Automated speaking assessment (ASA) of second language proficiency benefits both learners and educators. However, developing these systems for less commonly taught languages like Finnish and Finland Swedish is hindered by the need for large datasets with equal representation of all proficiency levels. Traditional machine learning algorithms used…

Scholars have applied automatic content analysis to study computer-mediated communication in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). Since CSCL also takes place in face-to-face interactions, we studied the automatic coding accuracy of manually transcribed face-to-face communication. We conducted our study in an authentic higher-education…

Research relationships are often poorly understood. Why are some collaborations between research partners more productive than others? This question was a starting point of this paper. By describing their own experiences over a period of three years, the authors evaluated research relationships through collaborative self-study. At the beginning,…

The aim of this study was to examine conceptions associated with sense of belonging (SEBE) in Finnish general and special school placements for pupils with special education needs. Five pupils were selected for this study by means of purposive sampling. They had a history of several school placements prior to arriving at their current special…

Though anchored in cross-cultural comparisons, this study aims to identify the key factors that impacted the talent development of successful dancers from childhood through adulthood. Case studies of eight Finnish and Singaporean ballet and contemporary dancers exemplify the qualities of successful dancers in terms of their career achievements and…

The amount of time that people, especially young people, spend on communicative activities in social media is rapidly increasing. We are facing new arenas with great potential for learning in general and for language learning in particular, but their impact on learning is not yet acknowledged as such in educational practice (e.g., Conole, 2010;…

This study explores how collaborative inquiry learning can be supported with multiple scaffolding agents in a real-life field trip context. In practice, a mobile peer-to-peer messaging tool provided meta-cognitive and procedural support, while tutors and a nature guide provided more dynamic scaffolding in order to support argumentative discussions…