Developing a practice of communicating research through popular science in Finnish teacher education

The role of research in teacher education and teachers’ use of research in their profession has been a topic of discussion in research and practice. In light of this, a research project was launched in 2019 to develop a practice in which student teachers create popular scientific materials based on their master’s theses to communicate scientific research to the school community. The present study examines the five-year-long practical action research project, comprising five cycles of planning, action, observation and reflection within a Finnish teacher education programme. Documentation and internal communication were analysed using longitudinal within-case analysis and deductive thematic analysis from the perspective of practice architectures. The results describe the development of a practice of communicating educational research, from exploratory beginnings to maturity. The project group’s own development is examined through the lens of practice architectures, as well as critical contextual aspects intertwined with practice. This study suggests one model for disseminating educational research by the use of video pitches and didactic materials in the teacher education context.