A genre shift in disseminating knowledge: Student teachers’ experiences of communicating their master’s theses as popular science

Abstract

Previous research shows that there is a challenge in balancing research-oriented activities, including the master’s thesis, in a way that promotes teachers’ professional development. This study aims to investigate student teachers’ experiences of communicating their master’s theses as popular science to schools and school communities. Data (logbooks, videos and text submissions) were collected from Finnish student teachers (n = 38) during a campus-based course from 2019 to 2020. The results show that most students had difficulty shifting from a science to a popular science approach and found this experience of genre shift during dissemination as challenging.