Previous UDiN seminars
Theme: Digitalization and AI in schools

Human-like, but without understanding
Niclas Ekberg, Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy at the Division of Pedagogy, Language and Subject Didactics (Luleå University of Technology) emphasizes that although you can be excited and enthralled by the answers you can get from a language robot, you must remember that it is an 'uncomprehending actor' who put together the answer. "Chatbots can be likened to pattern readers that have been fed data, but are great at 'pretending to know' and giving the illusion of being knowledgeable," Niclas points out. The question then becomes how we should behave and think when it comes to AI in an educational context. Should we 'counter Olle in the gate', or is a broader perspective needed, where AI becomes part of the teaching at the same time as critical perspectives and exploratory playfulness become important elements.
It's all about education
How AI is used in the classroom and how students' learning is affected is still largely an unexplored area, emphasizes Caroline Graeske, Professor of Swedish with a didactic focus at the Division of Pedagogy, Language and Subject Didactics (LTU), who together with Niclas Ekberg has begun a study on how teachers' view of their subject is affected by AI. She emphasizes that it may be the case that AI can contribute to a revival of the concept of education and questions about what is meant by development and what makes us human.
There is a fine line between help and cheating
That students take help from others is not a new phenomenon, says Peter Parnes, Professor of Distributing Computer Systems at Luleå University of Technology. Parents or siblings who help a little too much have always existed. Therefore, it becomes important to update the question of what is help and what is cheating, because the line is fine. Parnes therefore argues that interaction with AI is not the same as cutting and pasting. He emphasizes that if we as teachers focus more on the process, rather than the measurement, it would be more difficult for students to cheat. Therefore, examinations need to be done as part of the learning process, he emphasizes.
'It's not AI that will take your job, it's whoever can use AI that will do it'
So what will the future look like? During the seminar, Peter Parnes gave a hint of what is around the corner. Although AI is being developed and refined at a rapid pace, AI cannot, for example, determine how we feel, he emphasized. It is therefore of great importance to highlight and discuss what then becomes important knowledge and what we should then teach. For it is not AI that will take your job, says Peter Parnes, but it is those who can use AI who will do so.
Text and image: Kerstin Löf
Theme: Teaching in early childhood education

Förskolläraren Lisa Lindfors, förskolläraren Magdalena Fredriksson, Rektor Anita Vyöni, Pedagogistan Birgitta Schönfeldt Asker, från Bäckhagens förskola, berättade om de utvecklingsprocesser som de utformat inom verksamheten.
The first UDiN seminar of the autumn of 2023 was about how teaching as a concept has been introduced into the preschool curriculum, Lpf18, which has led to new curious questions having to be transformed into learning processes among preschool staff.
The seminar was moderated by PhD student Moa Frid from Luleå University of Technology. Bergnäsets preschools in Luleå, Bäckhagens preschool in Luleå and Bergvikens preschool area in Piteå, presented their development projects in the afternoon.
"Project Teaching"
Moa Frid, doctoral student in pedagogy at Luleå University of Technology, together with preschool teachers Erika Jonsson and Åsa Pettersson, from Bergnäsets preschools in Luleå, talked about the joint development work "Project Teaching" which took place between 2021-2023 and which will result in a co-written popular science text.
The project has been inspired by an action research approach in order to strengthen professional learning and the scientific approach. From educators reflecting individually in relation to planning, the project has switched to allocating more team-wide planning time to highlight, anchor and deepen the common professional craft and track movements that are formed between teaching and children's interaction.
Development processes based on books
Preschool teacher Lisa Lindfors, Preschool teacher Magdalena Fredriksson, Principal Anita Vyöni, and Pedagogist Birgitta Schönfeldt Asker, from Bäckhagen Preschool, talked about the development processes they have designed within the organization. By starting with books and the children's interest in reading, creative and participatory working methods could be staged that brought together indoor and outdoor environments.
The unstructured materials that the children in the preschool were exposed to made it possible for the teachers to encourage the children to talk, hypothesize and create, highlighting the importance of small details. Big and small became generative opposites in the teaching process, arousing children's curiosity and cross-cutting use of different media, analog and digital.
"Every child has a story"
Susanne Rensfeldt, preschool teacher, Lena Bäckström, preschool teacher and pedagogista, Gitte Franzén, principal, from Bergviken preschools in Piteå, talked about their participation in the three-year ERASMUS project that lasted between 2020-2023 and aimed to build development processes that would embrace a narrative approach in preschool teaching processes and promote cooperation between the preschool and the library.
The presentation entitled "Every child has a story" briefly outlined the extensive work of creating and planning development processes, the work at the preschool to produce documentation and to co-create forms of work in interaction with the children based on narrative principles. The project has resulted in several book projects, two of which are co-produced with the participating children.
Closing panel discussion
The seminar ended with a panel discussion, moderated by Moa frid, where Susanne Westman, lecturer in pedagogy and responsible for the preschool teacher program at Luleå University of Technology, Susann Sunnarve, development manager in Luleå municipality and Anita Vyöini, principal in Luleå municipality, shared their reflections.
Theme: Getting more students to succeed in school

Marie Fredriksson, Lillemor Östman, Anita Klockar och Jonas Jönsson.
Representatives of Råneåskolan, the upper secondary school and the labor market unit in Luleå municipality, talked about their work to get more students to manage and complete school. This development work took place with the support of Sweden's municipalities and regions' project Fullföljd utbildning during the 2021-22 academic year.
- Relationships are A and O, emphasizes Lillemor Östman, development manager for children and young people's health and learning, at the Children and Education Administration in Luleå municipality.
Increased relationship skills to create motivation
The common denominator for Luleå's work with increased motivation in the school landed in a focus on the cognitive and psychologically affective dimension of learning. Emotions are fundamental to learning, but at the same time something that is often overlooked in education, says Lillemor Östman. Within the framework of this broad field, the sense of belonging and not least relationships is a central area.
Råneå School prioritized its development area to increase knowledge in relationship skills, in order to increase motivation, meaningfulness and learning. The school partly feels that good results have been achieved. The current academic year had some challenges in the form of a remaining pandemic, a new curriculum to be implemented and also an ongoing renovation work. Based on this, the need for continued support from the principal is emphasized, not least in the form of time, to be able to keep the development work alive.
All young people should complete their upper secondary education
The labour market administration was part of the project based on the municipal activity responsibility governed by school law. Marie Fredriksson shared how they work to map the young people in the target group of 16-19 year olds who are at risk of not achieving an upper secondary school diploma, in order to offer appropriate measures. The municipal activity responsibility is managed in collaboration with a number of actors, in order to create the best opportunities for individually suitable activities. The ultimate goal is to create self-sufficiency in the long term. Anita Klockare adds that breaking isolation and a poor quality of life is also about saving the national economy in the long term. It is therefore important that both the school principal and the rest of society work together strategically to ensure that all young people complete their upper secondary education. In Luleå municipality, this takes place within the framework of a clear development and communication plan for activity responsibility.
Commitment and meaningfulness
Jonas Jönsson, headmaster at Unit C of the upper secondary school in Luleå, explained that they have received collegial guidance support through the LIKA tool. An explanation for the negative school results in one program was identified as the students' lack of experience of commitment and meaningfulness in school. Against this background, the collegial conversations focused on creating a school culture characterized by inclusive well-being.
- It is not enough to have good values for safety, students also need to be stimulated. The basic emotions can never be ignored, says Jonas Jönsson.
Collegial guidance is a good method as there is a high level of basic competence among teachers to build on. The throughput of students increased in general in Luleå, but significantly higher in the program that worked with this development project, which is considered a good sign that they are on the right track.
Clear school
An important overall part of Luleå's development project is the research overview on motivation that has been carried out and published on an internal platform called Klara skolan. Lillemor Östman, development manager, gave an overview of a number of factors that can affect pupils' motivation, and which promotional measures can have a positive impact on motivation. In particular, relationships are highlighted as a very important area for addressing a number of different risks, as well as breaking isolation and promoting well-being. The website also includes a range of scientifically proven and developed models that schools can choose to work with.
Text: Björn Emmoth
Theme: Learning for sustainable development

Gunnar Jonsson, Virve Lantto, Louise Rönnbäck, Linda Andersson, Moa Frid, Ingela Söderholm, Gabriella Thörngren, Ida Olsson och Paulina Henriksson.
This seminar focusing on sustainable development included a presentation from preschool, one from primary school and one from secondary school. Sustainable development is something that should permeate the entire schooling in all subjects, says today's moderator Moa Frid, PhD student at Luleå University of Technology.
Learning for sustainable development is about the relationship between human-environment, human-human and global-local, where it is about evaluating choices in everyday life. For example, Moa Frid asked whether the norm should be apples and organic apples or apples and sprayed apples.
Building relationships with the local environment
Linda Andersson, Virve Lantto and Louise Rönnbäck, all teachers at Vitådalen School, explained how the school works to develop a strong relationship with the local community and nature, which is also linked to its commitment to environmental issues.
- "We want the students to feel that it is possible to live a socially and economically sustainable life and that there are ways to make a living in Vitådalen," says Louise Rönnbäck.
Linda Andersson says that the grant from the Baltic Fund has made it possible to buy materials for the portable classroom, and many other things that strengthen learning, an approach and a sustainable way of life.
The school has started a collaboration with Gunnar Jonsson, associate professor of education at Luleå University of Technology with a focus on sustainable development, where students have visited a farm to learn about locally produced food, milk production, making butter and cream, calving sheep, and seeing how a bee community works. Pupils also get to work on taking care of nature's pantry, says Virve Lantto, for example, they have made kale chips. Soon it will be time for the chickens to hatch, and the pupils will be involved in the whole process. The eggs will be turned, you can light them and see how the chick develops, which is always exciting and appreciated by the students. The school, with its slogan 'The heart of the community', also has strong support from the community and parents who support the school in various ways.
Learning about sustainable development in upper secondary school
How can you create a concrete understanding of sustainable development? Ida Olsson, science teacher at Gymnasiebyn Luleå, presented how she and her colleagues work and collaborate in both the natural and social sciences. Based on the global goals, Ida Olsson concretizes the teaching by, for example, discussing the consequences of palm oil from all three dimensions of sustainable development, namely the ecological, economic and social. The pupils are asked to list things that are on the plus and minus side based on different issues. Plus because it is cheap, minus for both the ecological and social dimensions. It is important to consider all three dimensions of sustainable development.
The "What should we eat?" module from the National Agency for Education. is a good material for developing informed arguments. The pupils take on a role here, instead of having to make statements based on themselves. Another example that Ida Olsson highlights as successful is the interdisciplinary work between science and social studies teachers on honour culture, which the pupils have shown great commitment and interest in. But there are also challenges. Today there is a growing questioning of science, not least because many boys in particular consider science and the environment to be a political issue, which can be compared with the increasing proportion of climate deniers in society. This is a major challenge for teachers in the future, says Ida Olsson.
From silo culture to collaboration
Ingela Söderholm, principal at Hällbackens preschool and Bensby preschool, Luleå Municipality, began with the quote "The global goals are clear. We have a map but still don't manage to get there. Development is too slow and this is due to our belief that we can create a sustainable world without having to change ourselves. We lack the emotional maturity".
The preschool area, consisting of four preschool directors and their staff, has developed five areas, being - thinking - relating - cooperating - acting, and 23 abilities linked to these areas that they want to develop. Gabriella Thörngren, principal of Brisen's preschool, talked about the development journey from silo culture to cooperation within a common framework, such as a common vision and management philosophy.
- According to Gabriella Thörngren, the goal is the feeling of being 'Miss Successful' instead of failing.
Ingela Söderholm and Gabriella Thörngren highlighted the many advantages of organizing learning in the form of collaboration and reflection, cooperative and collective learning, and not least having common structures. Ingela Söderholm points out that in order to develop activities, we need to raise awareness of the unconscious, and not least to move from words to action.
Why should I care?
Moa Frid, the day's moderator, began the final panel discussion by asking Gunnar Jonsson about his reflections from the presentations. The answer was high recognition factor, also regarding the changing culture of solidarity in time and space, questioning sustainable development, where the school is part of society. Why should I care? What does it matter if I do something?' Ida Olsson adds that it is difficult to meet the new trends, and that it is also a bit sensitive. Here it is important to find ways that touch and engage the students.
Paulina Henriksson, the County Administrative Board's coordinator for the county's Agenda 2030 work, thinks that understanding will hopefully increase as the evidence of climate impact becomes clearer, while others will close their eyes even more. Many difficult questions are raised in practice.
Louise Rönnbäck says that it is easy for students to think that emissions must be reduced, while at the same time not wanting to give up snowmobiling themselves. Ingela Söderholm sees a challenge in including more aspects of sustainable development in preschool. Here it is particularly important to work with staff and their role and knowledge as a basis for children's learning.
The panel emphasizes the importance of feeling agency, of feeling that one can influence, that what I do is important, and act accordingly. Preschools and schools need a common thread, collaboration and, not least, to work towards sustainable development.
Moa Frid concluded the conversation with the hope that this seminar had been a strengthening step in the direction of more learning for sustainable development.
Text by Björn Emmoth
Theme: The role of language in development and learning

Linda Wikström och Erica Lövgren.
The last UDiN seminar of 2022 focused on the most important human tool for communication, development and learning, namely language. Linda Wikström, moderator of the seminar, presented the day's content in the form of an evaluated language development initiative and students' communication and interaction in the crafts subject. Drawn language portraits as a teaching method were excluded and postponed to the future.
Linda Wikström, first teacher in Språkslussen Piteå municipality, and Erica Lövgren, first teacher at Norrbyskolan Piteå municipality, talked about the evaluation of the SKUA initiative (Language and Knowledge Development Approach) that has been carried out. SKUA is about both an approach and a way of working, containing methods for support in speaking, reading, writing and listening.
- The language and knowledge development approach is beneficial for all students in the school, but necessary for newly arrived students, Erica Lövgren points out.
The municipality of Piteå decided that the three school network-trained SKUA developers in the municipality would in turn develop SKUA pilots in the schools, thereby reaching all teachers in all subjects. Linda Wikström emphasizes that this structure has been successful, not least in terms of local anchoring and the conditions for the project to have long-term effects. Although it is difficult to prove effects, both principals and teachers felt that SKUA has been positive for goal achievement. The evaluation emphasizes, among other things, the importance of the principal's support, that the content of the meetings should be clear and concrete, and that the organization can choose work and focus areas. To create sustainable effects, the evaluation emphasizes the importance of the competence in the form of the pilots being available at the schools, that continued input is obtained in the form of network meetings, that SKUA is included in other development work, and that the work is followed up on the employee interviews.
Multimodal communication in crafts
Emma Gyllerfelt, a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg, has chosen a research focus on new arrivals' learning. The field is growing, but at the same time there is little research on her focus on crafts education. Emma Gyllerfelt asked why practical-aesthetic subjects are often seen as integration subjects. One possible reason is that the subjects are often considered linguistically simpler, that there is a lot of doing in the teaching.
- 'There has often been a greater focus on doing than learning, but there needs to be more focus on learning by doing,' says Emma Gyllerfelt.
There are rich opportunities for communication between woodwork teachers and students, where both verbal and non-verbal language can be developed in the interaction around the concrete work, materials and tools in woodwork teaching. Among several different forms of communication, studies have shown that verbal communication using body signs is the most common form of communication in craft education. According to Emma Gyllerfelt, literacy in crafts is about, among other things, being able to distinguish materials and techniques, reading thread rakes, but also reading gestures in the interaction between teacher and student. Here, verbal and non-verbal language also interact with materials, work and tools to create meaning and understanding.
- Craft education is highly multimodal. Actually, all communication is multimodal in some form," says Emma Gyllerfelt.
Text and photo: Björn Emmoth
Theme: Special education at LTU - research and development projects

Demonstration av ett pedagogiskt verktyg där eleverna möter varandra som avatarer.
This special education seminar demonstrated the breadth of the subject by starting with a general health perspective with a focus on the whole person. We then got acquainted with two computer game technology tools that can strengthen communication and bridge language barriers, and ended the special education journey with a study on participation in primary school reading instruction.
When the whole heart is involved - health-promoting school development
Helena Öhman, since this fall teaching council for quality dialogues at the Swedish National Agency for Education, at the time of the school development work principal at Töreskolan and responsible for student health in Kalix municipality, together with Åsa Gardelli, professor of education with a focus on special education, told about the development work done at the school.
In the first years, Åsa Gardelli was a research support to Helena Öhman and the staff, which developed into a research and development project (R&D) in the 2020-21 academic year. The school has worked based on the idea that a health-promoting school provides higher goal achievement. Helena Öhman emphasizes increased security and well-being as an important basis for study peace, as well as varied working methods and forms of work to promote learning.
Important aspects for a successful school development work are to start from the staff, create participation and collegial collaboration, increase the understanding of quality work, and adopt a scientific approach to the activities. Furthermore, Helna Öhman and Åsa Gardelli highlight the contact between school and university, the principal's commitment and, not least, the importance of allocating and prioritizing time for the work, as crucial for good school development work.
Special education tools based on modern computer game technology
Ylva Backman and Victor Gardelli, lecturers at the Department of Health, Education and Technology, and Peter Parnes, Professor of Distributed Computer Systems, Computer Science, introduced the participants to two special educational tools based on modern computer game technology.
Dialogica is an app based on computer game technology, discussion leader pedagogy and argumentation theory, especially addressed to people with aphasia in dialogic educational contexts. The app's activities of the argumentation tree, palette and animations were demonstrated in terms of its underlying science and exciting concrete virtual environment.
The second educational tool is an experimental 3D learning environment called WalkAbout. Peter Parnes talks about this open world, where avatars meet each other in different rooms, which we can both control and experiment with. Through the students' avatars, they can present themselves and communicate in different situations, where the teacher can also lead and adapt the room and environment from a learning perspective. "We are excited to see how this can be used in the future", one of the discussion groups wrote in the padlet.
Reading enjoyment in primary special school through participation
Kattis Edström, lecturer and doctoral student at Luleå University of Technology, shared with us experiences from her study of reading lessons in a primary special school group in grades 7-9. She has observed the reading lessons based on the special education school authority's aspects of participation - accessibility, belonging, commitment, interaction, autonomy, recognition - based on a teaching culture, a peer culture and a care culture. The reading training has included so-called bench books, news articles, but also the quiz app Kahoot.
The study shows, among other things, that most pupils find reading fun and exciting, and above all that it is important to be able to read. Students state that a quiet or reasonably quiet study environment is important for their own reading. Kattis Edström summarizes that the students have access to most aspects of participation.
Finally, some of the dilemmas identified were highlighted. Accessibility and autonomy can be at the expense of, and counteract, interaction and belonging. Interaction in special school often takes place primarily via the adults. Another dilemma is to combine participation with inclusion, says Kattis Edström.
Text: Björn Emmoth
Theme: Towards gender equal education in Norrbotten

Catarina Lundqvist, Mia Heikkilä, Karin Forsman, Gunilla Silfverbrand och Maria Isaksson. Foto: Björn Emmoth
The seminar emphasized the difference between development projects and development work in that gender equality work is a never-ending process. To achieve long-term sustainable gender equality work, a long-term sustainable structure must be built into the organization.
The issue of gender equality is not only important for each individual child, but also for society as a whole. This applies not least because Norrbotten needs to be perceived as an attractive society if the population is to grow and match the major development needs that exist in the county.
Does gender play a role?
Catarina Lundqvist, scientific leader at Education and Learning, Norrbotten's municipalities, as well as moderator of the seminar, welcomed and introduced the participants to the development work that Norrbotten's municipalities together with Mia Heikkilä, assistant professor of preschool pedagogy at Åbo Akademi, have carried out with a number of activities in most municipalities. Karin Forsman, development manager at Education and Learning, Norrbotten's municipalities, has had the overall responsibility by supporting and holding together various activities and processes.
"Does gender matter?" has been a simple and clear question that has accompanied the development work. The answer has shown that there are many indicators of gender inequality. Karin Forsman highlights two important foundations that have been significant: 1) To link operational development and research, to combine a scientific basis with practical experience, and to read, reflect and discuss in close collaboration within the organization and with external actors. 2) To listen to the students, to ask them about gender equality, and thereby get a richer picture of the current situation that the development efforts can be directed towards. Gender equality work is a catalyst for a number of important school development issues, says Karin Forsman.
Gender equality must be embodied
Mia Heikkilä emphasizes that gender equality work is not an isolated project, but an integrated school development work. It is about an ongoing work that is never finished, to see gender equality as a process, rather than something to be finished, a product. Knowledge, as opposed to opinions, is an important building block for systematic gender equality work in schools and preschools. Finding your organization's own way is more important than searching for the method with a capital M to be implemented.
- You can learn from others, but you must always make the process journey yourself. Equality work and equality must be shaped into something of its own," Mia Heikkilä points out.
Important pieces of the puzzle for a successful development work are to combine science and proven experience, to organize and create a sustainable structure for the work, where not least the principal has an important role, to create time and conditions for collegial reflective discussions, to cooperate with the homes, and to trust the pupils and plan gender equality in the educational planning.
- Teachers and other staff have an important role, and a great opportunity, to make a difference, here and now. Timing, or sensitivity, is crucial because different groups and situations are different and teachers need to make choices that support gender equality. Gender equality work can be shaped in many different ways, according to Mia Heikkilä, and it is important that it feels meaningful to work in this area for it to be sustainable and long-term.
From words to action
Östra skolan in Jokkmokk started working actively with gender equality in order to address the large gender gap in grades and break patterns that do not benefit students' learning. Gunilla Silfverbrand, principal of Östra skolan, explained that the goal is to create an environment where everyone can develop, which includes both the pedagogical work and the physical work environment. There are many norms in society that affect students, there are many aspects of gender equality, where the school has chosen to focus on what they can influence most and best. To address the plug culture (or anti-plug culture), Östra skolan has started Pluggeriet. The school has also changed the format of parents' meetings and created greater clarity in teaching.
- "We think we have now found a common thread in our activities," says Gunilla Silfverbrand.
The preschools in Kalix entered into a collaboration with Norrbotten's municipalities to enable more support for the gender equality work, which had already been a priority area in the municipality.
Maria Isaksson, head of preschool in Kalix municipality, emphasizes the importance of giving all children equal and good opportunities, for their sake and for the sake of society.
- "The preschool has a good opportunity to influence this," says Maria Isaksson.
In Kalix preschools, the development work was initially about clarifying concepts, studying the mission, reading texts, discussing and reflecting, something they put a lot of time and effort into. However, Maria Isaksson felt that the direct effects did not materialize, which was due to the fact that the road was a bit crooked, it was a bit tricky and there was also some resistance. The organization later focused more on the direct work with the children, more concrete, conscious and active gender equality work with the children, and the guidelines for parent meetings were changed. Leadership is important, just as it is important that all staff at the preschool are involved in the work, but also that special educators, business developers and other professional groups are included in the gender equality work. Today, the educators are more active and aware of the gender equality work, and the principals can see that it is really happening in the activities. In order to achieve sustainable gender equality work, it is important that a long-term structure is built into the organization, as opposed to being personally bound, Maria Isaksson points out.
Text and photo: Björn Emmoth
Theme: Cultural schools in collaboration - Cultural strength for better mental health

Rebecka Strand och Veronica Backe.
The seminar was about a strategic collaboration between Norrbotten's cultural schools and in collaboration with Region Norrbotten with a focus on increasing the mental health and well-being of children and young people.
Today's moderator Björn Emmoth, as a representative of Norrbotten's cultural school managers, said that Norrbotten's strategic cooperation between the region and the municipalities is both extensive and unique in national comparison.
Since the turn of the millennium, Norrbotten has had a well-developed cooperation in the form of joint conferences and skills development for both teachers and leaders, with several annual camps and ongoing county-wide ensembles at student level, and also that the leaders have acted together to strengthen the activities in the county in various areas. Björn Emmoth, principal of the Cultural School in Kalix since 2000, specifically mentioned the initiative initiated by the cultural school leaders and discussed with Region Norrbotten for a few years to create a position as a cultural school coordinator. The task would be to coordinate and lead the work between the cultural schools, but also to be the link between the cultural schools and the Region's cultural activities. In 2019, Åsa Lundmark took up the post of Cultural Schools Coordinator, a position where the municipalities and the Region share responsibility, but also with financial support from the Heritage Fund-financed project Cultural Schools throughout the country, with the Swedish Council for Cultural Schools as project owner.
The stage was set, there were existing networks, said Åsa Lundmark, who in the dialogue with the cultural schools explored increased equality and access to culture for children and young people as a priority goal. Other themes that emerged were influence and participation, collaboration and organization, joint student activities, and mental health/illness.
Culturally strong for mental health
"All schools of music and performing arts in the county agreed that it is important to invest in mental health work, that cultural activities can have a strengthening effect, but there was also some fear," says Åsa Lundmark. Many teachers in the culture schools said that they are not specifically trained in these areas, but the concerns were aired, and the culture schools prioritized to start working with this area. A training course was carried out with teachers, and money was applied for and granted by the Swedish Arts Council for the project Kulturstark - Culture Schools for Mental Health, in addition to the funds from the Heritage Fund. More than 30 sub-projects are currently being implemented in the county's cultural schools within the framework of the project. Evelina Sandberg, regional coordinator at Region Norrbotten, shared with us the breadth of these activities, ranging from drop-in activities to aesthetic activities at a SiS home. Kulturstark takes place in collaboration with the student health service in the municipalities, although it is hoped to increase the scope.
- One way to measure the health factor and well-being is to use Touch & Tell's emoji measurement. The almost 5000 emoji prints during the winter so far show that the participants feel better after the cultural activities than before, says Evelina Sandberg.
Dance for health
- "Dance for health is a research-based effort to promote young people's mental health," says Rebecka Strand, dance consultant for Region Norrbotten. The method has been developed by Anna Duberg, active at the Department of Health Sciences at Örebro University. Research shows that investments in dance for young people with mental illness are very cost and well-being effective. Dance for health in Norrbotten usually takes place within the framework of Kulturstark, and in the first round, 17 instructors have been trained. The method is a complement to the usual student health care, and the results show up as reduced fatigue, reduced physical and emotional symptoms, increased self-confidence and perceived health. Rebecka Strand says that about a third of the municipalities are up and running, a third are in the process, while a third still lack instructors.
Sara Lockby, a dance teacher at the Music and Dance School in Piteå municipality, gave an example of how dance for health can work in practice. The session, which takes place immediately after the end of the school day, starts with a snack, followed by a warm-up, dance choreography, breathing exercises, touching, relaxation and a final walk. Sara Lockby says that it is a solid work with information and contact to students, parents and school to get this group of students, mainly girls who do not feel well, to come to the dance session. The first and biggest step is to want and dare to cross the threshold of the dance hall for the first time, after which they usually want to continue. A central principle is that "Come as you are!", and the dance teachers often keep in touch with the students by text message to check in. Student comments such as "Today I had a really hard day but after the dance it turned around" show that dance for health is a worthwhile initiative. The seminar also introduced Veronica Backe, the brand new coordinator of Dance for Health at Region Norrbotten.
Culture in preschool and school
Taking part in professional cultural experiences is a democratic right for all children and students, said Sofia Lagerlöf Määttä, cultural secretary in Kiruna municipality.
- Performing arts experiences are part of the curriculum objectives, but they also have an intrinsic value. The encounter with art is a meeting with other people, but also a way of reflecting and meeting oneself. Culture touches, often a seed is sown, or an interest is awakened,' says Sofia Lagerlöf Määttä. She highlights three important phases for children and students' cultural experiences that are important for teachers to consider, namely before, during and after the performance. The experience begins in the preparation before the performance, for example by showing flyers and talking about what is to come. During the performance, teachers should rely on the performers' ability to manage the audience, and allow students' emotions to come through, which can be picked up after the performance.
- It is important to let the performance take time to settle, and to talk together about what has been seen, what has been experienced, while avoiding the superficial questions and answers such as "it was good or bad", says Sofia Lagerlöf Määttä.
Text and photo: Björn Emmoth
Theme: Mathematical development in primary schools

Monica Johansson och Louice Stridsman.
In the seminar, the moderators Louice Stridsman, Head of Operations Primary School in Luleå, and Monica Johansson, Senior Lecturer at Luleå University of Technology, guided the seminar participants between the three parts of problem solving, formative assessment and the concept of Train, Reason and Count (TRR).
Common lessons from three school development projects in Luleå and Kalix municipalities are that teachers, in addition to the actual competence development in mathematics, also highlight the benefits of collegial discussions and collaboration with the universities.
Teaching problem solving
Lena Nilsson, business developer in mathematics and NTA and Elisabeth Karlsson, primary school manager, both from Kalix municipality, initially told us that Kalix has had low results in mathematics and that problem solving skills have been identified as a development area. Together with Luleå University of Technology, the municipality has started a so-called ULF project. The project goal, according to Lena Nilsson, is that all math teachers in grades 1-6 should plan, implement and follow up problem solving through explicit teaching. This development takes place when the teachers create models and strategies for problem solving, and implement activities in a structured and effective way in order to strengthen problem solving among students. The project design has interspersed lectures with various forms of collegial work. Shadowing of colleagues has also been carried out. Lena Nilsson says that teachers have appreciated being part of these collegial discussions and that the work has deepened their knowledge of working with problem solving in the classroom.
Collaborative project on formative assessment
The Örnäset school district has initiated a collaborative project with Umeå University, which resulted in the launch of a combined four-year school development and research project on formative assessment. Torulf Palm, professor of educational work with a focus on formative assessment at Umeå University, emphasized that the goal is that both research and school development where this type of collaboration benefits both parties in a beneficial way by teachers developing their teaching while researchers conduct research. The current project focuses on the characteristics of formative assessment that make a difference, including the effect in terms of both grades and motivation. The joint meetings have taken place both at conferences and on competence development days, says Torulf Palm. It has been important that the time is not taken from teachers' planning time, in order to create good conditions for the work. Teachers at Örnäset, like those in Kalix, emphasize that it is valuable to work together, to share and to talk more about school development in the college.
Thinking, reasoning and counting
Tänka, resonera och räkna (TRR) is a competence development project and a teaching model, says Ola Helenius, professor of subject didactics with a focus on mathematics at the University of Gothenburg. TRR is implemented in several municipalities, including Luleå municipality, and involves more than 1000 teachers in total. Being part of TRR assumes that the entire municipality joins, and that there is a commitment among teachers, principals and municipal management.
The model has carefully tested parts of the material, which are very guiding for the teachers.
- However, it should not be interpreted as an easy manual to follow, but rather that the implementation requires a lot of the teacher, says Ola Helenius.
Each theme in the TRR material is divided into cycles, which in turn are divided into phases, where each phase takes about three lessons. Working with four themes in a school year takes about half the lesson plan time.
Ola Helenius emphasizes that TRR has a long-term approach to the learning objectives, so there are no lesson objectives and few examination tasks in general. Teaching time is devoted to mathematical reasoning in pairs and whole classes, instead of students working individually in the math book. It is the students' reasoning about mathematics that is central, it is about creating a bridge between the concrete reality and the mathematical abstract terms. Ola Helenius showed many practical tips, not least for visually creating mathematical understanding.
Principal Lena Sandberg and teacher Helena Öberg, from Sunderbyn school in Luleå, talked about their experiences of working with TRR. Lena Sandberg believes that TRR is not only a method, but also a good competence development in mathematics for the teachers, and that the arrangement with collegial discussions, also between schools, has been valuable. She emphasized her own responsibility as a principal for the success of change. "Changes are often fundamentally difficult, such as leaving an immigrant structure with a certain mathematics book to instead implement teaching in a completely different and new way. However, Helena Öberg says that the teachers have had a positive experience of TRR, that they have dared to take the leap from the textbook to classroom-wide learning. Although the material is extensive and detailed, it is also logical and well structured.
Text and photo: Björn Emmoth
Theme: Adult education

Anne-Charlotte Vennberg och Stina Thunberg.
There is no doubt that this theme was requested and appreciated, which is not least shown by the fact that more than 100 participants from Norrbotten and Västerbotten participated in the seminar. Many appreciated the opportunity for networking, information, knowledge and experience exchange.
Maria Kuoljok, Adult Education Manager Lapland Learning Centers, also moderator of today's seminar, struck a blow for continued networking, skills development, development initiatives with the support of LINN Learning Center in Northern Norrland
Individualized adult education
Pontus Wallin, researcher and project manager at the School Research Institute, talked about the agency's process of producing systematic research reviews with a bearing on practice-oriented school research. In adult education, the needs inventory led to questions about what characterizes individualized teaching that meets adult learners' differences, and how teachers can use digital tools to individualize teaching. Pontus Wallin distinguishes between the concepts of flexible education and individualized teaching, where the first has a focus on learning, and the latter takes in a broader perspective in the form of the learner's needs and opportunities linked to personal and family conditions.
Two variants of personalization are differentiated instruction and individual tutoring. The latter means that the teacher meets each student individually and can thus adapt teaching to the needs of the individual. Differentiated teaching means that teaching takes place in groups, where the teacher gives different tasks depending on the needs and conditions of different pupils. Here, the pupils' different knowledge and experience can be used in the joint learning process.
- "It's about grouping challenges by level, rather than grouping pupils by level," says Pontus Wallin.
He highlights three success factors for connecting to students' experiences: interaction and dialog are important, and learning from and imitating other students who have come further. The answer to the question about supporting students through digital tools is that different tools suit different students differently. Digital tools can often be a good complement to teaching, but that it is important to provide a good introduction and support for the use of digital tools.
Language development in mathematics education
Anne-Charlotte Vennberg, first teacher in mathematics at Luleå upper secondary school, together with Stina Thunberg, lecturer and doctoral student at Luleå University of Technology, lectured on language-developing mathematics teaching. They have previously written the book "Räkna med språk - Verktyg för språkinriktad matematikundervisning". Stina Thunberg showed examples of how cards with different text can be used, where students should sort and discuss together in a socio-cultural learning with the goal of achieving conceptual learning beyond the superficial understanding.
- Language development and subject development, such as mathematics, can be mutually reinforced in the learning process, says Stina Thunberg.
Anne-Charlotte Vennberg spoke about mathematics in everyday life, about making math stories linked to everyday life. The math story task starts with the students formulating their own story, with support from both teachers and other students, to ensure that all necessary information is included in the story, and then also publishing it on the blog. Finally, students had to solve each other's constructed tasks. The advantages of this method are the concretization of mathematics, problem solving and, most importantly, its relevance to everyday life. A quote from a student expressed that the math lessons became interesting as she realized how much you use math every day.
Flexible adult education via learning platform
Elin Åström and Cecilia Holmgren, pre-teachers at Lapplands Lärcentra Kiruna, presented the learning center's work on developing a course room in Canvas. Elin Åström explained that they teach through the learning platform Canvas, where both written and oral recorded material, assignments and feedback are available. This online approach is supplemented by individual guidance either digitally or physically on site, and the students have the opportunity to come to the study corner at the school, where it is also possible to get help from teachers. Cecilia Holmgren showed how they have worked to quality assure a flexible arrangement of courses by, among other things, developing a checklist containing values such as structure, clarity, course planning, accessibility, etc. Formative learning is also emphasized in their approach. The benefits of a flexible approach via a learning platform is an important issue, which has been made more topical by the pandemic, but online life is also an important issue in today's society in general, and not least an important issue for sparsely populated parts of our country.
You should not feel alone
Marie Kuoljok, the moderator of the day, concluded the seminar by capturing thoughts, questions and comments from the bulletin board. The legal security of digital tests was an issue that the groups had discussed and raised, thoughts on developing a national platform for adult education, the importance of the research projects that have now been started with the support of the School Research Institute, and many other issues were raised. Marie Kuoljok summarized and concluded the seminar in a positive spirit with the words that one should not feel alone, there are networks, we can collaborate within LINN-Learning Centers Northern Norrland, with the School Research Institute, and others, and we can develop the sharing culture in adult education.
Text and photo: Bjön Emmoth
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