Development Work
Movi has extensive experience in systematic research-based pedagogical development, to which the entire staff is committed. Below you will find some examples of our innovative pedagogical development work.
UVK – New, Integrated Structures for Communication and Language Studies
The JYU Centre for Multilingual Academic Communication is renewing the communication and language studies of bachelor’s degrees in collaboration with departments and faculties. The aim is to create a harmonious university study module, in which communication and language studies are integrated with major and minor subject studies.
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Care and Reading Dogs in Movi Teaching
The Centre for Multilingual Academic Communication of the University of Jyväskylä, together with Student Life, the Student Union, and the Kennel Club, initiated a project in which care and reading dogs are introduced on campus to enhance the well-being and learning ability of students, as well as to promote new pedagogical methods.
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INTEGRA
INTEGRA is a two-year project funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. The project develops an educational model that integrates university language and content studies for immigrants who have completed or are qualified for higher education and aim to finish their interrupted degree studies or complement a prior degree in compliance with Finnish qualification requirements.
Read more about INTEGRA
AAKE – a follow-up study on the development of academic expertise
Movi and the Finnish Institute for Educational Research have launched a follow-up study on the development of teaching and learning. In this study, surveys and interviews are used to monitor the development of students’ academic expertise during the completion of bachelor’s degrees. The surveys and related group guidance sessions are part of ‘UVK’ – new, integrated structures for communication and language studies.The surveys are carried out at the beginning of the first academic year and at the end of the first, second and third academic year.
Academic Readiness Screening/ACRES
The aim of the development work is to look at language skills as part of a wider academic whole, not as a skill confirmed by separate validated tests. Academic readiness screening is a new approach for assessing language within academic skills because, currently, general academic language tests cannot give a complete picture of how students will perform within a specific field of studies (Dimova, 2020, p. 11-12, Rose, Curle, Aizawa & Thompson, 2020, p. 2149). The students involved in the screening pilots have found the tasks meaningful, as the tasks also give them an idea of the level of competence required at our university.
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Movi is actively involved in projects that enhance language teaching and learning at the university. These projects have developed, for example, tools for multilingual communication teaching and assessment, online pedagogical models for the development of interaction competence , and quality assurance for university teaching. In addition, Movi participates in Nordic cooperation through different networks and projects, as well as in JYU’s internal pedagogical development projects.
Training to Support the Teamwork of Multidisciplinary and Multilingual Teams
The UVK process is the biggest development project in the history of Movi. At the heart of the process are the multilingual and disciplinary teacher groups. To enhance the functioning of these groups, tailored training to support the teamwork and wellbeing of the UVK teams as well as of the management group is being carried out (spring 2018–winter 2019) by Balentor, an external consulting company. The training is funded by the pension company Varma.
Movi as a workplace of the future
Staff wellbeing is a significant part of development work. In the project ‘Language Centre as a workplace of the future’ (Kielikeskus tulevaisuuden työpaikkana, 2014–2015), we examined and developed our processes, working methods and occupational wellbeing in collaboration with an external consultant.
Jalkanen, J., Jokinen, E. & Taalas, P. (Eds.) 2015. Voices of pedagogical development – expanding, enhancing and exploring higher education language learning. Dublin: Research-Publishing.net. - Information on the publications and presentations of Movi staff is available in CONVERIS, the University of Jyväskylä’s research and publication data system.
A foundation for Movi’s collaborative development work was created through pedagogical action research, which was conducted over two decades. The seventh and, for the time being, last action research cycle ended in spring 2014.
Action research has been an effective tool to develop teaching, guidance and the evaluation of teaching. Moreover, it has been used to develop Movi’s working environment and reorganise activities and structures. The role of action research has been significant in making Movi, as well as language-centre work, what it is today.
A new kind of learning space, the Language Lounge, has been created at Movi. This space was designed around the principles of modifiability and versatility. The furniture in the Lounge – chairs, desks, beanbags and acoustic screens – can be moved and combined in various ways. The Lounge also features the latest technology to support a range of working methods and sharing.
The Language Lab was designed according to the same principles: it features mobile furniture and remotely operated ceiling cameras, which enable us to record and analyse group sessions. The space was designed together with other Language Campus staff, and it is also suitable for recording research data.
Language Campus is a joint effort between Movi, The Department of Language and Communication Studies, the Centre for Applied Language Studies, and the language pedagogy section at the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Jyväskylä.
Together we form the Language Campus which is a nationally and internationally unique knowledge cluster that aims at developing and renewing language education, language teaching and language policies through cutting-edge, multi-angled research on language and its use.
We at the Language Campus investigate language and its use in different contexts in a multilingual society. Our research can be described as applied linguistics. We also develop language education that is based on research, and builds on a modern view of language proficiency and skills, language expertise, and cultural competence.
For further information on development work at Movi, please contact
- Development Manager Mikko Jäkälä
- Director Peppi Taalas