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P ojec -Based Educa ion Resea ch Cou se Suppo s Exchange-s uden s’ Resea ch
Minded Teache Iden i y
© The Au ho (s) 2022
Published e sion
Ma ila, Leena; Huo inen, Heli; Lundell, Jan
Ma ila, L., Huo inen, H., & Lundell, J. (2022). P ojec -Based Educa ion Resea ch Cou se
Suppo s Exchange-s uden s’ Resea ch Minded Teache Iden i y. In M. Rusek, & M. Tó ho á
(Eds.), PBE 2021 : P ojec -based Educa ion and o he ac i a ing S a egies in Science Educa ion
XIX : Con e ence p oceedings (pp. 59-68). Uni e zi a Ka lo a. P ojec -based educa ion and o he
ac i a ing s a egies in science educa ion.
h ps://pages.ped .cuni.cz/pbe/ iles/2022/10/P oceedingsPBE2021_ inal.pd
2022
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P ojec -Based Educa ion Resea ch Cou se Suppo s Exchange-
s uden s’ Resea ch Minded Teache Iden i y
Leena Ma ila, Heli Huo inen, Jan Lundell
Abs ac
P ojec -based educa ion (PBE) gi es possibili ies o s uden s o wo k oge he and eeling o belonging
in a communi y e en du ing dis ance lea ning. A he Depa men o Chemis y, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä
(JYU), a g oup o exchange s uden s pa icipa ed in a PBE chemis y eache educa ion esea ch cou se
online. The goal o he cou se was o en o ce he connec ion be ween esea ch on science eaching
and ac ing sus ainable in socie y. This s udy is based on semi-s uc u ed online g oup in e iew o he
s uden s a e his PBE cou se. The main ocus o his in es iga ion was how posi i e eelings and
a i ude a ec lea ning.
Key wo ds
P ojec -Based Educa ion; p o essional de elopmen ; sus ainable de elopmen goals; posi i e a i ude
e ec s
INTRODUCTION
Du ing academic yea 2020-2021 only ew s uden s could a el o o he coun ies since he Co id-19
pandemic made no mal, on-si e s uden exchange impossible. Almos all eaching in Highe Educa ion
globally we e ans e ed online. Simul aneously, i ual exchange possibili ies became eal. Exchange
oppo uni ies ab oad is s ill much mo e han jus s udies. I is abou expe iencing he o eign coun y
and s uden li e. “New Co id no mal” was some hing di e en . S uden s we e looking o di e en
kind o suppo o handle hei loneliness and o he eme ging pe sonal p oblems besides being
challenged wi h new o ms o educa ion. Planning s udies and o ganizing eaching o suppo s uden s´
engagemen and mo i a ion become mo e impo an han e e be o e. Mo eo e , eaching s uden s
needed new ways and pe spec i es also om eache s in he oid o o he educa ional- ela ed social
connec ions.
S uden -ac i a ion s a egies such as inqui y-based (science) educa ion (IBSE) o p ojec -based
educa ion (PBE) gi e mo e possibili ies o s uden s o wo k oge he and he eeling o be pa o a
communi y. Also, he e is a signi ican body o esea ch con inuously p o ing hei e ec i eness (see,
o example, Fu ak e al., 2012; Rusek, 2021). He e, a case s udy o add ess s uden s’ iews o a i ual
esea ch- ocused cou se on sus ainabili y is p esen ed. The ocus is on s uden s’ eelings and
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expe iences a e comple ing he online cou se as pa o hei exchange pe iod. Ou ocus is o show
how pedagogically engaging and meaning ul online s udies could help s uden s o de elop
p o essionally, as well as o suppo he s uden s o handle social loneliness.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Emo ions ha e been es ablished as a signi ican ac o a ec ing lea ning and a i udes o lea ning.
Especially, emo ions a e bo h expe ienced in he school se ing and ins umen al o academic
achie emen and pe sonal g ow h (Pek un e al., 2018). Some s udies ha e been made on how
emo ions a ec lea ning a wo kplace. Fo example, Hökkä e al. (2019) ha e indica ed ha emo ional
dimensions ha e been mos ly neglec ed in wo k- ela ed esea ch bu also in esea ch conce ning
educa ion a Highe Educa ion ins i u es. In addi ion, hey ha e discussed how emo ions ha e been
desc ibed in esen publica ions highligh ing especially he ole o eelings in decision-making, a i ude
o s udying o wo king li e, and de elopmen o p o essional iden i y. A same ime, agency and
p o essional de elopmen ha e been in ocus in Highe Educa ion esea ch (Vähäsan anen e al., 2019)
gi ing wo di e en pe spec i es on he esea ch p esen ed he e: Fi s ly, how s uden s eel when hey
s udy and make p ac ical wo k on his example cou se, and secondly how he eache o he cou se
wo k in o ganizing and eaching he lea ning expe ience and i s pa h du ing he cou se. Bo h sides a e
wo k- ela ed bu wi h di e en subjec s o ocus. Howe e , in esea ch i is challenging o sepa a e
wo k and p ac ical wo k- ela ed lea ning. As A aja (2018) ha e showed, ension be ween hese wo
aspec s as well as he ension be ween Highe Educa ion ins i u ion leade s and eaching s a can be
seen as a lack o in e es o de eloping esea ch-based and s uden -o ien ed eaching.
Emo ions a ec lea ning and p o essional g ow h. Acco ding o Hökkä e al. (2019) bo h nega i e and
posi i e emo ions a e meaning ul o lea ne s. In gene al, mo e nega i e no ions o lea ning a e seen
based on s udies published. As Vähäsan anen e al. (2021) indica e, de elopmen o agency can be
seen as ac i e pa icipa ion, o example, o ake ac ions o de elop s uden s’ wo k. Agency is also
seen as a d i ing o ce o eache s o assess hei own lea ning besides eaching. Mo eo e , agency
can be seen as de elopmen o p o essional iden i y. Tews e al. (2017) ha e ound ha “ un suppo s
lea ning” when hey we e looking a in o mal lea ning. In addi ion, hey ha e emphasised ha all “ un”
is no equal and ha should be emembe ed and accoun ed o when eaching o wo kplace a e
de eloped.
Wha s uden s lea n du ing hei exchange s udy pe iods ha e been s udied and desc ibed in mo e
de ailed in he las ew yea s. Especially, Roy e al. (2019) ha e lis ed skills ha s uden s lea n du ing
sho e m s udy exchange pe iods. The e a e h ee a eas highligh ed: Cul u al (ou comes, awa eness/
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global mindedness, in elligence, sensi i i y and empa hy, adap abili y, in e cul u al compe ence),
pe sonal (awa eness o mo al and e hical issues, academic pe o mance, sel -e icacy, con idence) and
ca ee ou comes (p o essional de elopmen , ca ee p ospec s, ne wo king, so skills, in e es o
ca ee de elop). In addi ion, he e a e also indings in esea ch ha lea ning appea s in a spi al ashion
and needs o be epea ed se e al imes in o de o deepen he knowledge (Aa o-Pesonen e al., 2017).
This gi es especially a mindse o i ual educa ional e o s o which eaching and lea ning me hods
adop ed should be epea edly used and exploi ed. This is impo an in eache educa ion whe e he
expe iences and educa ional models used become amilia enough o he s uden s o be exploi ed
la e in hei eaching p o ession.
Resea ch Ques ions
• How o use P ojec -based educa ion (PBE) o suppo S uden eache s’ esea ch a i ude
de elopmen ?
• How do emo ions e ec s uden ’s p o essional de elopmen and lea ning?
RESEARCH COURSE ON PBE FOR STUDENT TEACHERS
Uni e si y o Jy äskylä (JYU) o ganized a esea ch cou se (5 ECTS) o s uden eache s du ing hei
s udy exchange pe iod in Jy äskylä. They we e s udying in Jy äskylä only one e m and du ing ex eme
Co id-19 pandemic imes eaching was o ganized ully online. These exchange s uden s we e c edi -
base mobili y s uden s, and he s uden s a e expec ed o accumula e c edi poin s om he Uni e si y
isi ed. Acco ding o he E asmus Cha e , all hese c edi s should be ecognised by he s uden ’s home
uni e si y (Eu opean Commission, 2021). Some o he s uden s we e no able o a i e in Finland and
hey s udied emo ely om hei own coun y. The esea ch cou se was o ganized o he i s ime
ully online, and i ocused on P ojec -based educa ion in he con ex o UN Sus ainable De elopmen
Goals (UN, 2015).
Cou se s a ed a he beginning o Feb ua y and he e we e online mee ings once a week, on F iday
a e noons. A he beginning o he cou se s uden s go open-ended desc ip ion o he cou se
ou comes and wo king me hods. They we e asked o us in he p ocess in o de o mimic a esea ch
p ojec and ac acco dingly. This was based on he pedagogical a ge o engage he s uden s in he
s udies, o enhance hei esea ch-skills, and o inc ease hei own agency and esponsibili y in he
p ojec ou comes and hei own lea ning p ocess. Sho ly, he cou se was conduc ed in a way whe e
he s uden s changed hei ole om pa icipa ing lea ne s in he beginning o co-ope a ional
esea che s in he end. The inal p oduc o he esea ch p ojec – and he ou come o he cou se - was
a common pedagogical model ha was co-c ea ed and collabo a i e owned (Aksela, 2019). The ac ual
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ealisa ion o he cou se i sel is p esen ed elsewhe e (Lundell e al., unpublished), and he e we ocus
only on he ou comes om he in e iew wi h he s uden s a e he cou se.
Da a Collec ion
A e he PBE Sus ainable cou se he s uden s we e asked o pa icipa e in an online in e iew. They
we e explained ha hey could decide hemsel do hey wan o pa icipa e and ha esul s will be
used o esea ch, and ha esul s will also be published. S uden s could us on ha in o ma ion o
he esul s will be handled con iden ially, and hey will no be ecognised om he s udy. All s uden s
who pa icipa ed he cou se and managed o pass i , we e willing o pa icipa e in he online in e iew.
Da a we e collec ed using semi-s uc u ed in e iew pe o med ia Zoom. All s uden s we e asked o
join in ideo con e ence by Zoom o he g oup in e iew. The in e iew was eco ded, and a e wa ds
au oma ic ex ing was used o p o ide a p elimina y ansc ip o he in e iew. The esea che
in e iewing he s uden s was no amilia no in e ac ing wi h he s uden s du ing he cou se he
s uden s had aken. Because s uden s we e no using headse s a he in e iew, ex ing had a lo o
e o s, wi h some pa s needed o be co ec ed manually. This was made by an addi ional esea che
no amilia wi h he cou se no he s uden s. Language o he in e iew was English.
The in e iew ansc ip s we e analysed hema ically by one au ho and ansc ip s we e also ead by
he o he au ho s o his s udy. In addi ion, acial imp essions could be seen, and hese we e accoun ed
o by adding explana ions o hem in he ansc ip s. Cul u al di e ences we e also discussed in he
in e iew. Howe e , i was impossible o minimise cul u al e ec s on he esul s.
RESULTS
One ou o h ee s uden s could include c edi s o he cou se in o cu en s udy deg ee a hei home
ins i u ion. Because o he Pandemic, only wo ou o h ee o he s uden s could a i e o Finland bu
had o s udy emo ely, because JYU was closed. The hi d s uden had o pa icipa e in he cou se om
he s uden ’s home. S uden s we e bo h in Mas e and Bachelo le el, EQF le el 6 and 7. Eu opean
Minis e s h ee le els educa ion cycles, ag eed on 2005 a Be gen du ing Bologna p ocess, means same
as 1s and 2nd cycle s uden s. (Eu opass, 2021). The cou se ha he s uden s pa icipa ed a was a
mas e le el eache educa ion specialisa ion cou se on esea ch me hods especially designed o
exchange s uden s. The cou se was deli e ed in English, since all s uden s pa icipa ing we e exchange
s uden s om ab oad. Two ou o h ee o cou se s uden s had s udied in English be o e. Two ou o
h ee s uden s had also done educa ional esea ch du ing hei s udies a hei home uni e si y ea lie .

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S uden s desc ibed he eache o he cou se du ing he in e iew. They did no use he wo d
“ eache ”. F om he eco ding we can ind ha s uden s had a pause be o e hey ound he wo d hey
wan ed o use. I seemed hey did no hink “ eache ” was he wo d hey wan o use. None o hem
had English as hei mo he ongue and inding a p ope wo d o desc ibe he ela ionship be ween
he eache o he cou se and s uden s made hem eel uncom o able. They used many wo ds o
desc ibe eache , o ins ance, ins uc o , he, p o esso , supe iso , o hey used he i s name o he
eache o he ull name o he eache . Ins uc o was he mos used wo d o desc ibe he leade o
eache o he cou se. The mos in e es ing inding was ha hey would no like o use wo d eache ,
e en ha was he way i was desc ibed e e ywhe e (S udy sys em in JYU, in o ma ion gi en o s uden s
e c). This could e lec he si ua ion whe e he eache was ac ually mo e a pee wi hin he g oup as
could be expec ed when a esea ch g oup is collabo a ing and co-c ea ing (Aksela, 2019)
When s uden s we e asked o desc ibe hei lea ning ou comes, hey exp essed iews on esea ch
skills and w i ing epo skills. When hey we e asked wha hey could add o hei CV o applica ion
le e om his cou se i hey we e applying posi ions, hey could no desc ibe speci ic skills o
compe ences. One o he s uden s men ioned being acquain ed wi h Finnish educa ion sys em and
expe iencing i i s -hand. The s uden hough i would be bene icial o men ion s udying in Finland
when applying posi ions because ha could s eng hen hei applica ion o a eache posi ion in hei
home coun y. They could no desc ibe o he skills o compe encies hey had lea ned. This is qui e a
no mal inding. I s uden s we e no o ien ed o skills and compe encies, hey a e no able o desc ibe
hem as ou lined in he E asmus Skills p ojec (2020). F om ou ansc ip we can see ha s uden s
men ioned many skills ha has also desc ibed on sho e m exchange (Roy e al., 2019). They
unde s ood mul icul u al g oup skills, language skills, epo ing skills and many cul u al aspec s, and
desc ibed pe sonal skills. This inding is in line wi h Roy e al. (2019). This cou se did no pu ocus on
eaching skills o highligh ed skills ha could be lea ned besides esea ch skills in ol ed in science
educa ion o unde s and whe e lea ning akes place and how i can be made isible.
Many ways o desc ibe emo ions is obse ed om he in e iew ansc ip . S uden s desc ibe hei
eelings in se e al ways, bu always exp essing hem in a posi i e way. When asked why e e y hing
hey say is posi i e, hey s a ed o hink i mo e ca e ully. Di e en e alua ion manne s in di e en
Highe Educa ion ins i u ions we e highligh ed, and i is one o he mos ema kable indings in ou
s udy. He e is how he s uden desc ibed he di e ence:
“We ha e only like he ze o-one, some hing is w ong, o some hing is igh . Can you imagine, I didn’
do like he eache wan ed me o do, bu i was okay!”(S1).
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The in e iew o he s uden s was o ganized as a g oup in e iew. The e we e exchange s uden s and
i ual exchange s uden s in he g oup in e iewed. F om he da a we a e no able o sepa a e esul s
whe he he s uden s we e loca ed on-si e o whe he hey we e dis an , i ual s uden s. The e a e
se e al easons o his: The g oup was small, and s uden s hea d each o he ’s answe s. The in e iew
was conduc ed in a dialogic manne . In he u u e, i would be in e es ing o in es iga e i p o essional
de elopmen and skills lea ned du ing exchange could be di e en o i ual exchange s uden s
compa ed o adi ional exchange s uden s. Mo eo e , in he pos -pandemic e a also hyb id eaching
oppo uni ies ha e me ged, which could be employed o modi y he possibili ies o include local,
exchange and i ual exchange s uden s simul aneously on a lesson. In he long un being able o
discuss you own esea ch, alida e i , employ i in ano he con ex and expe ience i i s -hand a e
p o essional de elopmen skills ha will a ec he upcoming eaching ca ee o any eache s uden .
S uden s desc ibed hei posi i e app oach o his PBE-cou se by compa ing i o hei o he cou ses
bo h du ing he exchange pe iod as well as hei home ins i u ions. They men ioned ha no mally hey
do no like s udy on F idays and especially on F iday a e noons. They a he wan o spend ime wi h
hei iends. The PBE-cou se was o ganized on F iday a e noons, and s ill s uden s an icipa ed o
a end hese cou se online sessions. By he ansc ip i is ha d o ind eason o his. No mal li e was
di e en du ing he Pandemic and spending ime wi h iends was es ic ed o all s uden s. Howe e ,
his does no explain he posi i e a i udes he s uden s had o s udying educa ional esea ch
me hods in he con ex o sus ainabili y on F iday a e noons.
In he in e iew ansc ip i is seen ha s uden s indica e hey always opened came as o he
eaching sessions. Howe e , hey did no do ha in o he s udy si ua ions. They explained ha in his
cou se eache always opened his came a as was done also in o he cou ses. When asked why hey
choose o open came a, he s uden s s a ed o exp ess easons why hey do no like o open came a.
They ound many easons o his and a same ime hey could no ind a pa icula eason why hey
wan ed o open came a in his cou se. In addi ion, one o he s uden s desc ibed ha only once he
s uden ´s compu e was b oken, and he s uden had o pa icipa e ia mobile phone. Exp essing his
he s uden appea ed sad ha i was no possible o open came a like e e yone else we e doing. This
clea ly s a e a eeling o belonging and mu ual espec be ween he cou se pa icipan s, as well as deep
engagemen o he cou se and s udying in his con ex . The engagemen can be wi nessed by changing
hei beha io du ing a lea ning si ua ion. (F ede icks e al., 2004)
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DISCUSSION
This esea ch, in line wi h some o he s (e.g. Dolenc e al., 2022), showed ha he PBE-cou se suppo ed
s uden ’s agency and sel -e icacy. The p ojec ocused upon du ing he cou se was planned o be open
ended in a sense o a eal esea ch p ojec , and s uden s el hey had a lo o decision-making powe
on hei own p ojec . This enabled he g ow h o s uden s´ p o essional de elopmen , con idence in
hei own making, and hei sel -e icacy. In addi ion, we could also obse e ha by ge ing powe on
decision-making s uden s el sa is ac ion in hei own doing and achie ed ou comes. They we e
eeling posi i e and op imis ic o lea ning and pa icipa ing in he p ojec , e en Pandemic si ua ion
could ha e gi en hem many easons o nega i e eelings. On he o he hand, hey el hey lea ned,
and in addi ion hei sel -compe en le el ose. I is seen ha hei p o essional skills and compe encies
as well as agency de eloped wi hou hem ac ually ealising i hemsel es be o e his in e iew.
Posi i e a mosphe e o he cou se ob iously came om he g oup inco po a ing bo h he eache and
he s uden s. All he s uden s liked o wo k oge he , and hey liked o lea n he way cou se was
o ganized. Will his wo k wi h ano he g oup is impossible o p edic , bu simila open-ended cou ses
ha e been conduc ed a e his esea ch was pe o med, and all he cou ses seem o poin o a simila
di ec ion. Based on he in e iew we a e no able o desc ibe wha makes he cou se so success ul.
One impo an poin was eache ´s a i ude and wo king me hods as highligh ed by he s uden s. This
made he s uden s eel ha hey a e suppo ed, ca ed o , and hei skills app ecia ed. This also hides
an au ho i a i e eache ole and makes he eache mo e a pe son who suppo lea ning and os e
s uden s’ de elopmen . Based on he commen s and a i udes exp essed by he s uden s du ing he
in e iew, he s uden s ob iously el his cou se eache ole di e en om he cou ses hey had
encoun e ed p e iously. I would be in e es ing o make mo e esea ch on his opic, bu i means we
should be able o ollow also he eaching sessions o lec u es besides conduc ing a e -cou se
in e iews. This, howe e , could b ing ou da a e idencing he ac ual ac i a ing componen s o
eaching eaching o enhancing s uden s’ engagemen and inc eased sel -e icacy – and leading o
meaning ul and in e es ing lea ning expe iencing suppo ed by posi i e eelings.
I would be in e es ing o in e iew he eache o mo e de ailed insigh s on how eache s a e
p epa ed and suppo ed o ac i a ing eaching me hods. Mo eo e , how common i is o o ganize
cou ses his way in JYU, as his example cou se was o ganized? Wha kind o suppo is o e ed o
eache s in JYU and how such eal-li e app oaches a e che ished and nu u ed? Usually, in academic
con ex eaching is no alued as high as esea ch ac i i ies. This makes also eaching de elopmen less
aluable compa ed o esea ch. The ension be ween esea ch and eaching can be seen on lack o
in e es owa d eaching. How did his cou se eache ge suppo and how his ension is seen o el
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in JYU – o ha e we jus s umbled upon a a e example o ac i a ing eaching me hods in ac ion? In
addi ion, he eache s own eelings would be in e es ed o hea and lea n om. Did he eache eel
as posi i e in his cou se as he s uden s did? How did he eache eel wo king a he cou se as
“ins uc o ”? Did eache unde s and and see eache ´s ole same way as he s uden s did? Was he
eache eeling mo i a ed and p o essionally compa ible? In u u e esea ch on hese opics would be
in e es ing o make in o de o iangula e he success o ac i a ing eaching and lea ning me hods
om he s uden and eache pe spec i es. Ou da a om he s uden in e iews poin ou a a e
example o eache jumping in he deep end o he pool wi h he s uden s, and uly engage in o a
esea ch p ojec wi h unknown des ina ion. The da a shows e y posi i e eedback o his challenging
bu ewa ding app oach by he s uden s.
The way his PBE-cou se was o ganized o enable s uden s´ esea ch skills and compe encies
de elopmen . The impo an skill o s uden eache s was he con idence o use esea ch in hei
u u e wo k. Teache s can de elop hei wo k by wi h a esea ch-based a i ude. S udying eache ´s
own wo k (cu icula, eaching ma e ial, s uden s’ lea ning and e alua ing s udy ou comes) is he key
o de elop schools and eaching. The a i ude owa ds esea ch du ing academic s udies is
i eplaceable. Employing p ojec -based educa ion and igh eache a i ude i seems o be possible o
manage and suppo meaning ul lea ning (Shuell, 1990).
Posi i e eelings and un seem o make wo king easie , as men ioned by Tews (2017). In ou esea ch
simila esul s a e seen. Can we s ill say ha posi i e eelings made lea ning easie o did lea ning
c ea e posi i e eelings? This is impossible o ind ou based on he da a he e. Bu does i ma e which
comes i s ? Mo e impo an is o ind ou ha posi i e eelings c ea e posi i e ou comes. Du ing ha d
pandemic ime his PBE-cou se managed o c ea e some posi i e ou comes. Exchange s uden s
desc ibed hei sel -e icacy g owing, hey el hemsel es con iden and hei agency de eloped. They
could desc ibe many skills and compe encies hey lea ned. PBE- esea ch cou se managed o ul il hei
needs and ga e hem an idea how o do eache wo k employing esea ch o sc u inise lea ning and
eaching. The s uden s we e mo i a ed o lea n, and hey ound hei in e es owa ds esea ch. I was
in e es ing o ind ou ha as Aa o-Pesonen (2017) desc ibe spi al o p o essional de elopmen ,
a i ude can also change on epea ing lea ning. This was seen among s uden s who desc ibed hey
ha e done esea ch s udies be o e. On his cou se hey s ill could lea n new skills, ound new posi i e
a i udes and de eloped hei p o essional skills as well as hei a i ude.