My name is Weiyi Feng. I am a PhD student in Information Technology at the University of Jyväskylä. My research interests primarily focus on 1.The application of AI in STEAM education, focusing on the impact of generative assessment tools on student learning motivation and a comparison between human and machine assessment; 2.Educational equity and teacher professional development, focusing on the professional challenges and identity construction of female STEM teachers in international contexts. Several empirical studies have been conducted in related fields, aiming to explore educational equity and assessment justice under the intervention of technology.

The title of my research is: ”Using digital micro certificates in the recognition and validation of skills of the informal sector in Africa” The key research questions are: -What is the digital learning capacity of people in the informal sector? -How do we design digital platforms and present learning content so that it fits the learning styles and abilities of the informal sector? -What value do people in Africa give to (informal) micro-certificates compared to traditional formal certificates? -How can new technologies (AI, Machine learning...) support development of automated and varied skills validation? My research aims to give insight to servicing a new segment of people that has traditionally been neglected by development activities. The informal sector people are not the poorest of the poor in Africa and fall outside many development aid programmes. At the same time it consists of most people taking part in the labor force. Formalising the informal sector people to tax-paying citizens is key to the economic development of most African countries.

English language teacher, researcher, mentor and community leader

My PhD research revolves around how teacher education programs can nurture student teacher professional agency in two countries: Brazil and Finland. The two study cases have different personal and environmental elements that influence student teacher professional development: curriculum coherence between theory and practice, pedagogical interactions of the learning environment, and negotiation of professional identity.

Vilma Timonen, is a Lecturer of Folk Music at Sibelius Academy, Uniarts, Helsinki. Her extensive career as an educator and musician encompasses working in various fields of teacher education as well as being one of the pioneers bringing traditional Finnish folk instrument Kantele into new musical environments. As a researcher, her work focuses on intercultural collaborations. Timonen aims to contribute to more globally sensitive music teacher education, where diversity is embraced through fostering and elevating local musical traditions.

Timonen, V. (in review). Lessons from a Finnish and Nepali collaboration: Co-constructing an intercultural professional learning community in music education. Timonen, V., Juntunen M-L., Westerlund H. (in review). Colonialism or an invitation for utopian life-projects? On politics of reflexivity in Nepali and Finnish music teachers’ intercultural dialogue. In Kallio, A., Karlsen, S., Marsh, K., Saether, E., Westerlund, H. (Eds.), The Politics of Diversity in Music Education. Treacy D.S., Timonen V., Kallio A. A., Shah, I. (2019). Imagining Beyond Ends-in-view: The Ethics of Assessment as Valuation in Nepali Music Education. In D.J. Elliott, M. Silvermann & G. McPhearson (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Philosophical and Qualitative Assessment in Music Education. Oxford University Press. Timonen, V., Houmann, A., Sether, E. (2020). The reinvented music teacher-researcher in the making: Conducting educational development through intercultural collaboration. In Westerlund, H., Karlsen, S., Partti, H. (Eds.) Visions for intercultural music teacher education. Springer.

Professor Tuija Turunen holds a position of Dean at the Faculty of Education, University of Lapland, Finland. She is a leader of the teacher education programme. Turunen holds the UArctic Chair in Education for Social Justice and Diversity and leads the UArctic and the UNESCO/UNITWIN networks on Teacher Education for Social Justice and Diversity. Professor Turunen is an internationally recognized expert in these fields and has given invited addresses throughout the globe both in scientific and popular arenas, e.g. UNESCO Teacher Task Force in Jamaica, Arctic Forum in Russia, IICBA in Ethiopia and various forums in Europe. She has published widely and leads several national and international projects. Professor Turunen’s current research interests focus on teacher education, indigenous education, professional development in higher education, educational transitions (especially starting school), multi-professional work in schools, and preventative school welfare work.

Projects

Improving teacher's in-service training in Peru