Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences (HiOA): Open Access Journals
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Review on pedagogical practices for computational thinking in teacher education: Characterizing an emerging field
No full textAs computational thinking (CT) enters school curricula, and research on teaching of CT emerges, the time has come to spotlight CT in teacher education (TE). To this end, we conducted a literature review on CT in TE for STEM subjects with particular focus on research into pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) learning of pedagogical practices. We found 31 articles addressing CT in TE for STEM subjects between 2012 and 2023, applying qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, mainly with smaller sample sizes. Almost all describe teaching interventions with research on PSTs’ CT skills or attitudes. Only five articles include research questions explicitly addressing pedagogical practices for learning to teach CT. However, 13 articles explicitly describe such pedagogical practices and another seven implicitly do so. The review shows that the practices for teaching CT is an under-researched area, and the field lacks a common language and systematic research approaches. However, we do find that TE has clear ambitions for teaching PSTs about pedagogical practices as well as CT skills and attitudes
Stitching Together (in) Anthropology Class : On the Use of Craft Practices in Higher Education Humanities
No full textAs an anthropologist teaching at a German-speaking Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology Department (pertaining to a Humanities Faculty), it always struck me how much we know about the role embodiment plays in and for culture and how little we make use of this in teaching. For this reason, I decided to expand established Higher Education pedagogy by putting craft (as a) practice at the centre of my newly developed course entitled DIY in Times of Crisis and Beyond. As a result, my students and I developed our thinking through and while practising embroidery in class, weaving in the mandatory readings and narrations of (pandemic) crafting experiences along the way. Borrowing from the low-threshold approach to stitching in community-based creativity projects, our shared and mostly novice stitching facilitated the articulation of thoughts-in-progress, thus creating a space in which dominant views regarding social (craft) norms, quantifiable productivity as well as academic logocentrism could be temporarily suspended, giving way to embodied wisdom
Changes in Craft Education: A Case Study on General Education in Latvia
No full textIn Latvia, the aim, content, and name of the subject of craft education have changed several times. The most recent transformation to “craft education” has been made following the general education reform, which has been gradually implemented since 2020. This study aims to investigate how the purpose and content of craft learning in Latvian comprehensive schools have changed as a result of this reform in comparison to the previous period. A qualitative study was carried out by analysing normative documents and interviewing design and technology teachers (N = 9) with at least 10 years of experience. The document analysis shows that the goal of teaching craft education has shifted from using craft as an opportunity to improve the quality of the living environment through creative involvement in techniques to producing valuable objects for oneself and society through the design process. The most significant change in the content is that craft is taught through the design process. Moreover, every pupil learns all the techniques; previously, students chose textile or woodwork and metalwork techniques from grade 5. According to the interviews, the skills acquired in each technique are at a lower level compared to the previous period, as the number of hours allocated to each technique does not allow pupils to pay in-depth attention to the tasks. The products made by the students have also become more straightforward. Finally, more time is spent on idea generation, planning, and evaluation
To slip out of the geometric straitjacket: Using the tunnel method to promote irregularity in wallpaper patterns
No full textThe tunnel method is a technique employed in the design of wallpaper patterns to facilitate the hanging process while maintaining the integrity of the pattern. It can be utilised in both the reconstruction of historical patterns and the creation of new ones. I have explored the potential of this method since 2006, and in my latest project, I had the opportunity to document its application in Swedish wallpaper studios and endeavour to understand its historical background regarding cultural and printing conditions. By testing the effect of applying the method to wallpaper patterns, I explored its possibility of generating distinctive effects within the pattern when the wallpaper is installed. In this way, the user can actively participate in determining the degree of variation in the pattern during the installation process, either by embracing serendipity or by making deliberate choices. The purpose is to promote wallpaper patterns with greater variation and wallpapers made from sustainable materials. Although this investigation led to several different ways of utilising the tunnel method, there is still much to be explored in this field. By sharing my work, I aim to motivate more people to explore the potential of the tunnel method. Notably, the communication of its functionality to customers and its integration within the cultural context remain limited
Broadening the Scope of Craft Teaching: Exploring Out-of-School Teaching Practices
No full textThe focus of Finnish craft teacher education is on educating craft teachers in formal basic education. In this study, the aim was to research craft student teachers’ experiences of teaching practices that were arranged in out-of-school contexts. The data comprised craft student teachers’ (n = 18) written reflections included in their course portfolios. Their teaching practice took place in adult education centres, basic education in arts, older peoples\u27 care homes, youth work centres, centres for people with disabilities, social work centres, museums, craft cafés and clubs and a vocational training institution. The written reflections concerned the students’ expectations at the beginning and those at the end of the teaching practice and were analysed according to the principles of qualitative data analysis. The students found both similarities and differences in craft pedagogy in different contexts. The out-of-school teaching practice broadened their future career perspectives and equipped them with new pedagogical skills
From Craft to industry
No full textIn this paper, we discuss the potential of using traditional knowledge of natural dyes for more sustainable development processes in textile design. Our aim is to help foster a green transition through responsible consumption and production. We investigate the potential for implementing natural dye processes from craft to industrial processes to replace synthetic dyes. We adopt a systematic approach to dyeing and printing with food waste, including walnut shells, avocado skins and onion skins, specifically exploring colourfastness. We have observed that craft methods tend to be ‘forgotten’ due to the zeal for industryalization and the standardizing of products to ensure quality requirements. From students and business partners, we experience requests for natural dyes; however, we are challenged to document colourfastness. Knowledge and documentation are of high importance when we intend to convince industry to learn from traditional crafts. Through a systematic investigation testing traditional recipes and variations in dyed textiles, we experience how textiles perform. Through iterations based on the results, we continue with further experiments and simultaneously discuss whether both the consumer and the industry have to look at quality requirements from a conventional perspective. We argue that current expectations regarding colours and standards must change. Facing radical changes to the way we live, produce and use products, it is important to critically examine our approach to conventional industrial production. In our research, we built knowledge generation on cultural heritage and traditional craft. We argue how this becomes a societal asset influencing users’ behaviour and creates awareness towards sustainable changes in the design and use of textiles.
Sensing the Rhythm : Analysing human and non-human movement in a glassblowing process
No full textGlassblowing is a craft in which both human and material movement are essential. However, what kind of movement is required in glassblowing, and why does that movement happen? This article presents a practice-led case study conducted in a glassblowing studio. During a glassblowing session, clear drinking glass blanks are blown in a wooden turn mould. The process of glassblowing is documented on video and analysed using the visual data. Additionally, diary notes and participant observation are used to understand and contextualise video data more profoundly. The analysis focuses on the movement of the two main actants of the process: the human movement of the glassblower and the non-human movement of the hot glass. Altogether, six categories were identified to represent the human and material activity. This article concludes that the movement under investigation is relational between the glassblower and the hot glass, and it happens as a consequence of the glassblowers’ situated embodied knowledge. Furthermore, we discovered that research in the processes of glassblowing offers a rich ground for practice-led research that adopts relational ontology and sociomateriality as its theoretical perspectives. The purpose of this study is to fortify the craft of glassblowing as a vital practice in the fields of art, design, and craft
Skape nye rom, ny tid og nye bevegelser: Tverrfaglig undervisning i kunstfag i barnehagelærerutdanningen
No full textThis article is linked to the UN sustainability goal 4, which deals with good education, and is aimed at early childhood teacher education in art subjects. We argue that good education in art can be developed by strengthening the aesthetic dimension. We therefore question how we, as art education teachers, can invite students to aesthetic experiences. By using aesthetic theory, we explain the aesthetic dimension as a form of sensory recognition that is acquired through breaking with the familiar and established forms. Aesthetics is linked to sensing physical surroundings, but also to how what we can sense comes into being in creative practice. The data material has been created together with a group of students who specialize in either drama, visual art, or music and attend the course Creativity and arts-based experimental development in kindergarten (KKK-200). Together with the students, we have explored movements with balls of textile yarn in outdoor and indoor spaces, and reflected over what the terms space, time, movement, and materials mean in art subjects. Our findings show that an exploratory approach to these concepts can provide a new understanding of how space and time are created in the educational situation. In this space-time creation, it is possible to disrupt habitual thinking and turn around habitual teaching methods, which can lead to perceiving the world in new ways. To break with the usual and keep the education open and unpredictable can be experienced as risky for both teachers and students. This risk provides the opportunity for students´ aesthetic experiences and can help them to understand the importance of the aesthetic dimension.Artikkelen knytter seg til FNs bærekraftsmål 4 som omhandler god utdanning, og retter seg mot utdanning av barnehagelærere innenfor kunstfagene forming og drama. I beskrivelse av estetiske læreprosesser knyttes gjerne estetikk til det å ta alle sansene i bruk i skapende arbeid. Estetikkbegrepet knyttes i denne artikkelen til sansing av rom, tid, materialer og bevegelse, men også til hvordan denne sansingen inngår i og fører til skapende praksis der vi berører og lar oss berøre. Vi undersøker hvordan god utdanning i kunstfag kan utvikles gjennom å åpne opp for den estetiske dimensjon for studenter i undervisningen. Bærekraftig utdanning i kunstfag handler om at studentene skal forstå den estetiske dimensjon som betydningsfull i egen profesjonsutøvelse, og se den didaktiske verdien av denne i møte med barn i barnehagen. Artikkelens materiale er skapt sammen med en gruppe studenter som spesialiserer seg i enten drama, forming, eller musikk og har fellesemnet Kunstfaglig utviklingsarbeid i barnehagen (KKK-200). Sammen med studentene har vi lekt og utforsket bevegelse med nøster i ute- og innerom, og assosiert over hva begrepene rom, tid, materialer og bevegelse betyr i deres respektive fag. Undersøkelsen viser at en integrert tverrfaglig tilnærming og en utforskende undervisningsform kan bidra til god utdanning i kunstfag fordi det åpner for studentenes sanseerfaringer og estetiske opplevelser gjennom å bryte med det vante og utsettes for risiko
Turning it sustainable: implementing sustainability goals in theatre productions at NTNU
No full textThis article proposes ways of implementing sustainability goals in theatre productions to create interesting creative expressions. It is a case study that examines the work done by the author in the first-year bachelor course on “Theatre Production” in 2021-2023, to turn the course sustainable by addressing UN Sustainable Development Goal no. 12 “Responsible Consumption and Production”.
In the article, I describe the course’s design and curatorial choices, and the tools used to identify and implement sustainable goals. I discuss the impact of integrating the 4R principles (Reuse, Reduce, Repurpose, Recycle) and the Climate Policy and Action Plans in the creative process. I then argue that the qualities of the sustainable process – the counting and the measuring – impact the artistic choices in unexpected ways.
Cover image: From the performance “People and their enemies” (2021). Photo: Elena Pere
Trembling: The winds and I
No full textThis is a text based on a keynote address that I gave at the IDIERI, 2022 conference in Warwick. The theme of IDIERI, 2022 was “Navigating mess and complexity in uncertain times.” It is particularly relevant to this issue because the project described in this keynote emerges from, and is embedded in, our on-going work at Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF) and addresses Sustainable Development Goals 1, 4, 5, 10 and 13. The project is about teenage girls in Lucknow, India. It includes critical dialogues, poetry and drama, and culminates in a collectively curated script and performance. As girls in India, it reveals their fears and concerns about their current lives and their view of their future . Their embodied voices and poems show us what their lives are like and how they feel about the uncertainties shaped by their experience. Strict patriarchal social norms leave them feeling insecure, unsafe and unfree at home and in their immediate environment. It emerged that while they have a caring, connected relationship with nature, the climate crisis seems too distant. Their concerns about securing their present lives are more immediate