Children as Innovators in Action – A Study of Microcontrollers in Finnish Comprehensive Schools

In authoritative teaching methods, whereby the teacher controls the social interaction and other classroom activities, the actions of many children are often in response to what they perceive to be the teacher's expectations and the requirements of traditional school evaluation practices, such as examinations and tests (Edwards & Mercer, 1987; Vygotsky, 1997, p. 126). In this kind of school setting, children do not necessarily feel the teaching and its content to be personally important or useful. For this reason, it is difficult for them to make meaningful connections between what they are taught and their everyday life. To make learning more authentic and meaningful to children, it is essential to give them a sense of ownership for their learning (Savery & Duffy, 1995). As epitomized by Biesta (1994, p. 315), it is important that the “contribution of the child is not a pseudo-contribution that is totally dependent upon the intentions and activities of the teacher.” In this regard also, von Glasersfeld (1995, p.14) wrote aptly “[p]roblems are not solved by the retrieval of rote-learned ‘right’ answers. To solve a problem intelligently, one must first see it as one’s own problem.” Moreover, it is important that children be able to work in an atmosphere which is low in stress and allows concentration on the task at hand (Futschek, 1995).