Laboratory for Teaching Practices (TePlab)

Focus

TePlab is focused on the study and development of teaching practices in formal and non-formal educative settings. Its research addresses the practice of teaching in formal education (from preschool to higher education) as well as facilitating learning in non-formal contexts. It is aimed at opening-up the black box of what teachers/facilitators do – both in the preparation and in the actual performance of education activities – and what are the consequences thereof for students’/participants´ learning. As a laboratory, TePlab engages in empirical research as well as in co-creative collaboration with teachers. The later is done with the help of Lesson Design Workshops, which is further explained under “Research projects”.

TePlab mainly conducts subject didactic research as well as research on teaching practices in relation to often complex and controversial societal issues such as sustainable development, health, ‘socio-scientific issues’, etc. We also do research focusing on facilitation and learning in sustainability transitions and on co-production processes where teachers together with didactic researchers and content experts develop lesson plans and teaching materials.

We pay attention to multiple dimensions of formal and non-formal education (epistemological, political, ethical, practical, aesthetic and existential) and investigate teaching practices in relation to qualification, socialisation and person formation.

Contact

Leif Östman and Maarten Deleye

History

TePlab grew out of SMED (Studies of Meaning-making in Educational Discourses), an internationally established research environment in the field of didactics, led by professor Leif Östman. The research environment was established in 2003 as a collaboration between researchers at Uppsala University and Örebro University. The members of SMED Uppsala were researchers, postgraduates and doctoral students in the discipline of didactics, although collaborations did take place with researchers in other disciplines (e.g. sociology, psychology, philosophy and political science) at Uppsala University and other universities in Sweden and abroad. SMED developed a Pragmatist didactic research, taking inspiration from mainly William James and John Dewey, but also from the work of Wittgenstein, post-structuralism and socio-cultural perspective on learning.

Seminars

TePlab organises monthly seminars on Tuesday afternoons, 13.15 – 15.00.

The seminars have different formats:

• In writing seminars, we discuss a paper (in progress) authored by a member of TePlab. The author briefly introduces the text and can raise topics for feedback. Every writing seminar has an appointed discussant who initiates the discussion.
• In reading seminars, we discuss a non-TePlab text. The person who proposed the text briefly introduces it and lead the discussion.
• Data sessions have an empirical focus. A participant shares empirical data and preliminary analyses to be discussed by TePlab members.