Interviews Cheryl Jackson of Canada interviews Pasi Sahlberg, the Executive Director of the Center for International Mobility and Cooperation in Helsinki, Finland and the author of “Finnish Lessons, What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland?” |
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Excerpts from Pasi Sahlberg on Finland’s educational goals: “To provide equal education opportunities for everybody to be successful. Since we don’t have standardized data through student achievements, to be successful has to be defined in a different way, so we are not comparing our students to the National averages or any standardized means but we are often comparing students against their own abilities.” Pasi on Finland’s grooming students to become educators: "In countries that rely more and more on holding teachers
accountable, intensifying the testing of students, having teachers’ salaries related
to the students performance, this is moving away those young people who would
consider teaching because they think this is not what teaching and working with
children is all about.” Pasi Sahlberg on beginning formal schooling at 7 years of age and the role of Kindergarten in Finland: “The Kindergarten system is not part of the education system. There is no educational element before the children are the age of six. Many people believe it is good to be a child as long as possible. You will have your time to be in an institution and be told what to do. Learning to be together with other people is more important.” Interview Questions designed for Educational Experts in Finland: As a part of a country case study, our group conducted e-mail interviews with several experts in the field of education and one face-to-face interview. We felt it was important to use the same wording when contacting educational experts, so our group made the decision to send a standard interview invitation email in English and in Finnish to each of the recipients in Finland. Below are the two invitations: Dear
______________________, (name) Finnish translation Hyvä Kirsi Kangaspunta, Olen yhteyttä sinua pyytämään apua. Olen opettajana Yhdysvalloissa. Työskentelen kohti minun maisteri Instructional Technology Marylandin yliopistossa, University College. Tällä hetkellä olen kirjoilla luokan nimeltä "Integration of Technology: Global Perspectives".Lyhyt kuvaus luokka on "tutkia globaalin näkökulmat etenee K-12 opiskelijoiden oppimista teknologian avulla". Minun nykyinen projekti tutkii koulujärjestelmän Suomessa, nimenomaan teidän teknologian käyttöä edistämään koulutusta opiskelijoiden Kindergarten kautta luokka 12. Etsin opettaja haastatteluun. Kysyn jos saisinko haastatella sinua käyttäen lyhyttä lista kysymyksiä ja mahdollisesti seurata kysymyksiä. Mukana tässä email on lista kysymyksiä, toivon teidän pitää vastata. Vastauksesi käytetään tutkimusraportissa ja projekti. Kiitän jo etukäteen huomioon ja odotan kuulevani sinusta. Ystävällisin terveisin, Questions and Rationales 1. Please describe your current role/position and give a brief description of any previous positions you have held. Rationale: This question was specifically asked because it is important to have authentic research from experts in the field of education in Finland. Credible resources are an important part of the research and synthesis process. 2. How is technology used in the classroom? What types of technology are available in classrooms and in schools (including assisted learning devices)? How often do your students have access to this technology? Rationale: The purpose of this question is to determine how many computers are available to the students in the classroom and in the school setting and to evaluate the average students’ use of computers in schools. Since there are so many types of technology available, it would be interesting to find which are used in Finland’s schools to support learning. 3. Are teachers provided with professional development training regarding the use of technology? Can you give examples of technology training? Rationale: Since one of the main reasons technology is not embraced by teachers is their lack of knowledge and training, it is important to discover how much training is provided to teachers and how the training might relate to their use of technology. 4. Have your students participated in any projects with peers from other countries? Are there any projects you would like your students to participate in that would allow them to learn about cultures other than your own and communicate with their peers from other countries? Please briefly describe. Rationale: The answer to this question might help us understand the technology needs of the school system, the importance they place on technology in schools and how accessible computers are to students when they are outside of school. 5. Please explain your country’s vision for the future of technology integration in your K-12 school systems. Rationale: It is important to understand Finland’s commitment to the use of technology in the classroom, to find out what their goals are for implementing new technologies in the future, and how committed Finland is to the challenges that will be presented in teaching 21st century skills. 6. What is the single most important piece of information the United States can learn from Finland about technology integration in the educational system? Rationale: To pinpoint why these subject matter experts feel technology is a successful component in their educational system. How does the use of technology impact the classroom? What can we learn from their thoughts on this vital component? 7. Do you believe that Finland's use of technology is significantly related to your success as an educational system? If so, how? If not, what can be attributed to your success? Rationale: As educators who are constantly attempting to move technology integration forward, we can learn a lot from the number one education system in the world. The US education system frequently revamps testing, plans, and curricula, in order to make our system more successful. While looking at other successful education systems in the world, it is important for us to understand whether other countries can attribute their success to technology availability and integration or whether there are other pertinent factors. 8. How does Finland’s school system deal with overcrowding and the use of technology? Rationale: Students are influenced by their environment and many of the schools in the United States are overcrowded. I’ve read about “temporary” classrooms (which seem to stay in place for years) being setup throughout the country, extreme rotation of lunch periods, and teachers even sharing classrooms. In light of overcrowding, how much quality time do students regularly spend using technology? Do Finnish schools have a plan that deals with this issue that works?
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Interview questions and answers from Finland experts as presented in the follow Finland Country Case Study: From: Rekola, Heini From: Keisi Ella Questions:
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