Browsing by Author "Qviller, Julia"

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Att överleva det första året. En intervjustudie om biologilärares upplevelser av det första året som verksamma gymnasielärare
(2024-06-20) Qviller, Julia
Transition from student teacher to professional teacher is filled with challenges, expectations and curiosity. Extensive research has been made on teachers’ professional start, but despite this research, there is still a gap when it comes to high school teachers, and specifically on high school biology teachers. The purpose of this study is therefore to explore high school biology teachers' experience and challenges during their first professional year, with the goal to identify factors that can make this period more positive. This study has been conducted as a qualitative interview study of these teachers, and their experiences have then been analyzed thematically. All the interviews in this study are done with new biology teachers at high schools. The results of the study shows that these new teachers have encountered diverse working cultures at schools, which in turn have varying impact on their experience during their first year. However, common for all teachers in the study, is their feeling of overwhelm and experience of heavy workload. New teachers tend to experience a lack of support, which makes their professional start particularly difficult. They also tend to have an idealized view of the teaching roles, which often clashes with reality. This can result in stress, and feelings of anxiousness and despair. Many of these challenges for new teachers can be mitigated by implementing strategies for support during their first time as professionals. The results of this interview study indicates that an introduction period with received mentoring has a major impact on how the newly graduated teacher perceives their career start, and how well they integrated into the school organization.
Undervisning om klimatförändringar. Att möta missförstånd, oro och engagemang
(2022-12-14) Karlsson, Lina; Qviller, Julia; University of Gothenburg / Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences; Göteborgs universitet / Instiutionen för biologi och miljövetenskap
Climate change is a current, multidimensional, and complex issue included in the Swedish upper secondary school biology curriculum. Considering that this issue holds many inherent aspects beyond the scientific concepts, and causes anxiety among young people, questions of how to successfully teach about climate change arise. This literature review aims to explore this complex issue by examining three different domains: misconceptions about climate change that exist among students, teaching methods that have been proven efficient in teaching about climate change, and ways to navigate the value-laden, emotional aspect of this issue. Results show that there are indeed misconceptions about climate change, among which the belief that depletion of the ozone layer leads to global warming seems to be most prevalent. Furthermore, making the content feel personally relevant and meaningful to students and using teaching methods that make students active in gaining knowledge, e.g. discussions, debates and projects, leads to better learning outcomes. The emotions that arise among students should be addressed, e.g. by debating ethical dilemmas, and talking about climate change in a way that entails hope seems to be beneficial for student well-being and engagement in climate issues. In summary, a strong case can be made for teaching methods that engage students in acquiring knowledge, and the inclusion of emotional responses to climate change in the classroom.