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Introduction to the Finnish educational model

Renata Zemčak

Dates: April 4, 2022 - April 9, 2022.

Place: Europass Teacher  Academy, Osaamistehdas workshop, Helsinki, Finland

As part of the Erasmus+ project, organized by the Europass Teacher Academy, from 4.-9. In April 2022, an international training for teachers was held in Helsinki, Finland. Europass Teacher Academy organizes courses throughout Europe, and the topic of this course was "Introduction to the Finnish educational model". The training was held in the premises of the Europass Teacher Academy organization, in the Osaismistehdas workshop (Knowledge Factory workshop), in the center of Helsinki. The lecturer and leader during the education was Mr. Mirjami Junnikkala, permanent lecturer of the Organization. The course lasted 6 days. Each working day consisted of three parts. The first part of the day was the introductory part, a lecture by the leader, while the other two were the working version, group work or pair work.

Day 1

16.5.2022.

At the beginning of the second working day, there was again a group greeting and introduction to remember yesterday's day. Course leader Mr. Mirjami Junnikkala announced the work plan for the second day of the course. In the first part of the lecture, through short educational videos and presentations, she introduced us to the Finnish school system. The topic of that part of the lecture was the Finnish School System in a nutshell. Through short videos, we saw how the Finnish school system is organized. We learned that Finnish schools are closely connected to the local community, which follows their projects and plans and helps them realize them. Finnish schools are largely independent in creating the curriculum and internal work of the school. Finnish society and schools are oriented towards the future. They invest a lot in STEAM subjects, equip classrooms, sometimes even entire schools, in order to progress in this direction. Finland is characterized by the trust of the system, society and parents in teachers and education because they believe that they should work together for the benefit of the children who mean the future. Within the schools themselves, children and teachers develop creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving every day. Students have a lot of free time between classes when they are offered a handful of opportunities and entertainment. During the break, children can play various kinds of sports outside, inside the school they can play video games, board games or even do something creative like jewelry, decorations for the house. In Finland, outdoor activities such as exploring and orienteering in the forest or cultivating the school garden are strongly encouraged.

Day 2

17.5.2022.

At the beginning of the second working day, there was again a group greeting and introduction to remember yesterday's day. Course leader Mr. Mirjami Junnikkala announced the work plan for the second day of the course. In the first part of the lecture, through short educational videos and presentations, she introduced us to the Finnish school system. The topic of that part of the lecture was the Finnish School System in a nutshell. Through short videos, we saw how the Finnish school system is organized. We learned that Finnish schools are closely connected to the local community, which follows their projects and plans and helps them realize them. Finnish schools are largely independent in creating the curriculum and internal work of the school. Finnish society and schools are oriented towards the future. They invest a lot in STEAM subjects, equip classrooms, sometimes even entire schools, in order to progress in this direction. Finland is characterized by the trust of the system, society and parents in teachers and education because they believe that they should work together for the benefit of the children who mean the future. Within the schools themselves, children and teachers develop creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving every day. Students have a lot of free time between classes when they are offered a handful of opportunities and entertainment. During the break, children can play various kinds of sports outside, inside the school they can play video games, board games or even do something creative like jewelry, decorations for the house. In Finland, outdoor activities such as exploring and orienteering in the forest or cultivating the school garden are strongly encouraged. In the second part of the working day, we studied Phenomenon based learning in Finland. The course leader talked about how teaching units are planned in Finland and how teachers jointly plan teaching content in order to come up with the term Phenomenon learning, i.e. a common solution to a topic. After getting to know this term, the last working part of the day was group work. The task of the teachers, divided into groups, was to plan learning and work on one topic based on the previously learned Phenomenon learning principle. In groups of 4 teachers, our task was to set a topic, to agree on the problematic issues that we have to work on. After the problem questions were posed, we discussed which methods and within which subjects could help in solving those questions. After the set methods, we worked out a work plan, a timeline for solving the problem, and the way we could present the solutions and evaluate them. The group work was followed by a presentation in which each group presented its work in its own corner of the classroom. The representative of the group stayed with his topic, while the other members of the group went to others to listen to their topics and ways of solving problems. The representative of the group presented his topic and the method of solving it, and the other teachers could ask questions or give their remarks and comments on the subject. At the end of the activity, the members returned to their groups and presented to the rest of the group what they saw and heard, and how our topic could be covered. The working principle, the Jigsaw method, is also applied in working with students of all ages.

Day 3

18.5.2022.

The third working day is dedicated to a very important aspect of the work of schools in Finland, positive pedagogy. Positive pedagogy is very important for everyone within the school system. It is used daily, in all age groups. Positive pedagogy is an approach whose goal is to encourage the student, encourage him to work and make the most of his good sides. Positive pedagogy is also used within the collective of teachers, towards parents, and everyone in society. The "See the good" principle is the basis of the success of their students. Each child must feel good within his age group, use his abilities within the class and become a sovereign part of the team within the class. Great importance is also attached to gender equality, whereby everyone has the same rights and the same access to work. In the curriculum of every school in Finland, a plan should be implemented to achieve gender equality among students. Positive pedagogy is also important within the school team. The positive attitude of teachers is important to the Finnish school system because it is believed that a satisfied teacher will do the lessons better and achieve the planned. A lot is invested in developing empathy towards others, towards helping peers and achieving the goal in which everyone is equal and everyone has the same opportunities in education. The second part related to the exchange of ideas and experiences in group work. The importance of group work in which all students participate is emphasized. The ways and methods of planning group work (already mentioned Jigsaw method) as well as the importance of division of work within groups are shown on examples of good practice. By dividing the work, each student has a task and an obligation to the group to fulfill it. There is a great emphasis on gender equality within groups. Group work encourages students' self-confidence, sense of usefulness and motivation to fulfill the assigned task. At the end of the working day, the third part was dedicated to work in the field. The teachers were divided into groups and had to divide the tasks and responsibilities within the group. After that, we were given a research-type assignment. Each group had to use the loaded QR code to complete tasks related to finding certain locations in the very center of Helsinki and solving tasks related to these locations. At the end of the working day, goals for the following day are set.

Day 4

19.5.2022.

The fourth working day is dedicated to the use of technology in classes and everyday life. Through short videos, we got to know how technology is represented in Finnish schools. From an early age, children are taught that technology and its use is a key element of development in the future. The classrooms are equipped, in which good cooperation with the local community is of great importance. After the presentation about Finland, we started a discussion about the tools we use in our work. Through the Fling platform, we presented and listed the tools we use in class. Baamboozle - a game creation program that can be used in any subject and any age. Wordwall - games and quizzes for repetition. Escape room - a fun way to repeat the material, where students have to guess the answers in order to reach the goal. Genial.ly - repeating or processing content in a fun way, like a powerpoint presentation. Flinga - an interactive bulletin board where participants can post their answers at the same time. Canva - a tool for creating presentations, short videos, posters. Diigo - tool for storing links. Mentimeter - a useful tool for creating surveys, messages, quizzes. Wordart - a fun tool that can be used to send messages, texts in a decorative form. Qrcodemonkey - a tool for creating qr codes that can be used for all types of repetition or processing of material. iFunface - a tool for lower grades in which you can process or repeat text in a humorous way. Classroom screen - a tool that is a blackboard, a screen on which you can put notifications to students, assign tasks and instructions during class. The second part of the working day was dedicated to the use of STEAM subjects and technology in teaching. We have seen to what extent robotics and IT skills are represented among children of all ages. For Karaj, we made lesson plans based on STEAM subjects and ways of using them.

Day 5

20.5.2022.

On the last day of the lecture, we talked about the use and sharing of the information we acquired during this training. We watched the short film "Joy of learning in Finland", which had the task of motivating the participants to share the knowledge, experiences of this course and examples of good practice that we will implement in our schools and our work with children in their collectives. We discussed the messages we could take with us, some of them are: „ Teach skills. Sometimes less is more". "Trust. Discussion. Positivity". We acquire learning through interaction, socializing, not only through textbooks. Skills are more important than content. At the end of the working day, awards were distributed, i.e. certificates of course attendance. Tomorrow's schedule for field classes in Helsinki has been announced.

Day 6

21.5.2022.

The last day of the course is dedicated to field teaching. The aim of field lessons is to get to know the cultural sights and specifics of Finnish society outside the classroom. We visited Seurasaari island in the center of Helsinki. Before the island, we visited the famous Sibelius Park dedicated to the most famous Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius. After the park, we drove to the popular Seurasaari picnic spot, a part of Helsinki that is a famous tourist spot where the president and prime minister of Finland have their residence. Seurasaari is a resort that consists of historic, old buildings that represent Finland as it once was. The buildings date back to the Middle Ages and show how people used to live. With a local guide, we got to know the life of wealthier, but also poorer residents over the centuries. The professional training in Helsinki, Finland ended with a tour of the island.

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