Who are we?
Written by: Heidi Hyytinen, Professor, [email protected] (original text in Finnish) and Venla Hiltunen, Academic Affairs Specialist, [email protected] (English translation)
University pedagogy forms the foundation for high-quality teaching and learning, and its importance is increasingly emphasized in today’s rapidly changing world, both in Finland and internationally. At the University of Eastern Finland, this work is advanced by the UEF YPEDA team, which was established at the beginning of 2024 to strengthen university pedagogical education, research, and community-based development. We operate through collaboration between the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology and Student and Learning Services. Our core mission is to support the research-based development of teaching at the university.
Research-based teaching and learning
At the core of the UEF YPEDA team is the idea that good teaching is grounded in research-based knowledge and pedagogical expertise. We produce research-based knowledge for use across the university and support the development of teaching and learning quality through concrete means. Teachers’ pedagogical competence is particularly strengthened through a 60-credit pedagogical training programme, which provides formal pedagogical qualification for teaching and is built on a research-based curriculum.
The implementation of pedagogical studies guides participants into a dialogue between theory and practice and serves as an example for teachers of what high-quality, student-centred teaching looks like in practice. Through our training programme, we aim to provide knowledge and skills for planning and implementing one’s own teaching in accordance with the principles of constructive alignment. The training also offers insights and tools for developing research-based teaching within one’s own discipline.
Multimethod research on learning and teaching
Research is a central part of our work. We conduct multimethod research on university teaching and learning, working on questions of university pedagogy from both student and teacher perspectives. Our research themes include, among others:
- higher education students’ learning
- generic skills
- self-regulation of learning
- study well-being and study engagement
- the development of teachers’ pedagogical thinking
- the use of artificial intelligence in teaching.
Through these themes, we aim to understand how learning takes place and how teachers can best support it. We are also responsible for organizing master’s, doctoral, and researcher seminars in university pedagogy, which strengthens the research tradition in the field and educates new experts for our discipline.
The importance of collaboration
We are actively involved in both national and international networks related to university teaching and learning. We collaborate closely in research and development projects, participate in expert working groups, and develop university pedagogy together with other actors in the field. We see that improving the quality of teaching is not the task of individual people or units, but a collective process. Our role is to build bridges between research, teaching, and development.
Our blog aims to publish accessible texts on themes related to university pedagogy. Welcome to join us!
