Studying in Finland Journey – growing, discovering, and learning together

  As for seminar 2, we focused on yet another key aspect of teaching in formal and informal settings: implementation. Again, all aspects are connected and coherence between planning, implementation and assessment without forgetting flexibility is crucial.  We can plan amazing things that when put into practice can turn into something completely different and that do not reflect the planning at all. Or we can have a lesson plan in a brilliant way, but at the time we are about to deliver the lesson something contextual gets in the way and it becomes a great way to learn in real-world situations, without a script or specific guidelines. Many things can happen during implementation and dealing with uncertainty is one of the skills needed to navigate this adventure of learning, teaching, exploring, and building on a daily basis. Again many things to take into consideration in terms of the context of the institution, program, type, modality, teacher and student role, different styles of teac

First seminar planning of planning a lesson was a bit hectic for the group, which I guess was expected as was the first time working together. Anyway, in general the dynamic for the 4 hours was smooth and all groups were able to deliver the planned lesson. It was interesting to see different approaches and ways of touching the different subthemes.  To begin with planning is not something to take for granted and for certainly part of the teacher’s time allocation, even if not so visible.  Specially for this context were not only regulation, but the need analysis and personal study plans of each student are a key factor. Also, educational aspects as learning theories that the teacher can use to frame the different parts of the lesson and the course and understanding of the role of its own and the student.  Learning beyond the lesson:  Context, meaning and purpose are sciential when thinking about an educational space, formal or informal, and this space goes beyond the delivery of a class

Image: personal archive After the long intro, it is difficult to think I’m not good at writing blog entries, but it’s something with a high level of effort for me.  Now, travelling to meet everyone and be in the same place was a bit bizarre after the pandemia. Being at the University and Oulu during this time of the year was extremely nice, as well as being together with an amazing group of people from all over the world and diverse backgrounds. Understanding and going through the basics of how the certification went really quick. Lots of information to process and to get in motion. I thought I had everything ready regarding the pre-tasks but as it turned out I was not familiar with the systems that students need to manage. For people not familiar with Finnish educational systems a tutorial can be helpful and will save time during the concentration days at Oulu.  Being part of an international group is amazing and it does bring a special flavour to the group and dynamic. As we get to k

                                                   Image: personal archive We all have been in touch with education somehow our whole lives, as students, teachers, facilitators, mentors, guides…  In my case I will also add that I come from a family of educators, so it was more than natural to be surrounded by teachers, students, books, papers, and different materials/resources to be graded, endless discussions on how to approach certain situations and how to make the exercise of being a teacher more fun, pertinent and at the end of the day meaningful.  For as long as I can remember education was at the centre of how to contribute to making our country, our city, and our region a better place to live and a better place to thrive. Even when my sisters and I were at school and we had some assignments to take home, the question of how relevant was always present. In the beginning, it was a bit bizarre as most of the families did not question a lot about what the school and the teachers wer