Studiens syfte var att undersöka kunskaper som medverkat till att utveckla förmågan att analysera dockspelets användning dels som redskap, dels som hjälpmedel i den sociala praktiken och vidareutveckla engagemang för barns lärande. Forskningsfrågorna var vägledande i studien och hade följande formuleringar: - Vilka kommunikativa värden medför användningen av dockor i förskolans pedagogiska verksamhet? - Vilka kommunikativa utmaningar och kulturella situationer synliggör användningen av dockan i förskolan när barnen erbjöds delaktighet och inflytande? Via användandet av dockan skapades en möjlighet att utveckla kommunikation och samspel med barnen, dockan och pedagoger i förskoleverksamheten. I denna etnografiska fältstudie bestod datainsamlingsmetoden av film, foton, intervjuer och berättelser av pedagoger. Datainsamlingsmaterialet analyserades och sammanställdes utifrån studiens syfte och forskningsfrågor. Resultatet visade att kommunikationen med dockan i aktiviteter och samspelssituationer utvecklades i takt med att pedagogernas fokus förändrades. Då synliggjordes det att pedagogerna i sitt agerande tillsammans med dockan som medierande redskap bjöd in barnen till kommunikation som uppmuntrade till delaktighet. Därigenom utvecklade barnen förmågan att ta egna initiativ där de tillsammans med dockan tränade upp sin kommunikationsförmåga. Barnens språkliga medvetenhet och ordförråd synliggjordes i barnens identitetsutveckling då emotionella handlingar och tankar användes i vardagliga situationer, både tillsammans med pedagogernas och deras egna dockor vilket tydligt påverkade barn som tidigare inte kommunicerat i så stor utsträckning. Via analysen kunde pedagogerna se att barnen fått ett större talutrymme i samlingar och gemensamma aktiviteter. Dockan hade genom olika samspelssituationer förstärkt deras språkliga förmåga. Dockan på förskolan skapade ett lustfyllt lärande och fick därigenom ett kommunikativt värde. / The study's purpose was to investigate the knowledge that helped to develop the ability to analyze the doll performance, however, use both as tools and as aids in the social practice and further develop the commitment to children's learning. The research questions guided the study: - What communicative values, the use of dolls in the preschool educational activities? - What communication challenges and cultural situations, reveals the use of the dock in kindergarten when the children were offered participation and influence?   The use of the doll created an opportunity to develop communication and interaction with the children, doll and educators in early childhood education. This ethnographic field study consisted of data collection of video recordings, photos and interviews with educators. The data was analyzed in relation to the study objectives and research questions. The results showed that the communication with the doll in activities and interaction situations developed in pace with a change in the educators' focus. This was made visible to teachers in their performance with the doll as mediating tools which afforded the children to communicate and encouraged participation. Thereby, the children developed the ability to take initiative when they trained their communication skills together with the doll. The children's awareness of language and vocabulary was shown in the use of language. It was made visible in the children's identity development as emotional actions and thoughts used in everyday situations, both with the educators and their own dolls which clearly affected the children who did not previously communicate to a great extent. Furthermore, the analysis showed that the children have a greater opportunity to speak in groups and common activities. The use of the doll had through various interactive situations strengthened their linguistic ability. The doll on the preschool created a pleasurable learning and thus gained a communicative value.

This is a case study that seeks to investigate how two teachers in grade 3 work with instructions to a written assignment in Swedish. The study is grounded in a sociocultural perspective on learning, and is based on observations in a classroom setting. The results show that the two teachers use different forms of mediating tools in their instructions. It was also found that the teachers use different speech acts in the instructions and that the instructions vary depending on which speech acts are included. Neither of the teachers made any adjustments to the collective instructions, instead they made individual adaptations outside the general instruction.

The use of laptops, interactive whiteboards and the Internet is step-by-step working it’s way into Swedish schools. The aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes of teachers towards using IT-related tools in their teaching. How are the tools given used as mediating tools, what new methods do the teachers find themselves discovering while using these, how do the teachers feel about digital teaching platforms and how do the IT-related tools affect students language progression? These are all questions that this study is meant to answer. Six teachers in a municipality in the north of Sweden were interviewed about how they use IT-related tools. Two worked with kids between ages 12-15 and four of the teachers worked with kids approximately between ages 16- 18. While some teachers were rather keen on using the tools it appeared that some teachers were not all that comfortable with using them. According to the Swedish curriculum, teachers are supposed to be able to guide students in using IT and digital media for several things and therefore it is important that teachers know how to use the tools themselves. According to older studies, the way to improve the use of IT-tools is by prioritizing education in using them. Teaching teachers the methods and making sure they feel safe with the new technology.

I dagens skola har många elever en oroskänsla inför matematik, vilket påverkar prestationerna negativt. Genom att öka motivationen förväntas prestationerna göra detsamma. Om elever får arbeta genom lektionsformer de känner att de lär sig av ökar motivationen. Syftet med denna enkätstudien var att ur ett elevperspektiv undersöka vilka lektionsformer som elever i mellanstadiet upplever att de lär sig bra av och därmed blir motiverade av. 189 elever deltog i studien. För att analysera resultatet valdes det sociokulturella perspektivets medierande redskap för att skapa ett analysverktyg. Resultatet visade att matteboken, matematiska spel samt lärarledd genomgång uppskattades något mer av eleverna än de resterande lektionsformerna. Det fanns inga samband mellan dessa vad gällde vilka medierande redskap som används. Enda sambandet som hittades var att många elever från urvalsgruppen använt dessa lektionsformer till skillnad från vissa andra. Slutsatsen antyder att en varierad undervisning bestående av olika lektionsformer samt olika medierande redskap gynnar elevernas lärande och motivation samt hur ofta en lektionsform praktiseras i klassrummet. / In today's school, many pupils have anxiety towards mathematics, which negatively affects their performance. By increasing the pupils’ motivation, their performance is expected to do the same. If the pupils work with methods they feel that they can learn from, their motivation will increase. The purpose of the survey was to investigate, from a pupil perspective, what methods middle school pupils experience have a positive effect on their learning and motivation in math. To analyze the result the mediating tools of the sociocultural perspective was chosen to support the analysis of the result. The result showed that the math book, mathematical games and teacher-led instructions were estimated slightly better than the remaining methods by the pupils. There was no correlation between the methods according to which mediation tools that was used. The only relationship found was that most pupils of the sample group have used these methods, unlike some of the others. The conclusion suggests that a varied teaching consisting of diverse types of methods and various mediating tools favors the pupils’ learning and motivation but also how often a method is used.

The role of the choir leader is a complex one. When working with a choir, choir leaders often use several aspects of their professional role. The aim of this qualitative study is to describe, verbalise and make visible the mediating tools that choir directors working with children and youth choirs use. In a longitude study, four choir leaders were observed closely while working with their choirs. They also took part in semi-structured interviews. The empirical data material consists of observation notes, reflective writing, individualinterviews, focus conversations and videotapes. Analysed from a sociocultural perspective, the result points to eight groups of mediating tools: a) a listening attitude towards the choir, with the music in focus; b) a variation in ways of working with the choir, where a variety of physical tools are used; c) the use of musical routines; d) the choir director acting as a role model in shaping musicalexpression with the group; e) a concentrated cooperation with the choir through short and expressive instructions; f) reflection in practice by planning and self-evaluation; g) storytelling, which results in memory training, stimulation of the imagination and the sharing of common experience, and h) the use of target images expressed as visions, small/big goals or jointly stated, communicated targets. The choir directors who participated in the study use a variety of approaches and ways of working as a strategy for communicating and working with child and youth choirs.

Färdigheten att avkoda ord är en grundläggande förutsättning för förmågan att läsa och har därmed en avgörande roll i elevers läsutveckling. Framgångsrik undervisning krävs för att eleverna ska ges möjlighet och förutsättningar att utveckla färdigheten att avkoda, det vill säga förståelse för sambandet mellan fonem och grafem. Med detta som utgångspunkt är syftet med studien att undersöka hur sju lärare i årskurs 1 beskriver att de utformar undervisningen i avkodning för att skapa förutsättningar för att eleverna ska utveckla färdigheten att avkoda ord. Studien utgår från en kvalitativ forskningsansats samt ett sociokulturellt perspektiv på lärande och utveckling. Empiriskt material har samlats in genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer där totalt sju lärare i årskurs 1 medverkade. Lärarna var slumpvis utvalda från olika skolor i två medelstora städer i Sverige. Resultatet visar att lärare använder olika medierande verktyg i form av digitala redskap, läromedel och aktiviteter i undervisningen, där samtalet och det sociala samspelet får stort utrymme. Det framkommer även att lärare använder sig själv som verktyg i avkodningsundervisningen där läraren stöttar, utmanar och fungerar som förebild för eleverna.  Vid utformandet av undervisningen framgår dessutom att forskning och beprövad erfarenhet samt elevers olika förutsättningar är någonting lärare förhåller sig till. Resultatet synliggör att undervisning kring avkodning varierar mellan olika lärare eftersom elevers individuella behov ligger till grund vid val av verktyg och vid utformningen av undervisningen. / Decoding skills are a crucial part of students reading development, since the ability to decode words is a fundamental qualification for reading. To give the pupils the opportunity to develop knowledge of phoneme-grapheme correspondences, an effective instruction is required. In light of this, the purpose of this paper is to examine how first grade teachers describe how they design instruction to create conditions for the students to develop decoding skills. The paper is based on a qualitative research approach and a socio-cultural perspective on learning and development. Through semi-structured interviews, empirical material has been collected from a total of seven participating first grade teachers. The teachers were randomly selected from different schools in two medium-sized cities in Sweden. The results show that teachers use mediating tools in form of digital gears, teaching materials and activities, where social interaction is emphasized. Teachers also function as tools, because they support, challenge and serve as role models for the pupils. Furthermore, the results reveal that research and proven experience as well as pupils’ different pre-conditions and needs affect teachers when they create decoding instruction. The results show that pupils’ individual needs are the starting point when teachers choose tools and create decoding instruction, which is why decoding instruction varies between different teachers.

The study examines strategies used by voice coaches in small groups and how they apply cultural-mediating tools. The analysis is primarily based on Hultberg’s theory of cultural-psychological model of musical learning by making music (2009). However, here the strategies are defined as cultural tools through which knowledge is mediated, rather than as part of the framework.  Three voice coaches have been observed through video recordings: two at Swedish kommunala kulturskolor (municipal cultural schools) and one at a gymnasium’s (high school) arts program. The study focuses on similarities rather than differences between the voice coaches. According to the study, the voice coaches use ten thematically different strategies, which they combine in different ways and together with other kinds of cultural-mediating tools. The strategies are: routine, questions, placement, mirroring, focusing, openness, peer resources, listening and performance, body awareness, and happiness. According to the analysis, it is possible to adapt the education to the individual abilities of each student through the use of these strategies. In addition, the distributed knowledge becomes an asset for the individual student as well as for the group through interaction.

Bakgrunden till studien är att forskning kring elever med språkstörning i matematikundervisningen ärbegränsad. Den lilla forskning som finns är mest internationell. Syftet är att vi vill bidra med en inblick ivilka svårigheter som kan uppstå och hur matematikundervisningen kan utformas för elever medspråkstörning, på lågstadiet och mellanstadiet. Det är en kvalitativ studie, som gjordes medsemistrukturerade intervjuer. Urvalet är begränsat, endast nio speciallärare med inriktning motmatematikutveckling deltog. Det teoretiska ramverket utgår från den sociokulturella teorin medmedierande verktyg och den didaktiska teorin med hur undervisning kan ske. Vi analyserar resultatetmed utgångspunkt i de specialpedagogiska perspektiven, kategoriskt och relationellt perspektiv. Studiens resultat visar att samtliga speciallärare upplever att det är språket som ställer till det för elevermed språkstörning i matematik. Det är främst matematiska begrepp och kommunikation påmatematiklektioner som framkommer i intervjuerna. Kartläggningen utgör grunden när speciallärarnagör individuella anpassningar. Många speciallärare har enskild undervisning med eleverna medspråkstörning då de arbetar med begreppsbildning och använder det medierande verktyget konkretmaterial. Detta ska leda fram till att eleven med språkstörning ska kunna delta i klassundervisningen.Slutsatsen av studien visar att det finns behov av att kunskaperna kring elever med språkstörning imatematik ökar. Vid speciallärarutbildningen behöver språkutveckling och sambandet mellan språk ochmatematik ingå. Vi anser att kommunerna bör ha personal med kompetens om språkstörning ditspeciallärarna kan vända sig vid behov. / The basis of our study is that research on mathematics education for pupils with DLD, DevelopmentalLanguage Disorder is limited. The research which does exist is predominantly international. Thepurpose of our study is to offer insight in difficulties which may arise and how mathematical educationmay be designed for pupils in grades 1-6 with DLD. This is a qualitative study based on semi-structuredinterviews. The selection has been limited, only nine special education teachers, specializing inmathematical development, took part. Our results are analyzed from a special educational viewpoint,categorical and relational. The results of our study show that every one of the special education teachers feel that language is anissue for pupils with DLD in mathematics. The main issues, which come up in the interviews, are to dowith concept and communication within mathematics. Mapping makes up the basis for the adaptationsspecial education teachers do. Many special education teachers utilize individual teaching for pupils withDLD, when they work on conceptualization, using the mediating tool physical material. This is meant tolead to the pupil with DLD being able to take part in class teaching.Our conclusion is that there exists a need to increase knowledge on mathematical education for pupilswith DLD. Language development and the link between language and mathematics, needs to beincluded in the training of special education teachers. It is our opinion that municipalities require skilledstaff with knowledge of DLD, to whom special education teachers may turn when needed.