New Finnish Core Curriculum, international cooperation and eTwinning

The new Core Curriculum for Basic Education (approved on December 22, 2014) strongly supports the idea that school is closely connected to the community,  society and world around it. Finland is becoming culturally more diverse and global and local continuously mingle and overlap in our everyday life. This should be visible at school and inherent in teaching.

At school we work, if possible, together with schools and developers of teaching and learning from other countries. Basic education is a positive and constructive force for change in society, nationally and internationally. CCBE p. 16

eTwinning offers an excellent and easy way to co-operate with the developers of teaching. For registered teachers, the eTwinning portal offers a wide variety of ways to network and develop professionally. In different thematic groups (eg. Creative Classroom or Language Teachers groups) teachers can share their knowledge and get tips for teaching. If you want to exchange ideas and experiences on a specific topic, you can look for a Teachers Room. If you cannot find one, you can set up a room yourself. 

eTwinning also provides continuous professional development opportunities. Learning events and webinars are offered on many different topics, particularly the ones relating to student-centered pedagogy, ICT in education and 21st century competences. These are also included in new Finnish core curriculum and there referred as transversal (cross-curricular) competences (L1-L7).

The Core Curriculum for Basic Education brings up international co-operation combined with ICT.

During the basic education, students will have experiences of using ICT in international interaction. CCBE p. 21
Contacts with schools in different countries increase students’ skills to operate in a globalized world. CCBE p. 26

Twinspace (eTwinning’s virtual learning environment) has been designed and made just for this purpose. It offers students an opportunity to interact and learn together with their European peers and partner classes. Students can chat, write messages on forums, share photos, videos and a variety of files created by themselves or together with their peers in a safe and protected learning environment. This way they can enhance their intercultural and cooperation skills as well as communication and ICT skills.

An international project is well suited for multidisciplinaty, cross-curricular and phenomenon-based learning. In eTwinning projects foreign language and ICT learning are integrated in different subject- and content areas. At the moment, projects dealing with STEM subject areas (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) are especially popular. Global education, cultural heritage and cultural diversity related themes are also quite common. They encourage students to reflect on the state of the world and the future, engage them in making the world a better place and, thus, develop creativity and problem-solving skills. They also enhance "cultural knowledge based on respect for human rights, respectful interaction and diverse ways to express oneself and one's views." CCBE p. 19

International cooperation and eTwinning partnerships have, of course, a very special role in language teaching and learning.

Opportunities are created for students and groups of students to network and communicate with people all around  the world. Information and communication technology offers a way and an environment to implement language learning in authentic situations following students' communication needs. CCBE p. 243

I started my first eTwinning projects 10 years ago just because I wanted to create possibilities for my students to use English language in authentic communication situations. It was quite another thing to tell about oneself, one’s own school and hometown

to a young European partner, who is genuinely interested in exchanging ideas and experiences, than to tell these same things to a classmate you know since kindergarten. The active use of language on discussion boards and collaboration when carrying out project tasks increased students’ motivation and significantly improved their language skills.

It is clear that in basic education all students won’t be able to participate in student exchange or mobilities and, environmentally, it wouldn’t be very sustainable. However, eTwinning offers everyone an opportunity for encounters and friendships across borders free of charge and without carbon footprints. It is Internationalization At Home (IaH) at its best.

Rethinking BETT show 2015

This year´s BETT hype was computing, robotics and different kinds of little gadgets you can program to do different things. So far I’ve been thinking very positively about coding and even attended a couple of courses to understand a bit more about what it’s all about – especially as coding is now included in the Finnish school core curriculum. At BETT I started to get increasingly concerned about engineers taking over education.

It’s clear that the big businesses are mainly interested in selling (actual) things: tablets, laptops, mobile devices, robots, 3D printers, screens (the bigger  the better), smart boards etc. A few years back everybody was talking about serious games and gamification of learning. Well, it proved to be something teachers found exciting and full of possibilities, but the schools had/have no money, so the interest in developing serious games slowly expired. No big bucks in that line of business. Now, we've come to the point where teachers and students are encouraged to create learning games themselves. It develops creativity and problem solving skills. Yippee! And your hard work will be recognized by a cute digital badge, if you share your game with the rest of the world.

In the light of sustainable development and solutions for the future, I’d like to see more open learning solutions, less to do with different devices and more to do with thinking and problem solving. More BYOD-based and 1:2-4 learning, prioritizing collaboration and team work skills, communication and creative inquiry.  For me the idea of the internet of things in which I have to update my washing machine (and all other home electronics) once in six months and change it for a newer model every two years is a horrible nightmare. Perhaps, it’s not a surprise that WALL-E is one of my all-time film favorites.

However, contrary to the show of things, I did enjoy the show of thoughts at BETT. Dr. Ashley Tan questioned the conventional way of flipping. It shouldn’t just be teachers working overtime making videos and students doing their homework in a bit different way than usual. Flipping entails rethinking of teaching and curriculum. In true flipping the conventional classroom roles are flipped, students are learning content creators and teach each other. For me that’s an inspiring idea and supports students engagement and them taking ownership of their learning. It shows way towards more personalized learning and design learning.

After spending three days looking at devices, gadgets, things and stuff, it was very refreshing and absolutely fascinating to listen to Sir Ken Robinson talking. He hardly mentioned technologies, but talked very critically about education. “I’m criticizing school culture and standardization, not teachers.” he said. Human mind is inherently creative. Creativity, imagination and innovation should form the corner stones of education. Education should support diversity instead of conformity. I totally agree. But how do I convince the decision makers, as creativity and diversity are difficult to measure and convert into Big Data. Blimey!

#eTwinning10 - down the memory lane

In January 2005, I remember waiting impatiently for the eTwinning portal to be launched. I was looking for European friends for my students. The idea was to start international cooperation using a virtual environment and, at the same time, to develop the students’ English communication and ICT skills. We had prepared an English website for our school in order to facilitate partner finding and our Moodle environment was ready and waiting.

When the portal was opened, I was among the first to register. Within a week I found two enthusiastic teachers willing to try something new and plunge into unknown, one from Poland and the other from Greece. We discussed the project plan and decided the objectives and contents. The title of the project was "To Be Young in Europe in 2005". A couple of weeks later, at the beginning of February the project had been approved and we were able to start.

That spring was great fun and lots of different activities. Web-based international project work was new to all of us, as well as the use of Moodle in teaching and learning. The students were excited when they got to meet other young people online, chat and post letters in forums. We experimented with all kinds of tools and made a lot of mistakes, but it did not spoil the feeling of excitement. We felt that we were educational innovators and pedagogical experimentalists and visionaries.

We were interested in finding out about the pupils' use of ICT. It was easy to create and carry out surveys in the Moodle. So, we made quite a few questionnaires for the pupils about their use of personal computers, mobile phones and game consoles. At that time, 40% of the students didn’t have computers at home and only 50% had their own mobile phones. Today, the percentages would be very close to 100. I found the project report on the net. It still seems surprisingly fresh and up-to-date, even after 10 years. :)

As the students became friends when they learned to know each other, the same happened with us teachers. My Greek partner Panagiotis Kampylis moved to Finland to write his doctoral thesis and is currently working in the European Commission's Research Centre in Seville. I lost contact with Iwona Bujlow from Poland, but now she is again back in eTwinning.

The first eTwinning project is like a beloved child. Not quite perfect, but all the more dear and cherished. That spring, in 2005, I learned so much. I learned about project-based learning, web-based learning and project management. The following autumn I started two new projects and had much clearer idea, from the start, about what to do and how to construct a collaborative project in a virtual learning environment. As a result our project  won the eTwinning competition in 2006 in the series "pedagogic innovation". Since then it has been 10 years of projects, learning events, conferences and seminars, as well as a huge number of friends all over Europe. It sure has been worth it!

UNESCO-schools strive for peace and sustainable development

More than 50 Finnish UNESCO school teachers and head teachers met at the Finnish National Board of Education to network and exchange ideas, as well as reflect on how UNESCO school goals relate to the ongoing core curriculum reform with special focus on internationalization at home.

UNESCO-schools make a global network of schools (ASPnet), which covers levels of education from preschool to teacher training. The network was first established in 1953 to promote peace, equality, democracy and human rights. In recent years, sustainable development and environmental protection have taken an important role, as well as the protection of cultural and world heritage. In practice, the ASPnet activities focus on a variety of flagship projects eg. Baltic Sea, Sandwatch and Learning for the Future.

ASPnet network has got a new strategy for years 2014 – 2021. In it global citizenship (Global Citizen Education) and Sustainable Development (Education for Sustainable Development) are defined as the main objectives of UNESCO schools.  They are implemented through the integration of global education and sustainable development in school curricula, experimenting new and innovative approaches and teaching methods and strengthening the sharing of information, experiences and good practices among ASPnet schools.

I feel extremely pleased to realize that the education system in Finland is well advanced in these areas already today and the upcoming curriculum reform will take us even further. The increased emphasis on intercultural skills, human rights, active citizenship and sustainable development make the basis of the Finnish core curriculum 2016 and help us raise true Citizens of the World. Thus the Finnish UNESCO schools can take an active role in the ASPnet network and share the Finnish know-how in this sector.

According to the new strategy, UNESCO schools will build a virtual environment and netwok designed for discussion and sharing of ideas across the world (ASPNET in Action). In Finland, also, social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) will be used in promoting ASPnet goals, sharing best practices and building regional networks. To achieve these goals UNESCO schools will cooperate closely with the surrounding community, families, organizations, and entrepreneurs. Everyone wants to promote good and build a better world.

The UNESCO school profile is strengthened when the whole school participates and is committed to common goals. Students’ engagement is crucial. Peace education, conflict resolution, human rights and the protection of the environment can be highlighted at school on a regular basis, eg. by monthly theme days  during which cross-curricular and student-centered learning-methods can be applied.

In 2012 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon launched the Global Education First Initiative (GEFI), which aims to put every child in school, to improve the quality of learning and foster global citizenship. Education must be transformative (!) and cultivate respect for the world and each other. These objectives are also at the hearts of UNESCO schools. In the words of the Secretary-General:

When we put Education First, we can reduce poverty and hunger, end wasted potential – and look forward to stronger and better societies for all.

Global is a perspective to every topic

A three-day International Symposium dealing with Education of Global Citizens took place in Hanasaari (Finland) from 5th to 7th May. The general aim of the symposium was to explore, share and promote concepts, pedagogy and practice concerning the education of global citizens, particularly in general education. Two Finnish initiatives were in special focus, namely the proposal for the new core curriculum mainstreaming global education and the KOMPPI school development partnerships creating global responsibility.

In his opening keynote Liam Wegimont identified a number of conceptual challenges: “Global education has emerged as a field that is largely consensual, anti-theoretical and makes assumptions that are ungrounded. “ Karen Pashby responded to the challenge by applying ethical approach to global education. She juxtaposed soft and critical Global Citizenship Education, the first representing universalism with one shared view of good life and the second reflexivity and dialogue interrogating our good intentions and putting action into context. Regarding global competences, she argued that they cannot have static definitions as in the rapidly changing world challenges are growing and multiplying.

Werner Wintersteiner brought up three interconnected western burdens, namely Auschwitz, Hiroshima and colonialism that underlie our relationship to Global Citizenship. In his résumé he concluded that Global Education is a challenge to Eurocentric views of the world, is a project rather than a ready made concept and needs a global educational dialogue (to pick three from a list of many).

Ethical, civic, ecological and intercultural competences of global citizens were discussed deeply in the four different workshops. On the basis of the workshop reports and the keynotes the Symposium agreed upon shared conclusions that will be published later (here, too, I hope).

On Wednesday afternoon, we had a stately visitor, as Minister Pekka Haavisto talked about development cooperation. “Ownership and reciprocity are at the heart of international development and peace keeping projects,” he said. He also referred to the Millennium Development Goals and said that there’s a small gap in quantity but a big gap in quality in reaching the MGs of education. Education of teachers is the key development area in developing countries.

In his closing words Helmuth Hartmeyer emphasized the need to put justice at the core of Global Education and to recognize the distinction and relations between individual ethics and the underlying power structure. He also reminded us about the pedagogical challenge: education cannot be transferred, only acquired by dialogue, engagement and fun.

The symposium was organized by the Finnish National Board of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education and Culture and Global Education Network Europe (GENE).

OPPI: celebrating learning

Finally, an international learning festival dealing with the most fascinating and mind-blowing issues in learning and discussing global challenges and mega trends without stiff self-important lectures and academic jargon. Even if some of the topics were serious and heartfelt, the atmosphere in general was relaxed and joyful.

As hierarchies are inevitably crumbling down and flexible global networks and learning communities are gradually replacing them, as students become more and more engaged in their own learning, more and more self-organized and they participate in the process as designers, it’s only proper that also in “conferences” participants are actively taking part, learning by doing, creating new contacts and joining new networks. The 21st century way of learning in which the learner is at the centre should be applied throughout in professional development, teacher training, seminars, workshops and conferences.

New ideas and fresh points of view were presented in many of the discussions, lectures and workshops. Students’ voices were heard and a little bit of music and circus and lot of play were included.

For me, PISA statistics and comparisons were very thought-provoking. Why do boys and students with immigrant background do so badly compared with girls? How much of that is due to teachers and teaching? Majority of Finnish teachers are white female high-achievers. Do they even speak the same language with boys and immigrant pupils? How is it possible that the Finnish students with very low self-belief, motivation and engagement still have the best learning results in Europe? Is it, at least partly, due to the “good girl” syndrome? And, seriously, what does this kind of lack of motivation and engagement do to creativity and collaboration?

On the other hand, Saku Tuominen’s workshop in which he presented his mindset for dreaming and doing was quite inspirational. I’ve always been an advocate of learning by boing, but now I think I’ll include dreaming in the equation as well. I’m sure a dreamstorming session now and then in a Finnish classroom would make a difference. Dreaming as such is fun, but including doing (realizing your dreams) in the process is what makes it life-changing. It goes very well together with “thinking globally, acting locally” principle.

I also took part in OPPI TeachMeet livestream, my first ever. I really enjoy these semi-spontaneous meetings in which the participants are at centre. The feeling was very warm and encouraging thanks to Oliver Quinlan and Tim Walker. I also shared a little OPPIstory from my classroom a few years back. Yey!

I love Sugata Mitra. I’ve once heard him lecture about the hole-in-the-wall experience/experiment a few years ago and I’ve been an absolute fan since. His school in the cloud is a dream almost come true. It was fantastic to hear him again. He never fails to challenge us. He’s all for minimally invasive teaching and self-organized learning. So, he suggested, teachers shouldn’t be guides but friends. Wow! What do you say to that? A lot of re-thinking to do!

Curriculum development - towards 21st century skills and literacies

Schools and learning worldwide are challenged by globalization and digitalization. New skills and literacies are required from the 21st century citizens. With people travelling more and more freely across borders to work and study, intercultural and communication skills will make an essential part of the new literacies. When using new technologies, we can travel anywhere and meet anyone (virtually) anytime. Digitalization and global networks are bound together in a way that is changing the world faster than we can imagine.

Instead of what, general education will have to be about how. How to find relevant information in the world in which new knowledge is being built constantly and its amount is growing exponentially? How to collaborate and work together in different kinds of teams, communities and networks that can be global and multicultural? How to find and use the best ICT tools and applications for a wide range of tasks and how to use audio, video, pictures and diagrams to present and express our ideas in the most appropriate way?

To cope with the constant changes, besides communication and ICT skills, citizens of the future will need flexible intellectual capacity to think creatively, learn to learn and reflect on their thinking/learning. But being a global citizen is not only being connected and move smoothly from one network to another. It’s also about feeling responsible for the well-being of the world, making choices that support sustainable development and fostering peace, equality and human rights.

To educate a new generation capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century, the school culture (the way we do things at school) has to be radically changed. In the future, the learning process will be characterized by asking questions, finding answers and building knowledge (rather than transferring information). Teachers and students will collaborate and work together in flexible teams and classes. Students will design their own learning and exploit their strengths in project-, problem- or inquiry-based learning activities. They’ll learn by doing, playing and discussing.

The learning environments will be diverse and open in many different ways.  A lot of learning takes place in real-life or virtual environments. Textbooks are used as any other sources, not guiding the learning process or defining its content. Students build and create their own eBooks and learning materials and share them with other learners. Students can consult experts and work together with their peers in other countries around the world and share knowledge and ideas.

Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Hopefully, building communities across borders and making friends around the world will also make us gradually understand the true essence of global citizenship and this globe of ours a bit better place to live.