Language Centres at a Crossroads

This poster will showcase a joint project in integrated teaching between a Language Centre and a Law School. The poster presented is the nutshell poster that is described as one of the elements of the authors' proposed model for curriculum evaluation (see the authors' proposal for an oral presentation, Evaluation for Development: A Model for Empowering Actors and Stakeholders in the Development of Language Centre Curriculum).

This poster presentation will focus on reporting the actual integrated teaching project, not the model itself. This integrated teaching project paved the way for the participating practitioners, the authors, to develop their model for curriculum evaluation.

The impetus for the project itself was previous student feedback, as well as a survey among graduate Law students conducted by the Finnish Bar Association (2017). The project involved an Academic & Legal English and an Academic & Legal Swedish course that were integrated into two respective Law courses in the academic year 2018 – 2019. The poster will overview the design, the implementation, and the teachers' analyses of the integrated courses. The poster will describe the stages of the project, including the analyses of the student feedback that was collected with surveys and a focus group interview.

The courses of the project were constructed with the Flipped Learning methods, using both contact and blended learning (see Fisher et al., 2017). With this approach, the aim was to improve the flexibility of the studies as well as to allow for various learning and teaching methods. Furthermore, the aim was to develop and disseminate boundary-crossing pedagogical solutions to enable the emerging of new learning and teaching cultures. The authors suggest that these aims were reached.

The poster will describe and reflect not only the positive outcomes but also the critique the project received through student feedback and the language teachers' critical self-evaluation. In addition to teaching, the focus will also be on the meta-level of curriculum development from the administrative point of view, as well from the students' perspective and study paths. On the basis of this nutshell poster, the project was evaluated in a meeting of a panel of actors, experts, and stakeholders (as described in the authors' oral presentation proposal).

The project was funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, within its key project of Strengthening Pedagogical and Digital Skills of Staff in Higher Education.

Kieli- ja viestintäopintojen ja oikeustieteen integroitu opetus: Työmuotomalli opetuksen kehittämisen tueksi. Featuring Pähkinänkuoriposteri.

Posterissa kuvailemme ja analysoimme opetuksen integrointihankkeen, jonka aikana kehitimme kehitysriihi-mallin ja -työmuodon opetuksen kehittämisen tueksi. Ehdottamaamme työmuotoon sisältyy pähkinänkuoriposterin tekeminen, josta tämä posteri on samalla esimerkki. Kehitysriihi-työmuotoa ei kuitenkaan esitellä tässä posterissa, vaan suullisessa esityksessämme, Evaluation for Development: A Model for Empowering Actors and Stakeholders in the Development of Language Centre Curriculum.

Sen sijaan tässä posterissa tiivistämme opetuksen integrointihankkeen suunnittelun, toteutuksen ja tulokset sekä analysoimme ja pohdimme hanketta kokonaisuutena. Esittelemme sekä positiivisia että kriittisiä näkökulmia, joita koostimme niin opiskelijapalautteista kuin opettajien omasta reflektoivasta itsearvioinnistakin. Pohdimme myös opetussuunnitelmatyön meta-tasoa eli mm. hallinnollisia elementtejä ja opintopolkunäkökulmaa.

Tätä samaa posteria käytettiin kehitysriihi-työmuodon mukaisesti toimijoiden, asiantuntijoiden ja sidosryhmien kokouksessa hankkeen arviointikeskustelun perustana.

Hanke sai rahoitusta Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriön Korkeakoulujen henkilöstön pedagogisen ja digitaalisen opetus- ja ohjausosaamisen vahvistaminen -kärkihankkeen alaisuudessa.

Reference:

• Fisher, R., Ross, B., LaFerriere, R., & Maritz, A. (2017). Flipped learning, flipped satisfaction, getting the balance right. Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 5(2), 114-127. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.5.2.9

Susanna Kohonen (PhD) works as a Lecturer in Academic and Legal English at the Language Centre of the University of Eastern Finland (UEF). She has participated in several projects to develop language teaching in higher education, for example with Flipped Classroom/Flipped Learning methods and the principles of lifelong learning. Her research interests lie in the fusion of participatory and online learning, combining elements of Drama Pedagogy and digital learning environments. Dr Kohonen received the UEF Excellent Teaching Practitioner Award in 2018.

Sinikka Kettunen (MA) works as a University Teacher in Academic and Legal Swedish at the Language Centre of the University of Eastern Finland (UEF). Ms Kettunen has participated in several projects to develop language teaching in higher education, for example with Flipped Classroom/Flipped Learning methods, the principles of lifelong learning, as well as by designing digital learning environments to increase flexibility in language studies.

Jonna Kosonen (MSc) works as a University Teacher in Administrative Law at the Law School of the University of Eastern Finland (UEF). She is currently conducting research in the legal questions concerning higher education and is actively involved in the development of education on departmental and university-wide levels, especially in the field of lifelong learning. In addition, Ms Kosonen works as a legal expert at the University of Eastern Finland. Ms Kosonen received the UEF Excellent Teaching Practitioner Award in 2020.