Okul vs. Koulu
The first word above belongs to the Turkish language, and the second one is a member of the Finnish language. Just play around with some letters and remove one of them, and you get the same meaning: 'school.'
And, this post is about a school visit during which my friend and I had an opportunity to see the Finnish school environment and learn more about Finnish schools and classrooms practices.
How was this school visit arranged?
In the second year of my master's studies, the program that I am enrolled in offered a course called Professional Practice. The course content has made it possible for us to visit the teacher training schools to:
Make observations on the school and classroom practices,
Conduct lessons and receive feedback and insights from mentor teachers,
Have workshops on various topics, from assessment techniques to versatile learning environments.
We also learned more about different school and classroom practices by visiting a pre-arranged school in the city. This experience was valuable because schools in Finland vary widely, even though the national core curriculum provides a direction and basis for them.
The visit to the school
The name of the school that we visited is Utrankoulu. We were at school in the morning, and the deputy headmaster, Jukka Röppänen, welcomed us. We started our day with a presentation that Jukka prepared. He gave us some information about:
A school year in Utrankoulu. When does it start and end?
The school population
The headmasters' responsibilities. The deputy headmasters' responsibilities. The teachers' and assistants' responsibilities
Their inclusion methods for students who need special needs
Reports and communication with parents
Voluntary studies for pupils
A school day/Transportation to the school for pupils/Funding for school
You can find all the practical information mentioned above in the slideshow that I am sharing with permission.
Some School and Classroom Practices
During our short visit to Utrankoulu, I saw many school and classroom practices in which the students actively engaged in learning processes by using subject-related tools and carrying out meaningful tasks to promote learning. This active student participation has reminded me of the experiential learning theory, which emphasizes learning through experience, also known as learning by doing. Below, the theory's four main stages, which students can start in any order if they follow a logical sequence, are explained.
(This chart is adopted from Kolb's experiential learning model, and I've added some interpretations.)
A Concrete Example for the Experiential Learning
Now, I want to take you to the crafts classroom, where we observed a part of her project plan. The teacher briefly informed us about it. I'd like to explain each step of the activity based on the experiential learning design chart. The students were sewing shorts in the crafts lesson. Let's take a look at the previous steps.
PS: I've written my idea for the fourth part because I was not present in the classroom during this phase. The teacher and the students had not yet reached the fourth phase when we visited their classroom. However, I completed the whole cycle in my imagination and thought there would be a reflective process related to the project plan.
Some Other Examples for learning-by-doing:
Why do I find them inspirational?
Because,
Learning by doing helps students connect scattered information acquired along the way, leading to a broader understanding of concepts. It also offers opportunities to integrate various subjects into the activities.
Learning by doing provides students with opportunities to allocate time where they practice mindfulness by being fully present and engaged in tasks. The students don´t practice mindfulness with an overt mention of it; rather, it becomes integrated into their activities as a natural part of life.
Learning by doing enables students to have diverse learning experiences where they observe themselves and may apply their learning outside of school. For instance, some pupils may express themselves through woodworking, art, or embroidery.
Isn't it an educational objective to open doors for pupils to explore their own needs, interests, and preferences? This should be done without forcing or rushing them but by providing opportunities for them to build strong connections with both their inner and outer worlds.
Ceyda 💗
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