Helmikuun alussa Lahteen saapui 11 EPOQUE-projektin opiskelijaa Kreikasta ja Italiasta. Päijät-Hämeen LUMA-keskus auttoi opiskelijoita työharjoittelupaikan löytämisessä ja työharjoittelun organisoinnissa. Lue Evi Topalin kirjoittama juttu ja katso video viikosta Jalkarannan koulussa.
EPOQUE-projektin kautta Lahteen saapui yhteensä 11 opiskelijaa Italiasta ja Kreikasta. He työskentelivät viikon eri työpaikoissa ympäri Lahtea. Päijät-Hämeen LUMA-keskus oli mukana projektin järjestelyissä ja työharjoittelun organisoinnissa.
Evi Topali työskenteli viikon Jalkarannan koulussa ja teki harjoittelustaan hienon videon (linkki Youtubeen) sekä kirjoitti tuntemuksistaan jutun (alla).
Finland experience
Many of us have heard how awesome the schools in Finland are. How their students rock international tests in reading, math and science year after year. How respected their teachers are, and how motivated their students.
My name is Evi and I come from Greece. Currently I am a Master Student on the field of Pedagogy, Sciences and ICT. Through the European project Epoque+ I had the opportunity to be for one week at a Finnish primary school. Doing what?! Observing the Finnish educational practices, helping -as teacher assistant- as more as I can, reaching new levels of body language (!) and practically being astonished by the educational system they have.
In the past I was lucky enough to work at schools abroad, but I have never gotten experienced something like that. I couldn’t imagine what the –so much discussed– Finnish key of success is, regarding the education (public education in fact). What have learnt? I have learnt that- based on what I’ve seen in Jalkaranta school- the key is not the amount of the knowledge, but the way the teachers will serve it to the pupils, the interactivity they offer, the application of the knowledge and the fact that they keep in mind that their pupils are still kids and they need to move during the lessons –despite my country’s example where the pupils have for 45’ to remain sitting at their desks without moving around-.
Jerome Bruner, one of the pioneers in the field of cognitive psychology and cognitive theory of learning once said “each object can be taught to any child at any age when the new knowledge is presented in a way suitable and effective for them”. And being in lessons such as cooking, knitting, woodworking, which apparently seem normal in Finnish schools, I saw in practice how his concept works!
So, concluding, they asked me to write about my experience in Finland & basically what I gain going there. During the first week of February I was blessed enough to be part of a nice project, to travel, laugh and explore a new freezing country with Greek, Finnish and Italian friends, learn new habits, get charming bruises because of skiing, to cooperate with inspiring teachers and mainly to reach a higher level as a professional, as a student, as a future teacher.
Evi Topali