Social relationships and well-being are crucial to the socio-emotional and academic development of learners. The development of a digital social climate monitoring-tool is intended to support teachers and special education professionals in promoting wellbeing, a positive classroom climate and enabling the social integration of all learners.
Project description
Teachers and special education specialists are expected to support social processes and ensure a positive classroom climate in school classes. However, there are hardly any data-based instruments that make it possible to systematically record and promote pupils' social relationships and social integration. Research suggests that teachers' and students' perceptions of social integration and well-being coincide to a limited extent. Teachers' sensitivity to social classroom dynamics ("teacher attunement") is related to students' well-being and relationships. This is why teachers play an important role in structuring social processes among students in the sense of an "invisible hand". The aim of this project is to develop a web-based software in the form of a digital social climate monitoring system that enables teachers and special education specialists to record social relationships in the classroom, support the social integration of all students and promote a positive classroom climate and well-being. The software is based on established questionnaire scales and methods of sociometry and social network analysis. The concept is being developed as part of a BeLEARN collaboration with partners from BFH, the University of Bern and FFHS. Through participatory research, the software will be tested and further developed in practice alongside teachers and special education specialists. It will record aspects of pupils' well-being, relationships, and the classroom climate, making developments over time visible. |
Cooperation partner
- Caroline Sahli Lozano, Institute for Research, Development and Evaluation, Bern University of Teacher Education
- Michael Eckhart, Institute for Special Needs Education, Bern University of Teacher Education
- Kenneth Ritley, Institute for Data Applications and Security, Bern University of Applied Sciences
- Tina Hascher, Institute of Educational Science, University of Bern
- Victoria Mirata, Institute for Research in Open, Distance and eLearning, Swiss Distance University of Applied Sciences
- Carmen Zurbriggen, Department of Special Needs Education, University of Fribourg
- Barbara Muntwyler, Co-principal of the Mosaic School Munzinger
Results
Within the project, the web-based software "Klassenpuls" was developed, which provides teachers and curative education specialists in cycle 2 with valuable insights into the social-emotional dynamics of the classroom. The software collects information on classroom climate, well-being and social relationships through age-appropriate student surveys. The surveys can be conducted on a regular basis, are visualised in clear graphs and support teachers and special education professionals in deriving targeted measures to promote a positive classroom climate.
The objectives of Klassenplus are:
- sensitise teachers and professionals to social dynamics and processes in school classes.
- reflect on their own perceptions and the perspectives of the pupils in order to improve social processes and promote positive developments.
- cooperation between teaching and special education professionals in creating a positive classroom climate.
The concept developed for the software is based on current scientific findings as well as established questionnaire scales and social network analyses. The concept formed the basis for the technical implementation of the software by the BFH and was further developed in regular dialogue with the scientific support group (BeLEARN cooperation partners as well as Prof. Carmen Zurbriggen, University of Fribourg, and Barbara Muntwyler, Headmistress of the Mosaikschule Munzinger).
In order to optimise the handling and user-friendliness, Klassenpuls was tested in two extensive practical phases with more than 20 2nd cycle classes.
Following this successful first development phase, Klassenpuls will be used and further developed in the training of special needs teachers at the PHBern. In the longer term, Klassenpuls will be converted into a freely accessible online platform and made available to teachers in practice.