Digitala verktyg och differentierad undervisning i tidiga skolår: Ett storskaligt utvecklings- och forskningsprojekt för lärarprofessionen i framtidens förskola och skola (2019–2021)

The development and research collaboration project concerned digital tools and differentiated instruction in early school years. It was conducted in Södermanland, Sweden. By the concept early school years was meant preschool, preschool class, school-age educare, and grades 1 to 3. In the project, knowledge and school development were co-produced by researchers and junior lecturers together with school leaders and teachers in several preschools and schools.By the concept teachers was meant for example preschool teachers, teachers in school-age educare, teachers in school, special needs teachers, special educators, ICT (InformationCommunication-Technology) educators and school librarians. The concept school leaders included headteacher in preschool, headteacher in school and also deans.The aim of the development part of the collaboration project was to develop teachers’ and school leader’s digital and didactic competence. Two lines for co-production of development were used. In first line, researchers and junior lecturers from Mälardalen university arranged day conferences for teachers and school leaders in Södermanland. Sixtyseven teachers and school leaders participated. The day conferences contained popular science lectures, exchange of experiences, research circles, retrospects of previous day conferences and municipality meetings. The day conferences concerned how instruction is made meaningful and interesting for all children in preschool and school, choice and use of digital tools in preschool and school instruction and also evaluations. In second line, the sixtyseven teachers and school leaders spread the contents of the day conferences further to colleagues at their respective workplaces. They also conducted activities with these colleagues, for example implemented a new digital tool in the instruction and also evaluated the use of a digital tool. In total, 243 persons participated.The aim of the research part of the collaboration project was to describe and analysedifferentiated and digitalised instruction in early school years in Södermanland. The collection of data for the project was made in connection with the day conferences in the first line: the research circles and retrospects of previous day conferences were recorded and constituted data for the research part of the collaboration project. Results from the development and research collaboration project were presented for the project participants. Results from the project, two research artic