Two PhD Fellowship positions in Mathematics Education, Science Education and Computational Thinking in teacher education and/or school - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Two PhD Fellowship positions in Mathematics Education, Science Education and Computational Thinking in teacher education and/or school

The Faculty of Education and International Studies (LUI) / Department of Primary and Secondary Education (GFU) announces two Ph.D. scholarships affiliated with the research project MASCOT- Mathematics, Science and Computational Thinking. MASCOT is a Nordic collaborative project. Read more about the faculty and the department here.

The fellowship positions are 100% positions for three years, available from 01.09.2021. The successful applicant should plan to complete the Ph.D. program within this time frame and receive a Ph.D. degree.

Applicants must submit a Ph.D. project description with the application based on the template available here. The Ph.D. project description must be in English or a Scandinavian language. Potential applicants are asked to get in touch with the contact person for the overall project or contact person for the work packages for additional information about the project and input on the planned individual project description.

A description of five of the work pages in the project are given below. The PhD-candidates will work within one of these work packages but may also collaborate across the packages. Project descriptions should indicate clearly which work package(s) the Ph.D. project will be affiliated with.

It is an advantage to hold a master’s degree or equivalent in teaching or an education field. Alternatively, the applicant may have a background in STEM (Science, technology, mathematics) or STEM-education and in addition to a post graduate certificate in education and/or experience with teaching, or science and mathematics education research. It is also an advantage if the applicant has some competence within ICT supported teaching and learning.

Area of research

Work package 1

WP1 investigates how computational thinking is understood as a competence for teachers, student teachers and pupils through conducting a systematic literature review and a document analysis of policy documents. WP1 will not recruit PhD candidates to work solely on this work package. However, candidates may draw on and partially contribute to WP1.

Work package 2

Computational thinking has been introduced in the Norwegian curriculum and teacher education needs to meet these requirements in order to fulfil its curricular obligations. WP2 aims to investigate teaching and assessment practices of computational thinking in teacher education. Based on interventions, WP2 will develop and examine new ways of teaching, assessing and building curricula within the area of computational thinking in mathematics and science in teacher education.

Work package 3

WP 3 focuses teaching of CT in science and mathematics in school. Through creative use of technology, WP3 will design, implement and study computational thinking lessons in science and mathematics for classes in primary and lower secondary school. Planning of the interventions will involve both teachers in schools and researchers in the project. It aims at empowering teachers and students to model, analyse and design solutions to real-world problems integrating mathematics, science and design practice. Classroom interventions are planned together with practitioners and researchers. The data will provide a unique basis for understanding of how computational thinking is taught and learnt as a subject-specific skill and generic skill in subject-specific classes.

Work package 4

WP4 aims to identify features of CT that can be used in connection with assessment, and to develop assessment methods that support and evaluate students’ learning processes and outcomes. The Norwegian curriculum includes both competence goals and assessment criteria that highlight the importance of fostering students’ awareness of assessment both as a tool for giving direction to the students’ knowledge creation and for displaying their competences. Teachers need to develop an understanding of what to assess and what assessment methods need to be applied to support the students’ learning processes and outcomes in CT. Assessment will therefore be an important part of the development in WP2 and WP3. The methods of assessment developed in WP4 will cover a range of evaluative approaches that are relevant in educational contexts, including summative, formative and diagnostic approaches.

Work package 5

WP5 aims to integrate, compare and analyse research findings across WP2-3-4, and use these findings to add to current theoretical insights of CT as an integral part of subjects, particularly in mathematics and science. The work package will look for synergies between the other packages. The goal is to share insights from schools and teacher educations in order to improve the teaching and assessment practice at both arenas. WP5 provides the link between teaching, learning and assessing CT, in teacher education and school practice.

For information and advice on how to create a good Ph.D. project description, potential applicants are encouraged to attend the Ph.D. project description seminar digitally via Zoom on 20.04.2021. To attend, please register via link before the registration deadline: 16.04.2021.

Required qualifications and terms:

• Applicants must have completed a master’s degree (equivalent to 120 credits) with a grade B or better, and have background in teacher education, ICT and learning, science education, or other relevant education at a comparable level. For more information, see Admission requirements. Foreign diplomas must be translated into English by the degree-conferring institution. Education taken abroad should be recognised in advance by NOKUT, and an authorized copy of the letter of recognition should be enclosed.
• Admission to the Ph.D. programme in Educational Sciences for Teacher Education is a prerequisite.
• Successful applicants must be fluent in a Scandinavian language and have excellent written and oral communication skills in English.

When assessing and ranking the qualified applicants, emphasis will be placed on:

• The scientific quality of the Ph.D. project description, including originality and potential
• The Ph.D. project's feasibility within the standard period (three years)
• The relevance of the Ph.D. project description to the overall project to which the Ph.D. proposal is linked (cf. the overview above)
• Attached scientific work
• Other relevant publications
• Experience from previous research activities and project participation
• Teaching experience at the college and university level can be an asset
• Personal qualities that can contribute positively to the working environment

Desired qualifications:

• Motivation and potential in the field of research
• Personal qualities that, among other things, show perseverance and the ability to complete tasks
• The ability to work independently and in collaboration with others, as well as the ability to be innovative and creative
• The ability to work systematically and under pressure

Oslo Metropolitan University strives to ensure that our employees reflect the diversity of the population of the region. We work continuously to further develop Oslo Metropolitan University as an inclusive workplace, and to adapt the workplace if required. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, also those who have experienced periods without work, education or training.

We offer:

• an exciting job opportunity at Norway’s third largest university
• participation in a dynamic and diverse academic community
• participation in an established doctoral program and a research group relevant to the Ph.D. project
• a dynamic workplace
• loan and pension arrangements with the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• good employee welfare arrangements

Further information

For further information about the position, please contact:

• Louise Mifsud, professor and project leader, 67 23 71 13, lomi@oslomet.no
• Renate Andersen, associate professor and co-leader, 90 87 57 96, renatea@oslomet.no
• Katarina Pajchel, associate professor and co-leader, 48 99 34 53, kapaj@oslomet.no
• Ingeborg Krange, professor og studieleder, 91 61 51 31, ingkra@oslomet.no

The salary for the Ph.D. fellowship position is in accordance with the pay scale for Norwegian state employees, job title and position code. PhD and position code 1017. State salary wage scale 54, 482 200 NOK per year.

Expert evaluation:

Applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. All applications will be reviewed by the faculty before the application papers are forwarded to the expert committee. Applications from applicants who are not qualified, will not be forwarded for assessment.

The following documents must be uploaded with the application by the deadline:

• CV, references and all pages of all certificates/diplomas. The certificates/diplomas must include ECTS grades (A–F). Foreign diplomas must be translated into English by the degree-conferring institution. Education taken abroad should be recognised in advance by NOKUT, and an authorized copy of the letter of recognition should be enclosed.
• Ph.D. project description: maximum of 10 pages. The Ph.D. project description must be written in English or a Scandinavian language.
• Master's degree/second degree thesis (and any other scholarly work that the expert committee should take into consideration)
• List of publications, if relevant
Original documents must be presented in connection with an interview. Oslo Metropolitan University inspects documents in order to give all candidates a proper evaluation and ensure fair competition.

If you have documents that cannot be uploaded electronically, please contact Heidi Hertzberg Wold, mail: hbakkeli@oslomet.no

Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered. The application must state your reasons for applying and provide reasons for why you are particularly qualified for this Ph.D. fellowship position.

Practical information about relocation to Oslo and living in Norway

In order to apply for the position, please apply electronically by clicking the "apply here button".