Science is Primary - Children Thinking and Learning in theChemistry Laboratory

The goal of primary science education is to foster children’s interest, develop positive science attitudes and promote science process skills development. Learning by playing and discovering provides several opportunities for children to inquiry and understand science based on the first–hand experience. The current research was conducted in the children’s laboratory in Heureka, the Finnish science centre. Young children (aged 7 years) which came from 4 international schools did a set of chemistry experiments in the laboratory. From the results of the cognitive test, the pre-test, the post-test, supported by observation and interview, we could make the conclusion that children enjoyed studying in the laboratory. Chemistry science was interesting and fascinating for young children; no major gender differences were found between boys and girls learning in the science laboratory. Lab work not only encouraged children to explore and investigate science, but also stimulated children’s cognitive development.

Swedish Primary Teachers' Attitudes towards Integrating Gaming in the EFL Classroom

A current topic in Swedish schools is the use of computer games and gaming. One reason is because computers are becoming more and more integrated into the schools, and the technology plays a large role in the everyday lives of the pupils. Since teachers should integrate pupils’ interests in the formal teaching, it is of interest to know what attitudes teachers have towards gaming. Therefore the aim of this empirical study is to gain an insight into the attitudes Swedish primary teachers have towards online and offline computer games in the EFL classroom. An additional aim is to investigate to what extent teachers use games. Five interviews were conducted with teachers in different Swedish schools in a small to medium-sized municipality. After the interviews were transcribed, the results were analyzed and discussed in relation to relevant research and the sociocultural theory. The results show that teachers are positive towards games and gaming, mostly because gaming often contains interaction with others and learning from peers is a main component in sociocultural theory. However, only one out of the five participants had at some point used games. The conclusion is that teachers are unsure about how to use games in their teaching and that training and courses in this area would be valuable. More research is needed within this area, and it would be of value to investigate what suggested courses would contain and also to investigate exactly how games can be used in teaching.

Interaktiva skrivtavlor som redskap i No-undervisning : En litteraturstudie om interaktiva skrivtavlor i No i årskurserna 1-3

Syftet med litteraturstudien är att få kunskap om hur och till vad interaktiva skrivtavlor kananvändas som ett verktyg i No-undervisningen för årskurserna 1-3. Litteraturstudien undersökerockså om interaktiva skrivtavlor kan öka elevernas motivation och lärande i No. Eftersom mångakommuner i Sverige valt att satsa på olika digitala verktyg är det relevant att ta reda på vadforskningen säger om varför det är relevant att använda interaktiva skrivtavlor i Noundervisningen,på vilket sätt det gynnar eleverna. De frågeställningar som litteraturstudienkommer att utgå ifrån är: Vad säger tidigare forskning om varför pedagoger använder interaktivaskrivtavlor i undervisningen inom No i årskurserna 1-3? Vad säger tidigare forskning om hur ochtill vad pedagoger använder interaktiva skrivtavlor som verktyg i undervisningen för att ökamotivationen och lärande hos eleverna inom No i årskurserna 1-3? Metoden för studien är ensystematisk litteraturstudie och sökningarna för vald litteratur har skett i databaserna ERIC(Proquest) och Summon för att få fram relevant litteratur. Resultatet visar att det finns flerafördelar med att använda den interaktiva skrivtavlan i No-undervisningen i årkurserna 1-3. Någraav dessa fördelar är att kommunikationen i klassrummet ökar, att undervisningen lättare kanvarieras och att lärarna kan inspirera varandra. I diskussionen diskuteras bland annat om deninteraktiva skrivtavlan kan vara ett redskap för att förbättra resultatet för eleverna i No, dettaeftersom Pisa-undersökningarna visar att eleverna visar sämre resultat i No än tidigare.