In recent years, subject content such as programming and digital literacy has become an integral part of technology education. However, research shows that many programming teachers lack sufficient formal education to teach programming and show disparate educational and professional experiences. This study investigates how three teachers knowledge and beliefs about their teaching practices are enacted in their classroom practice. The data for the study consist of videoed classroom observations and subsequent episodic narrative interviews with the teachers. Metaphor analysis have been used to uncover central relations between the teachers knowledge and beliefs about their practice and their classroom actions. The result of the study reveals that the teachers describe their roles as teachers differently. Despite the differences, the teachers still share the idea that programming is an activity where small pieces of code is intertwined so that they can achieve a purpose. However, none of the teachers speak about code as being essential for learning programming. The teachers all seem to view themselves as assets for the students achievements, nevertheless, they do not share the idea of why. Altogether, the result of the study suggests that even though the curriculum is the same, teachers knowledge and beliefs about their teaching plays a big role in students education. Also, the study show, that it is reasonable to suggest that conceptual metaphors affect not only our language, but also our actions in the classroom.

Programmering är en integrerad del av teknikundervisning världen över samt en viktig del av svensk läroplansreform. Denna avhandling syftar till att undersöka programmeringslärares kunskap och självupplevda förståelse för sin undervisning samt hur den manifesteras i klassrummet. För att uppnå detta syfte har tre studier utformats. Studierna lärarnas kunskap på tre analytiska nivåer: metaforiska uttryck, mening och förståelse. Avhandlingen använder triangulering samt en kombination av konceptuell metaforteori och the Refined Concensus Model for PCK som analytisk grund. Datan består av metaforiska uttryck identifierade i fyra texter, tre klassrumsobservationer och intervjuer samt arton videoklipp. Metaforerna har analyserats med hjälp av Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP), Metaphor Identification Guidelines for Gesture (MIG-G) och Procedure for Identifying Metaphorical Scenes (PIMS). Studie 1 visar att programmeringsmetaforer (noterade med versaler) kan kategoriseras som antingen relaterade till datorns funktion (PROGRAMMERING ÄR BYGGANDE eller DATA ÄR FYSISKA OBJEKT) eller programmerarens intentioner (t.ex. "hoppa mellan rader" och "berätta för programmet att..."). Förutom att de metaforer som identifierats i Studie 1 även används i klassrummen visar Studie 2 att lärarna använder gester som metaforer i sin undervisning. Exempelvis kan en lärare hålla ett "objekt" medan han berättar om ett programmeringskoncept. På så sätt blir handen en metafor för PROGRAMMERINGSKONCEPT ÄR ETT FYSISKT OBJEKT. Studien visar även att lärarna ramar in sin undervisning i relation till byggande, instruerande, mentorskap och problemlösning. Studie 3 undersökte rumsligheten i en lärares metaforiska uttryck. Studiens resultat visar att läraren sällan gör kopplingar mellan programmeringskoncept och rumslighet. Sammantaget påvisar denna avhandling vissa nyckelmetaforer som används i klassrummet. Forskningen visar även att lärare utformar sin undervisning på olika vis, vilket tyder på att lärares kunskap om och självupplevda förståelse för sin undervisning påverkar hur undervisningen formas.

Metaphors in gesture and speech play a pivotal role in the way that programming concepts are presented in the classroom. However, little is known about the function of teachers metaphors in practice. This study aims to explore teachers use of metaphors in gesture and speech in a lecture on programming. Based on video observations of three upper secondary teachers, we employ Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) and Metaphor Identification for Gesture Guidelines (MIG-G) as methodological tools for identifying metaphoric speech and gestures related to programming concepts. The results of the study reveal that the gestures of the three teachers mainly function in two ways: (1) to add spatial properties to a programming concept and (2) to provide additional imagery for a programming concept. Consequently, the gestures identified in this study reduce the communicative burden of teachers speech. Furthermore, the study reveals that teachers gestures serve as means for making abstract concepts more tangible. For example, gestures concerning the abstract term "data" can generally be related to an object that could be received or moved. Hence, despite its metaphorical origin, data could be considered a graspable aspect of programming. Furthermore, spatial gestures enable the teachers to communicate programming processes in a tangible way, for example assigning programming processes a forward direction. Theoretical implications, potential implications for teaching and future research are discussed in the paper.

Recent work in computer science education shows that natural language plays a pivotal role in learners’ understanding of programming concepts. This study explores metaphorical expressions in four computer programming textbooks and online resources in Swedish upper secondary education. The Metaphor Identification Procedure was applied to identify metaphoric language. The metaphors reveal how expressions such as the ‘program asking’ or the ‘function building’ are structured in relation to embodied experiences. The results show that central concepts are structured in relation to metaphors such as Inanimate Phenomena are Human Agents and Organisation is Physical Structure. Findings also demonstrate differences in the types of metaphors are present in each resource, with Events are Actions communicated most frequently. Lastly, the resources vary in how they describe the role of the programmer: as a ‘constructor’ or ‘instructor’. This implies that the discovered metaphoric structure in textual resources might influence students’ subsequent learning of programming concepts.

I drygt tjugo år har forskning med fokus på Samhällsfrågor med naturvetenskapligt innehåll (SNI) haft en naturlig plats i didaktikens korridorer. SNI tar sin utgångspunkt i kontroversiella samhällsproblem som kan ha flera olika lösningar. Inte sällan kräver sådana problem också att eleverna gör etiska ställningstagande och tar hänsyn till frågor som rör ekonomi och hållbar utveckling. Trots detta blir dock SNI-frågor något som hamnar på NO-lärarens bord. I en internationell kontext, där dimensioner av teknik och/eller ingenjörsvetenskap inkluderas i naturvetenskapen, ser detta dock annorlunda ut. Därför ställer vi oss nu frågan: Vart tar tekniken vägen när svenska forskare skriver om SNI? Studien baseras på svensk didaktisk forskning, publicerad i internationella tidskrifter. Studiernas empiriska innehåll (exempelvis utdrag ur dialoger eller intervjuer) har analyserats med avseende på ämnesinnehåll för att skapa en bild av hur svensk SNI-undervisning formeras i praktiken. Tidiga resultat visar att: (1) SNI ofta utgår från tekniska problemformuleringar eller effekterna av teknikanvändning, (2) i de fall eleverna diskuterar fritt relaterar de till egna erfarenheter av att använda teknik och (3) att eleverna sällan diskuterar naturvetenskaplig kunskap utan att denna ”serveras” av läraren. Utifrån detta drar vi slutsatsen att teknikämnet utgör en stor del i dagens SNI-undervisning. Resultaten visar även att undervisning utifrån samhällsfrågor har större potential att utveckla elevers generella tekniska kompetens än de naturvetenskapliga kunskaper som akronymen antyder. Utifrån detta argumenterar vi att den svenska synen på SNI bör förändras så att den bättre överensstämmer med skolans praktik.

Computer programming could be seen as utilising a limited set of conventionalised instructions to control the inner actions of an electronic system. Computer programming education (CPE) is considered an important subject area in school systems across the globe. Hence, communicating through code have become part of a general computer literacy that society strives for. This study aims to explore verbal and gestural metaphors in CPE and poses the following questions: 1) How do teachers employ gestures when lecturing on programming? and 2) How do teachers’ gestures correspond to the concepts being communicated?

 The study is based on observations of three upper-secondary teachers, performing a lecture on programming. Analysis have – inspired by Pragglejaz Group (2007) and Cienki (2016) – been performed in three stages: Firstly, gestures and relevant verbal metaphors have been identified. Secondly, correspondence between gesture and utterance have been analysed. Finally, temporal relations between gestures and utterance have been measured. 

 Results show that– regardless of teachers’ education or vocational experiences – they utilise similar verbal and gestural metaphors when discussing basic programming concepts (‘data’ and ‘code’), whereas in cases when abstract computing concepts (‘loops’ and ‘functions’) are discussed, teachers’ metaphor performance tend to differ. Basic gestures and utterances generally display mappings relating to the handling of objects and experiences of objects in motion. Furthermore, the results reveal that teachers tend to gesture vertically when discussing code (verbo-spatial representations of the computer screen) and horizontally (representations of movement) when discussing the functions of a programme or the computer. In the second case, the teachers employ combinations of verbal and verbo-gestural metaphors in relation to computing concepts. Regarding temporal relations between gesture and speech, the study indicates that temporal relations between gesture and speech differ in relation to teachers’ metaphor use. However, differences are coincident among the teachers. Gestures related to basic concepts are performed in absolute synchronicity with speech, while gestures related to for instance ‘code’ display a lower degree of temporal proximity. More abstract concepts display even lower degree of temporal proximity. 

 In conclusion, we argue that combinations of gestures and verbal utterances reveal different degrees of abstraction present in CPE. Counterintuitively, abstract concepts such as ‘data’ – albeit their metaphoric nature – display a tangible nature, while conventionalized terms such as ‘loop’ seem to be highly metaphorical. This implies that gestures play a pivotal role in conceptualising technical terms, in the classroom and as an analytical tool for understanding education.

Cienki, A. (2016). Analysing metaphor in gesture: A set of metaphor identification guidelines for gesture (MIG-G). In The Routledge handbook of metaphor and language (pp. 149-165): Routledge.

Pragglejaz Group. (2007). MIP: A method for identifying metaphorically used words in discourse. Metaphor and Symbol, 22(1), 1-39. 

Thermal science is a perennial obstacle for learners. Infrared camera technology provides an opportunity for pupils to confront challenging thermal ideas. From an embodied cognition perspective, sensory experiences form metaphoric relations that underpin conceptualisation and reasoning about abstract scientific phenomena. This study investigated eight groups of fourth grade pupils’ use of metaphoric relations when engaging thermal cameras to explore “heat” at a science centre. Pupils were videorecorded while collaboratively exploring thermal properties of the surroundings and during a thermos modelling exercise. Qualitative metaphor analyses of pupils’ dialogue and behaviour revealed various metaphoric and metonymic relations around spatial properties, colour, movement and change in their conceptualisation of thermal phenomena. “Heat” was almost exclusively conceptualised as a noun, manifested in utterances such as “harder for the heat to escape” and “it wants to get yellow”. In addition, pupils used colour as both a metonym and metaphor for heat and temperature. Expressions of heat as an entity were closely related to experiences of movement, indicating that spatial cognition is central to children’s conceptualisation of heat. Engagement with the cameras provided access to thermodynamic phenomena through unique sensory and nonsensory experiences. Future research will explore how these metaphoric relations can be exploited as a meaning-making resource in the classroom.