Integrative teaching?

Jyväskylä University in Finland offers different courses that are aimed at training teachers for the "inclusive schools system" - as a system where they believe no need will be for "special education", because the main stream teachers will be able to teach all kinds of learners at all times..

Is this where we are going in Denmark? I'm just asking...

Even so. If you're interested, you can have a look at their homepage at http://www.jyu.fi/

It is possible to choose "English", but there might be things on the homepage that are not translated...

The professor in charge of the programme is Timo Saloviita - and if you want to learn more about the opposite approach to "inclusive education" you can have a look at Prof. Hannu Savolainen's work. Hannu is in favour of a system with special education provided by specially trained teachers. Both professors have done extensive research and you will be able to find work from both of them online.

Thoughts about special education and approaches to teaching..

What are the main things to be learnt from the Finnish special education system?

The system is clear, there is no competition, no public test results, integrated special education at all schools (part time and full time), it is common and feels natural for pupils to leave the classroom – or receive extra help in the main stream classroom from a special education teacher, and they do so in their "normal schedule" - and not as additional lessons..

 

As teachers we have to follow-up with the changes made in the educational system so that we continuously progress and always try to meet the necessary requirements for being competent teachers in the environment we teach in, even though we might feel it is very stressful or we disagree with changes being made.

My experiences from different courses and classroom observations have led me back to my reflections from my last practice placement period in Denmark, when I wondered which teaching style can apply to most learners and show the best results in learning in the long run. From what I’ve seen and heard in Finland, it does not seem like the teacher’s role is to entertain the pupils, but that learning is emphasized in teaching and that “responsibility for own learning” is solidly integrated in all classrooms. All pupils are introduced to and develop (most of them seem to develop it) “responsibility for own learning” at a very early age - already as early as in kindergarten and preschool. According to the PISA results, Finnish pupils perform homogeniously, so maybe this approach to teaching is working.. But could it work in other countries?

Is there too much stress on differentiation, learning styles, entertainment, enjoy and fun in Danish schools? Do pupils actually learn more when they are “having a good time”? And of course, I know it depends on what we consider as “learning” at which learning objectives we have, but still…

This first sentence I heard from one of my Finnish teachers really says it all..

“I hope you will learn something from this course and find it interesting. Of course, it is nice if you enjoy it as well, but that is not why you are here….”

Remedial Help...

I want to correct what I wrote yesterday about Finnish class teachers who offer remedial help for their pupils, because this morning I discovered that what I said isn't quite true.

The University's practice placement school in Joensuu has much more resources than "normal" schools do and this includes the possibilty for class teachers to get payed for the remedial help they offer. I spoke to one of the teachers, who said that he gave 3-5 remedial-support lessons every week and that most teachers at the University's practice placement school taught a similar amount of lessons every week in remedial support.

Based on this - and the fact that I knew the Finnish main stream education system included "remedial help" I assumed the number of remedial lessons would be a little less in "normal schools" - maybe around 1-2 lessons a week. Today I discovered that this was a wrong - or misleading - assumption. I'm sorry for that.

At "normal schools" the number of remedial lessons offered depends very much on the individual schools resources and preferences, but in average it might be around 2 lessons a month, not a week. In secondary school, the remedial support is often placed before exams for repetition purposes - and it isn't compulsory to attend, but very often all student do so anyways.

LAPLAND

Finally!!

Tomorrow night the trip of the year will begin.

Yes, people. I'm going to Lapland where I'll see beautiful landscape, go skiing and ice swimming in the Arctic Sea in Nordkapp
- and if we bring some luck with us, we might even see the Northern lights! I've seen them many times on The Faroe Islands but I've never seen them in yellow and/or red (being the most common colours of the northern lights in Finland, although, changing colours are not very common)..

I'll not be online next week and this entry is therefore the last you'll hear from me this week.. I'll be back on Sunday or Monday next week with pictures and more info...

Personal commentary from the course: Introduction to special education

Personal Commentary

-         Introduction to Special Education

Structure

This commentary will take you through my personal and professional experiences from courses of relevance to education at The University of Finland. Primarily from the course: Introduction to Special Education.

I will explain briefly what this course has had to offer and based on this I will raise a few questions which will be discussed further in this paper by examining the learning experiences I have had during this course. Based on the discussion, the conclusion of this paper gives a few suggestions for beneficial changes that could be made in the special education system in Finland and in my home country (Denmark and The Faeroe Islands).

About the course

The course has offered a journey through the general Finnish education system and the Special education system. Some historical turning points, how it functions today and what changes the Finnish special education system is facing in the near future. This is a course aimed at international students, and it has been made clear from day one that through discussions, group work, presentations and individual work we will get an idea of various different special education systems and be able to compare and analyze similarities and differences so that we can find weaknesses and strengths in the different approaches to special education.

To get a better grasp of how the inclusive education system works in Finland, we have visited three different schools in the area of Joensuu, where we have seen the three main different ways of providing special education in Finland:

- Integration in a main stream classroom,

- A separate classroom in a main stream school, and

- A special classroom in a special school.

Areas for further explanation – Raised questions..

1. Reflections from school visits with Introduction to special education.

2. Finnish class teachers provide remedial help for their pupils while Danish teachers do not.  What are the strengths and weaknesses with these two different approaches?

3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of having generally well trained special education teachers (Finland) – as the opposite of limited but very well specially trained special education teachers (Denmark)?

4. Are general teachers in main stream classes educated well enough to fulfill the requirements of “inclusive education”?

Reflections from school visits

First of all, the three schools visits have given me a basic practical experience with how the special education system in Finland works, this includes 1, Integration in main stream classrooms, 2, Separate special education classroom in a main stream school and 3, a special education classroom at the special education school (Savolainen 2009). The school visits have been a very positive experience for me and the fact that we visited in small groups and different schools, leaves me with the feeling that I now have a better comprehension of the Finnish special education system than I would have by only visiting 1-2 different schools – especially since one of the schools is the University’s practice school where my personal point of view is that it gives a slightly crooked picture of the main stream education system in Finland – thus as well the special education provided at that school[1].

Extensive research has shown that good results depend on competent teachers – not resources and number of pupils (Savolainen 2009). Putting a few pupils, many teachers and extensive resources in a school does not equal “good teaching” and learning opportunities for pupils and teachers, but it can make the learning goals easier attainable if the teachers are well trained and competent.

To me it seems like one of the striking differences between the special education system in Finland and that of my home country (Denmark and the Faroe Islands)[2] is how the systems value special education. The three school visits in Joensuu gave me an impression of the special education system in Finland supporting special education. Schools in my home country (here, I generalize) give the field of special education less priority, non-trained teachers are cheaper and often special education is more like a day-care where learning is not emphasized very much.

With this being said I would like to emphasize one point where I think teachers in my home country are overruling Finnish teachers, and this is in the integration of pupils with special needs in main stream classes. During observation lessons in Finland I have seen surprisingly little differentiation, personal assistance and accommodating the teaching to e.g. different learning styles. To me, it does not seem like Finnish teachers are actually ready for inclusive education, and I am not saying Danish and Faroese are, but they might be slightly closer to the goal than Finnish teachers are.  

The role of class teachers in remedial help

In primary school (1-6) every class has a class teacher who teaches most subjects – with the exception of a few subjects taught by subject-teachers. A class teacher will stay in the same class for 2-4 years and in secondary school (lower and upper) all subjects are taught by subject-teachers and the class teacher’s role is taken by one of the subject teachers who functions as a contact person and guide for his/her pupils.

Class teachers have a few “empty” lessons in their timetable to spend on so called, remedial help, which means helping pupils who are lagging behind to get back on the right track (often pupils who have been ill and have not been present for important lessons) (Halinen & Järvinen 2008). Even though this does not count as special education lessons, this is in my opinion definitely something that lowers the need for special education – without the remedial help these pupils could on the long run be in need of special education and it could have fatal consequences for their learning and well-being at school.

The possibility for remedial help does not exist in Denmark or on The Faeroe Islands in the same way – and to the same extent – as it does in Finland. The so called homework cafés are supposedly offering remedial help, but are not to be found in all schools and are often run by random teachers (and sometimes special education teachers or substitute teachers). In my opinion it can be an advantage that the remedial help is offered by the class teacher, who has a personal relationship to the pupil – and can do so in the pupil’s “safe environment” (classroom) – although, an obvious danger is that bad relationships between class teachers and pupils, can easily have catastrophic consequences for the pupil, because the class teacher is responsible for almost all teaching for many years at the time.

General special education or specialist special education

The Finnish special education teachers are specially trained in providing general special education for various disabilities and are not competent as main stream teacher, while the Danish special education teachers often start with a main stream teacher education and then specialize in some specific learning disability.

Both education systems aim at providing inclusive education for all and there are many similarities in the organization and structure of educational systems in Finland and Denmark (Halinen & Järvinen 2008). To mention a few: Pupils begin and end school at the same age in both countries; teachers teach a similar (+-2 lessons) amount of lessons every week and these last years, the government and municipalities have increased the centralization of schools in both countries.

Which kind of education for special education teachers is best suited for “inclusive education”?

The Danish method has its benefits in very big schools, where the special education teacher would have enough pupils with a specific disability in one group – and the teachers have the opportunity to become very good within their field. The Finnish special education teachers can easily be connected to schools of all sizes, because they have a broad competence in special education which pupils with very different disabilities can benefit from. With this being said, becoming a specialist within many specific fields of disabilities is a very demanding road for Finnish teachers and I think this might be their biggest disadvantage.

Education for Inclusive education

To be honest, this course has given me just as much information about the Danish special education system as it has about the Finnish system, because I knew very little about the Danish system before I took this course. The saying the more I know the more I know I don’t know goes very well with my experience from the course.

The Danish special education system relies on general teachers who are very well trained in differentiating their teaching to meeting every pupil’s individual needs (The Ministry of Education: veje til en bedre organisering og styring 2010). Based on readings and my own experience from the Danish teacher training and observations in mainstream classrooms (where special education pupils have been integrated) I am afraid I will have to raise the following questions: do Danish teachers have the necessary education for providing inclusive education? And what can – or will be done in the near future to embrace it? And to take it even further: Is it in reality possible to include equity and equality in inclusive education? Does inclusive education just mean the same education for all – and if so, are we actually giving all pupils the same learning opportunities?

Conclusion

The discussions above have made me come up with the following suggestions and reflections:

Offering pupils remedial help is of key importance to their academic and social wellbeing. The opportunity to get extra help from skilled teachers should be made possible for all pupils at all levels to prevent major set-backs due to uncontrollable factors out side of school.

Special education should at all times be taught by competent teachers – and if this means teachers who specialize in special education, so be it. Teacher’s competences are an integral resource when striving to reach the objectives of successful inclusive education.  Maybe all teachers should be generally trained special education teachers in addition to the main-stream teacher education?

Segregation is seen as a “bad word” in inclusive education, but I wonder if it is possible to provide equity and equality for all in inclusive education if it is to be offered for everyone at the same time at the same place – and by the same people, as it very often is in these days of “centralization”.

References

Halinen, Irmeli & Järvinen, Ritva: Towards inclusive education: the case of Finland, Published online 2008.

Savolainen, Hannu: Responding to diversity and striving for excellence: The case of Finland, Published online 2009.

www.uvm.dk  (The Ministry of Education – Denmark)

-         Special undervisning I folksekolen – veje til en bedre organisering og styring, 2010.

-          Deloitte: Analyse af specialundervisning i folkeskolen, 2010.

---

[1] The university’s practice placement school is different in many ways. Two main differences are: It has a lot more resources than “normal” schools and many teachers have higher degrees than a MA.

[2] Based on own experience

Home, Sweet Home...

Since 9th January I have lived in Joensuu, Finland where I attend an international study programme in education at The University of Eastern Finland.

A student-housing unit arranged my accommodation (I of course had to apply first) which is located only 500 meters from the university and the university's practice placement school, where I spend some of my time observing and attending lectures. 

The University's buildings are located on the left side of that red balloon and my flat is on the right side of the light-green square (out door Hockey fields) south of the balloon.

The city center is east of the balloon, where the bridges cross the river.



People generally use bikes or cars.

Here are a few pictures from the street where I live (Länsikatu)

If I go 500 meters straight  this way I'll be where the "big red balloon" is at..





Länsikatu 18





My flat (housing unit) is on the left and the
sports area is on the right.





The view from the front door






A busy bee needs a
good place to study

and coffee, coffee...

                                             

Me in front of the University's Practice Placement School..

And a few pictures from the city of Joensuu..

The City Center (super market)

´This is what the houses look like in some
neighbourhoods in Joensuu

 

The beautiful sunrise on our way to
a school visit in Noljakka. The University's
buildings are located on both sides of this road

The main shopping street in Joensuu

Art Exhibition

Saturday morning I had breakfast with the two Finnish girls before we went in to the city centre to look at some local art work. When we arrived at the "art square" (many art shops, galleries etc. are placed very close to eachother, next to the river) we noticed that the market square was much more crowded than on a regular Saturday, and then we remembered:

Last weekeend offered an ice-sculptureing-competition and the yearly ice-swimming-championship!

Sadly, we didn't have all the time in the world AND it was very cold, so we took a quick look at the different activities before we went in seperate directions. They had practice and I had homework.. But I can tell you this much, the last thing I would do would be jumping in that icy, freezing water!

...The ice swimming took place in an artificial hole in the frozen lake in the centre of Joensuu and I noticed a whole lot of bubbles in the water. When I asked the Finnish girls why they used that bubble-making-equipment, they told me that without it the surface of the water would freeze to ice in a matter of seconds (or minutes..) creating an ice-surface as sharp as a knife - which of course could make life threatening damage to the swimmers.

I don't have any pictures from that day, but the day after, Sunday, I spent an hour at the ice-art-exhibition together with some of my Erasmus friends. Beautiful!!! I especially admired the children's work..

What a small world

Once a week I attend a knitting club together with some Finnish students. Even though I'm very busy I always make sure I find some time in my schedule for these meetings. I enjoy having a cup of coffee, knitting, and chatting with the other girls. - Pluss they have taught me some new knitting methods and patterns!

Well, funny thing is that after my first meeting with this group I was contacted by a Finnish girl who told me she had heard about me through the knitting club and wanted to know more about study-oportunities on the Faroe Islands, because she wanted to go there next year to do one semester of her teacher-training.

I contacted the coordinator at the Teacher's college on the Faroe Islands and a 4th year student from the Faroe Islands, who just finished his English studies and will graduate this summer (I though this could be a good chance for him to have a teacher-contact outside of the Faroe Islands). Last week I met with the Finnish girl and helped her as much as I could by translating relevant bits from the Faroese university's homepage and giving her my Faroese friend's contact information.

The last thing I expected was to meet someone who actually wants to go to the Faroe Islands for study purposes.. But I'm sure she'll have a great time on the Faroe Islands if she decides to go:)

Oh. Some more about the heading of this post: "What a small world". Lucinda told me about this before I moved to Joensuu, but since all of you (classmates and teachers in Denmark) know Lucinda I think it's a fun fact for you as well. One of Lucinda's friends from Manchester is staying in Joensuu at the same time as I am and we both study teacher training and attend many of the same courses.

Indeed. It is a small world.

Education, Cognition and Learning - TEST

Friday I had an exam in psychology, in a course called Education, Cognition and Learning. Before the test I read two books (Bereiter: Surpassing Ourselves, and McKeough: Teaching for Transfer) and emailed the responsible teacher a few times, because the intranet didn't give me specific information about the test.

Well. I was told to read the two books (originally 3 books, but I chose to read only two of them), sign up for the "general exam" and then show-up at the right time and the right place without bringing other things than my pencil and my student card. And so I did...

I was waiting outside the room where the general exam would take place in a few minutes. A woman came outside and started saying people's names in an alphabetical order and giving the right person the right test-assignment on their way in to the examination room. When it was my turn I was handed a plastic pocket with a few papers in it. Even though two Finnish girls I met in a knitting club had told me more or less what I should expect, I felt like a stranger and tried my best to observe what other people did - and then do the same my self..

Eventually I ended up in a huuuge lecture-hall where people were sitting - in what for me appeared to be random places - so I chose a seat in the middle of the room where no one else was sitting. Again, I looked around me to see what other people were doing, and did the same.. grabbed a pen and a water bottle from my bag and placed the plastic pocket on a small desk in front of me.

Three supervisors (I guess that was what they did) sat at their tables in the "bottom" of the hall (it looked a bit like a concert hall with some sort of a scene in front of the seats). A white board was next to them where simething Finnish was written - and I had of course no idea what the sign was saying. I just had to trust the information the teacher had given my by email.

At one point it got really quiet and one of the supervisors said something and people opened their plastic pockets - and so did I.

Inside of it were two documents. One document had some information about the course and the other document had two questions (one pr. book) and a "Good luck" from my teacher (whom I've never met).

I read the questions carefully and started writing (mind-mapping and making a first draft before making the final draft). After ½ hour a lot of people left and when 2 hours had passed by most students had left the examination room. It seemed a bit strange to me that people didn't spend all of the examination time(general exams are 4 hours), but the Finnish girls had told me that it was fairly easy to pass these exams, so I figured I could do the same.
3 hours in to the test I finished my second essay. I handed it in to the supervisors, signed some papers, and showed them my studentID (I had seen other students do this and therefore tried to do the same).

I don't want to jinx it, but the questions seemed easy and quite general so I will be quite disappointed if I fail the exam.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

And no matter what happens, I can still say that I've tried a "typical" Finnish book exam and know a lot more about transfer of learning and expert-learning...

PS you should all have a look at the two books - or other similar books!

Finnish Friends

Before I went to Finland I applied to the "Finnish Friend" organisation at the University of Eastern Finland. International students and Finns who are interested in getting to know eachother fill-in the application forms where they write about their hobbies and interests, language competences, and expectations for their "new friend". In January, the international coordinator at the university tries to match international students with Finns of common interest and then arranges the first meeting, which in my case was held at the University a month ago.

Well, my "Finnish friend" is a Finnish family - a couple and their 8 year-old daughter. They live in an old farm on the country-side 20 km south of Joensuu. The perfect place for someone like me who loves spending time in the outdoors - in the unspoiled, and some what untouched, nature. A beautiful place and such lovely people!

I've spent two weekends at their place and met with them a few times in Joensuu for lunch and to watch their daughter training figure scating (which she btw is very good at). Together with them I've tried skiing, driving the snow mobile, ice-fishing, and I have eaten a variety of traditional Finnish/Karelian/Lapish food. This weekend I met some of their family members at their daughter's birthday as well as her friends from the figure scating team.

Well. So how does this go with my own professional development?
First of all, I get to know some Finns (at the university I mostly meet other exchange students). This enables me to learn more about Finland, Finnish traditions and how some of them see their educational system.
Secondly, I get to practice my own English on a level where I have to make an effort to make my speech as clear and understandable as possible without making any mistakes in my grammar - and to train all other communicative skills.
Intercultural Communicative Competence I get to practice and develop everywhere (when the concept of "culture" is dynamic and not static), but in a foreign country it might demand more effort from my side to succeed in this communication. Yes, it might demand more of me - but at the moment I don't think it does. At least not when it comes to the Finns in the small town of Joensuu. Maybe my biggest challenge still lies ahead of me, seeing as it might demand more work of me to communicate successfully in a big and busy city like Copenhagen. We'll see.

It could be interesting to see if it would be possible to establish a "Danish friend programme" in Copenhagen.

I'll leave you with a few pictures from this weekend..

Interesting Article...

I just read a very interesting article (18 pages) about the Finnish education system with a special focus on "inclusive education". It includes an historical overview, a review of OECD reports from PISA, and visions for an even better and more "inclusive" education system.
If you can't find a free example online, you can try the library services at your uni - they should have access to databases where you might be able to find this journal.

It's called:
Towards inclusive education: the case of Finland, written by Irmeli Halinen and Ritva Järvinen

And I thought the hard part was over...

I thought the hard part was over when I finished my 3rd semester in CPH.. but. Yeah. As it turns out this semester will be just as busy - if not more busy. Loads of written assignments, exams, material to read, presentations, observation, courses, individual work, group work. You name it. I'm doing all of it - except "real" practice placement (since it concists of lectures and classroom observations).

Well, if I look on the bright side, this semester provides me with a wide variety of unique learning opurtunities I could never get in Denmark, and I am sure that I will miss Joensuu and Finland when I return to Copenhagen in April.

Study-life at The University of Eastern Finland is very different from whar I have experienced at Blaagaard/KDAS in Copenhagen. The freedom to select between courses is one of the major differences - but this also leaves me with the great responsibility of finding courses that suit my studies in Denmark, and to make sure that lectures, courses, and other arrangements fit in my very busy schedule. For the first time in my life a kalender is actually controling my every move.
"Would you like to have lunch together tomorrow at 1?"
"Hm.. let me check my kalender. Oh, sorry. I would love to, but unfortunately I can't. How is Thursday next week?".
Not my cup of tea, but in time I will learn to live this way.

Enough with this negativity. The courses I have started on so far are very interesting and higly relevant´- and I feel very competent thanks to - in my point of view - very good teaching at Blaagaard/KDAS. There is not one course from my home university that has not provided me with relevant knowledge for my courses here. As it turns out, the course I feel (at the moment) gives me the greatest advantage is RSEC (Religion, Society, Ethics and Citizenship), and here I must stress Niels' teaching, since it did exactly what it was meant to do. Inform, provoke, and create awareness and reflection in teacher's work.

At some point I want to write something about "culture" and post it on my blog, because my current knowledge about the different views on culture, cultural awareness, and intercultural competence really made me reflect when I was asked to answer the following question:
What is the best special education and how can 'inclusive education' be successful in praxis?
I don't have a final answer - and I don't expect to find one, but I hope to get closer to a possible answer in the dynamic view on culture and what effects it might have on finding a solution (not the solution) to the challenge of "inclusive education".

Did you know…

These last 4 weeks I have experienced quite a lot in Finland, and I now know a much more about the Finnish education system than I did before my arrival. Here is a short sum-up of things I did not know about before moving to Finland – and things you might find inspiring, useful or simply just interesting.

– Be aware that much of what I know I have observed in lessons at the University’s practice school, heard in lectures at the University of Eastern Finland, and  found out about in (informal) conversations with Finnish people. I therefore have no (or very few) reliable references for the statements in this blog post.

• Education is free of charge in Finland (included in the taxes). This includes both general education and higher levels of education (university studies etc.).

• After medical studies and law studies, the faculties of education are the hardest ones to get in to.

• Applicants for education studies have to attend 3 different tests (written exam, group work, and an individual interview) before they might get accepted. In 2010 the faculty of education at The University of Eastern Finland received 500 applications, 250 of them got to do the tests and out of those 250 applicants, 80 were found suitable for attending education sciences. Statistics show that close to 100% of those who start education studies will get the degree and 90% of educated teachers choose to stay in the field of education after their studies have ended.

• Finnish teachers all have a master’s degree in education (this goes many years back in time – so teachers in their 50s and 60s also have a master’s degree in education).

• The start salary for Finnish teachers is around 2,600€ and the end salary varies a lot but is in general around 3,500€. Finns who earn around this amount pay approximately 25% in taxes.

• The Union for Finnish teachers is very strong and highly supported by the teachers – and respected in politics.

• The PISA resoult shows – amongst other things – that Finnish pupils are a very homogeneous group when looking at their performance in PISA. The lowest scoring Finnish pupils score higher than the average pupil in the PISA test.

• Finnish pupils have a fewer number of lessons in compulsory education than pupils in any other EU country.

• Finnish pupils start preschool at the age of 6 and school when they are 7, and it is obligatory to attend school from grade 1-9.

• There are usually around 20 pupils in each classroom – and the general attitude towards the number of pupils in a classroom is for it to be around this size, preferable no more than 20.

• Sometimes classes are split in half during lessons in foreign languages – and in creative subjects, such as textile and crafts, there are always ½ classes attending with 1 teacher.

• In Finland pupils start their 1st second language in the spring in grade 1, and by the time they reach grade 8 their schedule includes 4 foreign languages taught by teachers with special expertiese in teaching foreign languages (the foreign languages starting in grade 5 and 8 are optional and most pupils do at least on of them).

• Pupils are self-regulated in many subjects. This means that they often check their work by looking at the teacher’s book where all the right answers can be found.

• Finnish schools have canteens where a hot meal is served the every pupil 5 days a week without extra payment from the parents (included in the taxes).

• Pupils in grade 0-6 are outside in every recess – that by the way last 15 min. each.

• There is a “class teacher” in every class in primary education. The class teacher teaches most subjects and stays in the same class from (at least) grades 3-6 where he/she has the main responsibility of the pupils. There are 5-6 “empty slots” in the class teacher’s schedule that he/she can spend on helping pupils who are in need of extra help without them missing out on other lessons/subjects.

• The ideology for the Finnish education system is “inclusive education” and they educate many teachers who specialize in the field of special education.

• 10% of Finnish pupils attend special education lessons taught by teachers who specialize in special education.

• Before a child starts attending special education lessons the teachers have to make a thorough plan for how to help the pupil to reach the goal(s). The teachers have to revise the pupil’s situation every year – and based on this assessment changes can/will be made in the individual’s education plan before he/she attends more special education lessons.

• In Finnish language there is neither grammatical gender nor a future tense.

Movement, please!

These last couple of weeks with 12 observation lessons have made me a bit worried, because I have seen many lessons where the pupils sit on their seats for 45 minutes straight without moving and talking. These lessons have been in grade 1-6 (fairly young students) and I found it odd and some how unnatural for pupils at this age to be quiet for that long - despite the fact that they all go outside to play in the breaks. In many of the lessons I observed pupils who did not participate in the lessons but instead seemed to "drift away in to their own imagination". This made me wonder if these pupils only acted this way during lessons or if their behaviour was something I could see in other settings as well - and of course I was (and still am) interested in finding out what learning is actually taking place in the classrooms. There is always much more to it than the things I can observe frm my seat.

Today I dicided to observe in grade 1 and 3 to see how the pupils behaved and what the teachers were doing to keep the pupils active during the lessons. And FINALLY! After 12 lessons of observations I finally found two teachers who actually move around in the classroom, play with their body language and voices, and use the smart board for other things than "overheading" the course book. I am looking forward to observe more lessons in grades 1-3 and to start observing lessons in grades 7-9 where I expect to see changes in teaching methods and the general behaviour in class.

1st February

The next few weeks will be quite busy, since I have many courses in February and March and a final exam in psychology on the 18th February. My head is about to explode with questions, reflections and thoughts from my experiences in Finland and I do my best to write everything in my journal, talk to people and try to get some of my questions answered.

It is often difficult for me to find the time to write on the blog since it is public and therefore I find it important that I am careful when I publish thougths and have to spend some time on considering what to write and how to write it. So, I have come up with a plan, next week I will try to upload some videos or audios, where I record my reflections and therefore make it easier for my self to post more often on my blog and say more in a shorter time - which actually brings me to my reflections from yesterday's lessons:
Is one of the most important things in a teacher's work to make things easy for yourself and your pupils without damageing the quality of the teaching?

Yesterday I observed 4 lessons, Finnish, English and Crafts and tomorrow, I will observe an English test in grade 6 and next week I will assisst the teacher when the pupils get their test results back. I look forward to this for many different reasons, one being my interest in finding out what view the teachers have on the subject English and what aims the teachers have for their teaching. The impression I got from observing 3 English lessons was that the subject has a great focus on The UK and The States and issues in those two countries, leaving out the rest of the "English speaking world" - and by this I actually mean the rest of the world, since English is spoken in close to all countries in the world (if not all).

Of course I cannot make any conclusions based on the 3 lessons I have observed but this is one of the things I would like to investigate further during this course - and one way for me to do so is to have a look at the course books they use at the school, especially because one of the English teachers told me that their course books are new, extensive and well thought through (and made by teachers) and therefore often used as the sole teaching material in English teaching.
To complete my investigation I will try to see as much as possible in grade 7-9 where the teachers might have a different approach to the subject English.

Untill next time...