This presentation reports some preliminary resultsfrom the ongoing study Learning to weld in vocational education, funded by the Swedish Institute for Educational Research, with the overall aim to examine the relation between teaching and learning in vocational education with a specific focus on learning to weld. The study is conducted as an action-oriented learning study in which two university based researchers collaborate with a vocational teacher at an upper secondary vocational school, and it responds to the request for more practice-based school research aiming for developing teacher’s teaching on a scientific basic (cf Brante et al, 2015; Carlgren, 2017; Lo, 2014; Postholm, 2018;SFS 2010:800). Action-oriented learning studies in iterative circles, where teachers themselves have been involved in formulating the research questions, and where there is a strong focus on the object of learning (what the students are supposed to learn) have been proven to be effective approaches in which teachers can change and develop their teaching practices and their professional learning, based on a theoretical framework (Brante et al., 2015; Pang & Ling, 2012). Hence, learning studies have been emphasised as a solid base for teachers’ professional development as well as improving students’ learning (Pang & Ling, 2012). Learning studies have also been proven to be a fruitful tool for implementing and increasing our understanding of the use of theory in practice, but according to Lo (2012) there is a need to conduct learning studies in more subject areas than what has previously been done. One of these research fields where there is a lack of learning studies and where research that has a specific focus on learning content is sparse is within the field of vocational education. This is something that we will focus on in this presentation, in which we will highlight results from the process of three iterative cycles in which theories gradually have been incorporated in the teacher’s didactical approach when teaching how to TIG-weld.

In the study, the teaching, as well as the research, is planned, conducted and analysed in three iterative cycles inspired by the Learning study method (cf. Pang & Ling, 2012), and is based on two theoretical frameworks; Conversation Analysis (CA) (cf. Sidnell & Stivers, 2013), and Variation Theory (VT) (cf. Marton & Tsui, 2004). Our approach is in line with the content-centered CA-studies that aim to capture interactional practices linked to learning a specific content or practice (cf. Rusk et al., 2015). This means that our focus in our study is on how the teacher and the students orient to the specific object of learning (OoL) of how to TIG-weld, and how the teacher and students adapt and change their participation in the unfolding interaction regarding how to TIG-weld, and where the VT can help us examine the enacted OoL in great detail. 

The specific aim with this presentation is to examine how the teacher is orienting towards the learning content by exemplifying one of the critical aspects of the OoL – the melt - when teaching how to TIG-weld during the process of three iterative cycles. Through concrete empirical examples from video recorded lessons we will explore not only how the theoretical perspectives (Conversation Analysis and Variation Theory Analysis; which we have chosen to term CAVTA) can be used together and integrated in practice when analysing the teaching and interaction, but also how these theories can be used as didactical tools for teachers when planning, executing, and evaluating their own teaching.

Method

Our study is based on a close collaboration between two university based researchers, and one vocational teacher at an upper secondary school. The teaching that the vocational teacher conducts is planned, executed, and analysed in three iterative cycles, inspired by the Learning study method (cf. Kilbrink et al., 2014; Pang & Ling, 2012). Usually, a learning study has its theoretical base in the variation theory and a key feature in the method is the strong emphasis on the learning content (referred to as the object of learning). In a Learning study, the teaching of this OoL should be planned, executed and analysed in specific steps in iterative cycles; pre-testing, planning, teaching, post-testing, analysing and revising (Ko, 2018). In our study, however, the pre- and post-testing has been removed, and instead a CA approach has been added to the variation theory in order to analyse how welding competences are displayed, developed and learned in the actual teaching situations. Approaching the data from a CA’s understanding of participation and social organisation can help us explore the learning processes that take shape in the interaction from an emic perspective (Duranti, 1997). Furthermore, CA can also add another dimension of how the OoL can be varied in the interaction between the teacher and students when using different semiotic resources (cf. Asplund & Kilbrink, 2018; Kilbrink & Asplund, 2018). The teaching that has been conducted in the study has been planned by the teacher, in dialogue with researchers, and each cycle lesson (with three focus students participating in each cycle) has been video recorded. These recordings have been analysed by the researchers at a primary stage, then analysed by the researchers and the teaching vocational teacher together. Based on these analyses, primarily based on a CAVTA perspective, the teacher, together with the researchers, worked on new teaching strategies that were to be incorporated into the teacher’s didactic approach towards cycle 2. In the second and third cycle this process was repeated. In this presentation, based on the outcomes of these three cycles of teaching how to TIG-weld, we will focus on the teaching and learning processes that take shape when the teacher and students orient towards the melt as a critical aspect when teaching and learning how to TIG-weld.

Expected Outcomes

Through the detailed analysis of the interaction that take shape in the teaching, we can identify concrete changes in the teacher’s teaching when CAVTA is gradually incorporated into the teacher’s didactic approach. For example, we can see how the teacher, together with the students, through the simultaneous use of different semiotic resources actively works to try to establish a common understanding of what content is to be learned and how it should be learned (cf. Kilbrink & Asplund, 2018). The study’s approach also enables a teaching method where parts of a subject-specific content increasingly is made explicit during the course of the study and validated in the interaction, there and then. More precisely, in our presentation we will show how these processes are something that take shape in relation to the teacher’s and students’ orientation towards the melt, which in the interaction there and then, is made into a temporarily subordinate object of learning. The critical aspects of the melt are then oriented to and verbalised. We believe that our approach can lead to a development where we can find forms for teaching where specific subject content within vocational education - content which is sometimes a bit carelessly discussed in terms of “tacit knowledge”- not only can be communicated and made visible to both teachers and students in interaction here and now, but also made precise. Thus, our findings suggest that our approach is fruitful in order to develop the teaching, and it offers opportunities for methodological innovation.

References

Asplund, S-B., & Kilbrink, N. (2018). Learning how (and how not) to Weld: Vocational Learning in Technical Vocational Education. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 62(1) 1-16. Brante, G., Holmqvist Olander, M., Holmquist, P-O., & Palla, M. (2015). Theorising teaching and learning: pre-service teachers’ theoretical awareness of learning. European Journal of Teacher Education, 38(1) 102-118. Carlgren, I. (Ed.) (2017). Undervisningsutvecklande forskning: exemplet Learning study. Malmö: Gleerups. Duranti, A. (1997). Linguistic anthropology. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Kilbrink, N., & Asplund, S. B. (2018). “This angle that we talked about”: learning how to weld in interaction. International journal of technology and design education, 1-18 (doi: 10.1007/s10798-018-9490-z Kilbrink, N., Bjurulf, V., Blomberg, I., Heidkamp, A., & Hollsten, A. C. (2014). Learning specific content in technology education: learning study as a collaborative method in Swedish preschool class using hands-on material. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 24(3), 241-259. Ko, P. Y. (2018). Beyond labels: what are the salient features of lesson study and learning study? Educational Action Research (doi: 10.1080/09650792.2018.1530126). Lo, M. L. (2012). Variation theory and the improvement of teaching and learning. Göteborg: Acta universitatis Gothoburgensis. Marton, F. & Tsui, A.B. (Eds.) (2004). Classroom Discourse and the Space of Learning, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, N.J. Pang, M. F., & Ling, L. M. (2012). Learning study: Helping teachers to use theory, develop professionality and produce new knowledge to be shared. Instructional Science, 40(3), 589–606. Postholm, M. B. (2018). Teachers’ professional development in school: A review study. Cogent Education, 5(1), 1-22. Rusk, F., Pörn, M., Sahlström, F., & Slotte-Lüttge, A. (2015). Perspectives on using video recordings in conversation analytical studies on learning in interaction. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 38(1), 39-55. Sidnell, J. & T. Stivers (Eds.) (2013). The Handbook of Conversation Analysis. Oxford, U.K.: Wiley‐Blackwell.

This licentiate thesis focuses on the pedagogy of practical objects of learning in technical vocational education. The overarching aim of the thesis is to contribute with knowledge of teaching and learning processes when welding teachers systematically transform subject specific contents and vocational knowing to teaching sessions in welding. With the use of the concept transformation, aspects which impact the welding education are highlighted. The thesis explores how welding teachers can visualize practical objects of learning and encourage students to display their comprehension and abilities in the teaching situations of practical objects of learning. The data has been collected from a practice-based research project, where the approach CAVTA, a combination of conversation analysis and variation theory, has served as the theoretical framework. A modified version of the learning study model has been used to develop the teaching and learning processes of practical welding education at an upper-secondary school in Sweden. 

Different perspectives of the overarching aim surface in the two studies included in the thesis.  The first study explores the teaching and learning processes when welding teachers transform subject specific contents and vocational knowing to welding teaching sessions of MIG/MAG welding. The variation of sound in relation to the object of learning, the settings of the equipment, is manifested in this study, as is the way the teacher in the interaction encourages the students to display their comprehension and abilities to set the equipment adequately.  The second study deals with a practical object of learning in the welding method TIG. Variation and interaction in the teaching and learning processes are explored in this study as well with a focus on the use of CAVTA and the learning study model.

In the findings, it is manifested how the vaguely defined subject specific contents of the curriculum, via the vocational knowing of the welding teachers, are transformed to welding teaching sessions in the workshop. The thesis shows how the teaching systematically is developed and how the teachers are supported by the theoretical framework CAVTA in combination with the cyclic design of the learning study model. A narrow focus on a defined object of learning enables the teacher to vary specific aspects of the object of learning, thus supporting the students discerning these aspects. A simultaneous focus on the interaction with the students and what the students display in the interaction supports the teacher in revising the teaching accordingly. Suggestions regarding  how to develop the learning study model in relation to practical objects of learning in technical vocational education are proposed. Implications of the study concern mainly welding education, where a systematic integration of variation theoretic principles in combination with a focus on interaction seems promising, although challenges are highlighted. The findings may also be of interest for those who want to explore teaching and learning processes in other areas of technical vocational education. 

Learning to weld in vocational education is an action research project and its purpose is to meet the demand of research regarding the relation between teaching and learning in technical vocational education.

In the research project the welding education at an upper secondary vocational school in Sweden is video-recorded in iterative cycles. The two theoretical perspectives conversation analysisand variation theory are combined and a new didactic approach is formed – CAVTA (ConversationAnalysis and Variation Theory Approach). CAVTA permeates the complete process ofthe study, where analytic tools deriving from the two theoretical perspectives have been used in the design of the teaching and in the data analysis. Learning to weld in vocational education is inspired by the learning study method but the traditional pre- and post tests have been removed. This paper focuses the second year of Learning to weld in vocational education, developing previously published material. The systematic implementation of CAVTA into welding education is in focus. The research question is formulated: How can the didactic approach CAVTA be implemented in TIG welding education?

Preliminary results of the second year of the study confirm the results of the first year. The implementation of CAVTA affects the design of the welding lessons and the evaluation of the lessons. The vocational teachers’ discussions concentrate on subject specific issues. There is an increased focus on the object of learning with its critical aspects. The discussions about how todesign the teaching to make the critical aspects discernable result in adjustment of the welding lessons. The systematic teacher and student interactions, including other semiotic resources than verbal language, gradually increase throughout the cycles.

The main implications of the paper concern the forms of teaching subject specific contents within welding education. Nevertheless, the results of the second year of Learning to weld in vocational education, may spur development of the teaching of other objects of learning. The project also contributes with knowledge in other fields, such as theoretical framework and methodology, with its combination of conversation analysis and variation theory. The collaboration between researchers and a team of vocational teachers might be of interest to anyone interested in professional development.

Transformation of welding teachers’ vocational knowing into subject-specific educational content is focused in this study. The article displays the process of a learning study, in which welding teachers make the sound visible as an aspect of making the correct settings in MIG/MAG welding and give the students’ the opportunity to display their understanding in the interaction. The aim of the study is to contribute with knowledge regarding what happens when welding teachers in a learning study systematically transform subject-specific vocational knowledge to an object of learning in the welding method MIG/MAG. 

The data consists of the welding teacher team’s documented meetings and film material from teaching situations. The complexity of subject-specific education within VET is shown with the use of the transformation concept. 

Research regarding classroom pedagogy of subject specific contents in the field of technical vocational education is scarce, nationally in Sweden, but also in an international perspective. This paper presents results from a Swedish action research project and it aims at exploring the process of a learning study, which deals with the settings in MIG/MAG welding and the intervention of the new pedagogic approach CAVTA (Conversation Analysis and Variation Theory Approach). The empiric material consists of video recorded welding education in a workshop and documented meetings in a welding teacher team. The theoretical toolbox of CAVTA permeates the teaching and learning processes as the teachers in the intervention try to implement patterns of variation in the planning, enactment and evaluation of the teaching and learning processes. In combination with the variation theoretic principles embedded in the teaching, ideas inspired by conversation analysis are implemented – the main element being an enhanced interaction, thus enabling for the students to display their understanding of the subject specific contents. The results show how CAVTA can be integrated in the teaching of settings regarding MIG/MAG welding, so that certain aspects of the object of learning is visualized. Furthermore, the findings show how the integration of CAVTA support the manifestation of a student’s understanding of the object of learning. How variation and the use of several senses and simultaneous different semiotic resources are activated as essential components in the teaching and learning processes, is made explicit in the paper. Plans for a recently launched research project including several different technical vocational education programs are also presented. The lack of classroom studies regarding technical vocational education calls for exploration in research, but should not avoid the ambition of development. This study captures the design and the development of a new pedagogic approach. Our hope is that the study will contribute to a growing body of knowledge within the field of technical vocational education and spur on further studies in this field of research. 

This paper describes ongoing research focusing on how vocational learning content in different technical vocational programmes in upper secondary schools is taught and learned in close interaction in the midst of practical learning situations. The study shows that the technical vocational learning content have some aspects in common – such as the interplay between theoretical and practical knowledge, the use of working tools, the problem solving and the complexity of interacting critical aspects. However, there are also differences between the learning content in the teaching of different vocational subjects, in relation to working methods and the nature of the objects of learning. Still, more studies are needed in order to claim that the differences are subject specific. Furthermore, the study shows that teachers often aimed to teach the learning content in a broad perspective, which could be at the expense of a clear focus for the student. In one of the studied programmes an intervention study was conducted. This study shows that an enhanced focus on fewer, specific critical aspects of the object of learning might support the learning process.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how critical aspects can be defined in a learning study on welding without conducting any pre-tests. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the authors focus on empirical examples from a learning study on welding conducted in six iterative cycles, with conversation analysis and variation theory approach (CAVTA) as a theoretical basis. The welding lessons have been video-recorded, and in the study, the authors analyze examples where the teachers try to identify critical aspects of a vocational practical object of learning in interaction. CAVTA permeates the complete process, where the analysis has been part of the iterative cycles and further developed when the six cycles were completed. Findings The results show how critical aspects can be made visible in the interaction between teacher(s) and student(s) in the enacted learning situation. In the process, the authors work with the three concepts expected critical aspects, displayed critical aspects and targeted critical features in relation to a vocational practical object of learning where conducting a pre-test to define critical aspects is not educationally possible. Originality/value Teaching vocational practical objects of learning could be seen as something different from teaching other kinds of objects of learning and the use of the traditional pre-tests in learning studies may be problematic. From that follows, that other ways of finding the critical aspects for the students regarding a vocational practical object of learning might be needed. In this study, such a way is presented.