Day 2 Tuesday 16th January 2007

Teacher Training System, Distance Learning and school visit.
Turun Normaalikoulu Teacher Training School
This session was lead by the Administrative Principal, Mr Veli-Matti Hakanen.

This school is linked to and is part of the University of Turku. It is the School of the Faculty of Education at Turku University. The school is owned by the university. Teachers salaries are paid by the university. The Teacher Training School is situated in an area where there are many immigrant families. Therefore the school population is not typical of the usual Finnish school as there are many more nationalities at this school. There are 29 nationalities.
There are 13 teacher training schools in Finland. Turum is the largest and covers all levels of education from comprehensive to upper secondary. It also runs distance learning courses and has an International Baccalaureate school. Each sector of the school is in a different wing thus young pupils at primary school are not overwhelmed by many other and older students.
All teachers at upper secondary have Masters degrees, the new system means that they have 300 credits: 180 from Candidate degree and 120 from Masters and somewhere there will be 60 credits for the pedagogical content of the course.
They are following the Bologna agreement for degrees.
However, teachers look for more credits because they need more licences to teach as teachers are expected to teach more than 1 subject. The National Board samples subjects and areas. There is a common European Framework. All Finnish children study 3 languages. Finnish, Swedish and English being the most common pattern.
We then visited each wing of the school seeing different classes in action. They have groups of 4 computers positioned in spaces outside classrooms where pupils can work and in the primary section there are areas off classrooms for other work to be done and in some clases there are computers in these rooms.

The school is well designed and feels airy and bright. There are many spaces for group meetings, a lecture theatre which is used for productions, the PE area has gym equipment for fitness training as well as the usual games halls.
We concluded out tour by visiting the principals’ and administrative areas where we met the Principal in charge of the IB. She explained how it worked, which students choose to do it and where they go after this. Many students who have done the IB choose to continue their education in the UK.

Day 1 Monday 15th January 2007

We were all conscientious this morning. Breakfast at 0730 and everyone was punctual and ready for the bus which was to take us to Kupittaa Upper secondary School.
The school building was well maintained and had very large windows. Classrooms were bright and wildlife was visible from classrooms as the schools is surrounded by trees. The atmosphere was calm in the school. There was no perception of stress or tension or aggression.

Juho Airola, our host and one of the principals at the school lead this morning’s sessions. He covered Finland and the city of Turku and the Finnish educational system in the first two sessions.

Turku is the old capital of Finland. it is approximatly 775 years old. It is to be the next cutural capital of Europe. It is officially bilingual with Finnish and Swedish being the main languages. There is a wireless network in Turku, SparkNet, with over 2000 hotspots covering 60% of Turku. It is free to use and it has been in existence for two years.

The school was calm and light and bright. The school food was good and we enjoyed our experience there.

We then embarked on a guided tour of Turku visiting the cathedral, the harbour area where we went on the landmark ferry across the river and back not setiting foot on the other side. we then went ot the castle which used to be on an island but with the land rising it is no longer on an island and the river is now not capable of taking the large boats that it once did.

We were then taken to the Town Hall for a civic reception where we were welcomed by the Chief Public Relations Officer Mr Blomqvist, who guided us throught eh city chambers which were impressive. We were then taken to a smaller room for refreshments where the Director of the Educational System and the Director of Upper Secondary and Adulrt Education Services also welcomed the group. We then walked back to the hotel for a short break before the next event.

We were collected from the hotel by Marjo and Arto and walked to the Finnish Trade Union for Teachers. They explained what they did and were extremely hospitable. We had a very nice time there chatting and exchanging ideas. We finished off the evening at The Old Bank which must have had every beer in the world.

First Meeting

We had our kick off meeting this evening at the Park Hotel at 6pm. Most participants were there but there were one or two who arrrived during the course of the meeting and another from Turkey who arrived just in time to join us for dinner.

Introductions to the host team were made as were the arrangements and requirements for the week. Local legislation and customs were explained – no smoking and punctuality were required.

The programme was outlined and venues on the programme were put in context. The school is on two sites: one site being new. It is ICT enabled and is shared by the university. It is the best equipped ICT school in Finland. The teacher training establishment is well established in distance learning. Sanako Corporation is well known for its Digital Language Studios and Nokia will be showing mobile television and devices.

There was an opportunity for each participant to introduce themselves and to talk about their experience. Some gifts were exchanged and the Romanian participant, Sandu or Golcea, shared his 45% proof beverage which he had transported in a plastic water bottle.

Fun was had and much debate occurred over the filling in of lists for varius activities during the week. Eventually a new list was produced which was supposed to be clearer! This was a good ice breaker. The spa arrangemernts were explained. The cruise is on a vessel which holds 2000 – 3000 people. The food is very good and we can avail ourselves of the facilities. The price is all inclusive. The presentations should not be too long.

We arranged, very efficiently, the procedure for producing the final group report. Two or three people would produce a report per day. Neil and I would collate and arrange the final report. Those who write the final report do not have to produce a separate individual report. The timetable for this was completed. The final report should be available on Friday for distribution to all. All photographs will be shared by having them and the presentations burned to DVD with each participant receiving a copy.

After the meeting seven of us went in search of dinner. It was pouring and we discovered that most places were closed on a Sunday evening. However, we found a restaurant which was open and we had a pleasant meal. Discussion covered language, prices of wine in different countries, coffee, languages spoken in various countries, what makes a successful ARION study visit and how large the portions might be in the restaurant. The restaurant coped admirably with us and even produced individualised bills.

Arrival in Turku

What a few days.

Yesterday I was at BETT 2007 at Olympia in London. I was discussing with Atomic Learning personnel how we will roll out Atomic Learning across Aberdeen City Council. I aslo found ultralightweight data projectors – some based on LED technology. However picture quality needs more investigation.ensued.

I travelled back from London to St Andrews arriving home at 2030. Some quick e-mails to clarify arrival time and weather conditins in Turku. Something to eat, washing machine in action then packing -a quick turnaround.

My husband drove me to Edinburgh Airport leaving at 0630. After security, hort and tiring but necessary settled down to the journey. This all went remarkably smoothly with even baggage arriving on schedule.

I met Albert at Helsinki Airport and we continued our journey to Turku together.
Arto kindly met us at the airport where we met the participant from Poland. The Romanian delegate, Sandu, had already arrived and that made four of us at the Park Hotel. Arto gave us a guided tour of Turku and informed us of arrangements on Sunday in Turku. He also gave us a goody bag each with hand knitted socks, information and the programme.

Albert and I found a local restaurant and discsussed many topics – education and the current status of our respective countries. Must rememebr to investigate MS licensing for home use and purchase.

Well – ready for tomorrow…..

Researching Education in Finland

Comment of Education in Finland
Covers state of Education in Finland and rough outline of approach.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4031805.stm

Eurydice publication on education in Finland

Arion Study Visit to Turku, Finland 13 – 20 January 2007

After months of thinking about the prospect of this study visit it is now quite close especially if you consider Christmas and BETT 2007 have to occur first.
January 2007 will be a time for reflection and thinking about education and ICT in education in particular.
We now have the programme for the study visit anfd we have to prepare our presentations on our own education system. There is some homework to do.