The course
- gives a picture of everyday classroom work in Finnish School
- brings together the theory and the practice of education in the work of a teacher
- contributes to a better understanding of the teacher - pupil/student interaction
- helps to understand the approach to see the pupils as unique individuals and a part of the school community

Modes of study: Observation, written tasks, report

Observation: Exchange student will observe Finnish school classes according to a schedule in all of 20 hours on three grades. 10 hours should be in primary and 10 hours in secondary and in upper secondary school.

Written tasks: Student writes a learning diary on every observation session. The arising questions will be discussed with the teacher in charge of the observed lesson in a separate two one hour-meetings.

Report: In the end students will compose a scientific report (10 pages) on the ground of the learning diaries and literature. The report should include also a personal contribution and cross-cultural comparison between the schools in Finland and in one’s own country.

Instructions for the learning diary:

Learning diary is a short written text (1-2 pages of each observation session, for example) introducing the main arguments and other important points of the lecture. The written text is processed through student’s own remarks and interpretations. Therefore the learning diary reflects student’s individual thinking of the observed learning situation, and thus is the result of a "dialogue" between student’s pre-knowledge and new information. Student should tell how his/her existing knowledge has changed due to the observed teaching session.

Instructions for the essay (based on the learning diary)

Essay on observation of Finnish School System should be 10-15 pages long text written in a free form. In the essay the student tells about his/her experiences during the observation. It is expected that the essay contains a description of the observed school and Finnish schooling system (with references, such as books, articles and other information available e.g. Internet) and that the student reflects what he/she has learnt during the time of the observation.

It is also expected that the essay includes issues, such as 1) how schools in Finland differ from the schools in student’s home country? 2) What good/poor experiences the observation has offered to the student? 3) What countries can learn from each other with respect to school systems?

Available only for the exchange students of The School of Education.