Hanna Vuojärvi

My research focuses on two areas: higher education pedagogy and media and robot literacy for older people and those in late working life. Recent research in higher education pedagogy has addressed topics such as the flipped classroom pedagogy in the teaching of graduate seminars, collaborative and work-based, cross-boundary problem solving in multidisciplinary teams, and using multimedia feedback in online learning environments.

In the field of media and robot literacy for older people, recent research activities include participating in conducting an extensive research review on media literacy research for older people and in the implementation of a national survey on media and robot literacy for people living in Finland.

I have been teaching at the university since 2003 and always been passionate about teaching my courses and developing them through research. 

Even though the research projects that I have worked on and the courses that I have taught in have often been focused on the pedagogical use of digital technologies or on media in peoples lives, my focus has been on the people using media, devices or applications, not so much on the gadgets themselves. I see students as active agents of their own learning processes and I am always looking for ways to personalize learning paths for my students. Many of them are adults with other responsibilities in their lives than just studies - for example working or having a family along with their studies - if there is a way I can help them to pursue their multiple goals in life, I'm happy to do that. Through several research projects I have been able to develop learning processes also for learners outside of institutional education, for example in workplaces and voluntary work.

Currently, I am responsible of developing and teaching higher education pedagogy studies for the personnel of the University of Lapland and the Lapland University of Applied Sciences. Here as well, my research plays a big role in developing the curriculum of the studies and in their practical pedagogical orchestration. I also supervise master's and doctoral theses, and teach courses focused on educational leadership and management.

In February 2020, The Student Union of the University of Lapland awarded me the Teacher of the Year prize. I am really thankful for the prize and treasure this acknowledgement as it comes from my most important collaborators - the students. There is no teacher without a student, it is a relational position.