Research | Forskning - peer review

This article presents a case study of a school class for children with special needs in a Greenlandic elementary school, where education outside the classroom (EOtC) is practised by using hunting and other traditional use of Greenlandic nature as a foundation for interdisciplinary teaching. The stud… This article presents a case study of a school class for children with special needs in a Greenlandic elementary school, where education outside the classroom (EOtC) is practised by using hunting and other traditional use of Greenlandic nature as a foundation for interdisciplinary teaching. The students live in a residential institution because they have been exposed to neglect and traumatic events at home. That has caused that they have been relocated from their family and hometown and have changed school. The study examines how students respond to school, when hunting, the Greenlandic dog sled and traditional use of Greenlandic plants are used in the school’s lessons. Observation and interviews show that this form of teaching motivates students and have at positive impact on their academic performance and social and personal development. Mastery experiences, authenticity, a smooth room and positive relationships between teacher and student as well as between students are important elements in this positive experience of school. The research can provide inspiration for a pedagogy in the Greenlandic elementary school that creates motivation and interest for school. It would be relevant to study if this way of practice EOtC will have any long-term effect on the students. This article is a translation of the article written in Danish “Kulturtradition, jagt og naturbrug i en grønlandsk specialklasse – udeskole der motiverer” (Føns, 2022). The article has been peer reviewed and published in the Danish research journal “Pædagogisk Psykologisk Tidsskrift”. The translation and publication are approved by the editor of Pædagogisk Psykologisk Tidsskrift. Read more

Research | Forskning - peer review

Kulturtraditioner, jagt og naturbrug i en grønlandsk specialklasse - udeskole der motiverer

This article presents a case study of a school class for children with special needs in a Greenlandic elementary school, where education outside the classroom (EOtC) is practised by using hunting and other traditional use of Greenlandic nature as a foundation for interdisciplinary teaching. The stud… This article presents a case study of a school class for children with special needs in a Greenlandic elementary school, where education outside the classroom (EOtC) is practised by using hunting and other traditional use of Greenlandic nature as a foundation for interdisciplinary teaching. The students live in a residential institution because they have been exposed to neglect and traumatic events at home. That has caused that they have been relocated from their family and hometown and have changed school. The study examines how students respond to school, when hunting, the Greenlandic dog sled and traditional use of Greenlandic plants are used in the school’s lessons. Observation and interviews show that this form of teaching motivates students and have at positive impact on their academic performance and social and personal development. Mastery experiences, authenticity, a smooth room and positive relationships between teacher and student as well as between students are important elements in this positive experience of school. The research can provide inspiration for a pedagogy in the Greenlandic elementary school that creates motivation and interest for school. It would be relevant to study if this way of practice EOtC will have any long-term effect on the students. Read more

Research | Forskning - peer review

The development project The Teacher Student as Educational Designers was initiated in 2018 at the Teachers’ Training College (TTC) at University of Greenland, aiming to increase the teacher students´ competences as educational designers with a focus on teaching adults. During the project, students w… The development project The Teacher Student as Educational Designers was initiated in 2018 at the Teachers’ Training College (TTC) at University of Greenland, aiming to increase the teacher students´ competences as educational designers with a focus on teaching adults. During the project, students were involved in planning, execution, and evaluation of teaching at TTC, and participated in reflections and dialogues in student teams. The project was based on the assumption that teaching competence is developed through reflections at three competence levels, cf. Erling Lars Dale, and that students´ motivation is increased when three basic psychological needs are met cf. The Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000). The findings presented in this article are based on 41 students´ answers in a standardized qualitative evaluation form, and the four authors’ reflections on the project. The students’ answers were analyzed based on Anja Gabrielsen’s approach to Constructing Grounded Theory (Gabrielsen, 2018). The students’ answers underlined six categories: Group work, Teachers competencies, Dissemination promotes professional understanding, Language of instruction, Peer to peer, Body and learning and Second order pedagogy, indicating which educational design competences the students´ were developing through the project; relational competence, classroom management competence and educational design competence, respectively. The project also contributed to the development of teacher identity and increased the teacher students’ ability for reflection, both in relation to their own learning, different roles in group work, teaching of fellow students as well as reflections on second order pedagogy. The pedagogical space provided by the development project supported the teacher students to work at Dale’s three competence levels. The project allowed for co-creative teaching and an open framework for the educational design, which increased the students´ teacher competences and motivation. Read more

Research | Forskning

På læreruddannelsen i Grønland har underviserne de sidste 2 ½ år deltaget i et udviklingsprojekt med overskriften ”De studerende som didaktiske designere”. Projektets formål er et større fokus på at udvikle de studerendes didaktiske kompetencer. I projektet vægtes et voksendidaktisk fokus. De studer… På læreruddannelsen i Grønland har underviserne de sidste 2 ½ år deltaget i et udviklingsprojekt med overskriften ”De studerende som didaktiske designere”. Projektets formål er et større fokus på at udvikle de studerendes didaktiske kompetencer. I projektet vægtes et voksendidaktisk fokus. De studerende deltager i planlægning, gennemførelse og evaluering af undervisningen i læreruddannelsen. Forskning har vist at sådan et produktkrav kan fastholde lærerprocesser (Sørensen et.al., 2017). Planlægningen sker i et tæt samarbejde med fagenes undervisere. ”Der er kun ved at acceptere og indarbejde teoretisk refleksion som en betydningsfuld del af læreruddannelsen at læreruddannelseskoden kan forandres sådan at den bliver mere resistent i den sårbare første periode i arbejde” (Imsen, 2005, Lærerens verden. Gyldendals lærerbibliotek, s. 418). I projektet afholdes løbende seminarer for underviserne med delprojektfremlæggelser, videndeling, refleksioner og diskussion af erfaringer med efterfølgende ny designfase, hvor erfaringer anvendes, til stor inspiration. Udviklingsprojektet får hele tiden tilføjet nye elementer. Fx blev der i foråret 2019 tilføjet didaktisk refleksion med reflekterende team efter undervisningen var gennemført og evalueret. (Plauborg, Andersen, & Bayer, 2007). Den gruppe studerende der netop havde undervist skulle reflektere over den undervisning de havde gennemført, ved hjælp af en struktureret interviewguide. Denne del af projektet bliver udfoldet yderligere til den mundtlige præsentation. Alle studerende der har medvirket i projektet, har besvaret evalueringsskemaer. Disse svar har vi analyseret vha. grounded theory metoden (Charmaz, 2014; Gabrielsen, 2018). Det viser sig bl.a. at det er motiverende for de studerende med den store grad af selvvalg i forhold til metode og tilrettelæggelse, når de er didaktiske designere jf. selvbestemmelsesteorien (Ågård, 2014; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Til den mundtlige præsentation vil vores empiri og vores analyse blive præsenteret og perspektiveret. Read more

Communication | Formidling

This is a presentation of an action research project, where I in collaboration with teachers and schools develop a Greenlandic approach to Education Outside the Classroom (EOtC). Traditional Greenlandic Inuit use of land and nature, e.g., hunting, fishing, dog sledding and harvesting of herbs and be… This is a presentation of an action research project, where I in collaboration with teachers and schools develop a Greenlandic approach to Education Outside the Classroom (EOtC). Traditional Greenlandic Inuit use of land and nature, e.g., hunting, fishing, dog sledding and harvesting of herbs and berries are included as learning activities in school as a foundation for interdisciplinary teaching. Studies and evaluations have shown that teaching in Greenlandic Elementary School mostly is in-classroom and book-centered. Surveys have revealed that students find that boring and de-motivating, and what happens in school does not feel relevant for the life they know outside school. The Greenland Society is build as the Nordic welfare system with free education, but only 60% of Greenlandic Youth have no education except elementary school at the age of 25 years, and they represent 80% of the unemployed in that age group. That is a problem both for the individual that faces lost opportunities and loss of life quality, and it is a problem for Greenland, that has a high need of educated workforce. This study investigates whether school can become more appealing and relevant for the students, if the pedagogy is more place-based and culturally responsive, and more outdoor and hands on activities are included in school. Experience and studies international indicate that this kind of pedagogy can counter the feeling of alienation and de-motivation for school, especially among indigenous students. I will present a case study of a school class for children with special needs in a Greenlandic elementary school, where Culturally Responsive Education Outside the Classroom (CREOtC) is practised by using hunting and other traditional use of Greenlandic nature as a foundation for interdisciplinary teaching. The study examines how students respond to school, when hunting, the Greenlandic dog sled and traditional use of Greenlandic plants are used in the school’s lessons. Observation and interviews show that this form of teaching motivates students and have a positive impact on their academic performance and social and personal development. Mastery experiences, authenticity, a smooth room and positive relationships between teacher and student as well as between students are important elements in this positive experience of school. The research can provide inspiration for a pedagogy in the Greenlandic elementary school that creates motivation and interest for school. My collaboration with Greenlandic teachers and schools in that field in on-going and working methods and experiences can also be presented and discussed at the conference. Read more