studies. Moreover, students applying a deep approach to learning and being organised in studying seemed to perceive their study success more positively. Furthermore, the better students' perception of how well their courses were organised and aligned with other studies, the lower their stress level was. The Asian students in our study exhibited a slightly more surface approach to learning, and were more organised in their studies than the European students, but the differences were very small.

The study explored factors explaining changes in a deep approach to learning. The data consisted of interviews with 12 students from four Bachelor-level courses representing different disciplines. We analysed and compared descriptions of students whose deep approach either increased, decreased or remained relatively unchanged during their courses. We also explored the effect of the teaching-learning environment on these changes. Individual factors (such as investing time and effort in studying regularly during the courses, the goals set for the courses, study skills and skills in regulating one's own learning) most clearly explained the changes in one's deep approach, while students' experiences of the teaching-learning environment and how they perceived the quality of teaching provided no clear explanation of the changes. An exception was the way in which students experienced the challenges presented by the courses, which was more clearly related to the deep-approach changes.

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.

This article is based on a study which investigated whether Chinese international students at a university in Finland are more likely to rely on a Surface approach to learning and dismiss a Deep approach than are other international students in the same university educational context. In responding to a survey, students' scores with respect to the Deep approach and Organized Studying did not significantly differ between the groups. However, the Chinese students appeared slightly to exhibit the Surface approach to a greater extent, although this result was tentative when the students' extreme response styles were taken into account.

Recent research on problem-based learning (PBL) has shown that students need support when dealing with conflicting ideas in PBL-tutorial discussions. In the present study, we examined tutor facilitation during tutorial discussions, and particularly how the facilitation helped students to collaboratively resolve conflicts on knowledge. The study involved four PBL-tutorial sessions that included altogether 33 first-year medical and dental students. The sessions were videotaped and analysed using qualitative interaction analysis. Our aim was to find out how the tutor interventions encouraged students to elaborate on conflicting ideas, and how the interventions differed between conflict and non-conflict situations. We also examined how the tutors intervened during conflicts about factual or conceptual knowledge. The tutorial discussions included 92 tutor intervention episodes and 43 conflict episodes. The tutors intervened during 24 of the conflict episodes and resolved 13 of these episodes. Generally, the tutors often intervened by confirming what the students had said or by giving explanations, but they rarely asked questions that would stimulate the elaboration of knowledge. During conflicts on knowledge the tutors gave more explanations, but did little to encourage the students to deal with conflicting ideas. The tutors more often resolved conflicts on factual knowledge than conceptual knowledge. The findings suggest that tutor training should focus on promoting tutors' understanding on when to give direct explanations, and when and how to encourage students to collaboratively elaborate on conflicting ideas.