Global Education

As I go through my blog and refresh the look and content, I have added in one page for the Global Education course. In that page, I tell about the documentary that Anna and I made in Nepal.

Here's the video, if you are interested. And even if you aren't, here it is anyway.

Reference

http://www.globaleducationfirst.org/index.html

VOC I - session 1

As I go back over the sessions we had in VOC I, here I report on what my findings were, what the groups presented and how I find it relevant to my own pedagogical learning and working life. All of these session reports will also be found here, from my own blog's VOC I page.

Session 1, 17.9.2013

For the first session, we acted as the Chair Group, which simply meant that we had to supervise the other groups in terms of timekeeping and making sure that things flowed technically. For me, it wasn’t difficult and I even found it enjoyable as there was no heavy burden to present anything, so in that sense it was an easy start. At the same time, I was able to follow and participate in the other groups’ presentations.

Team Dewey: What is learning?

This proved to be a wide-ranging look at many different theories and theorists. We learned about Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, David A. Kolb’s Experimental Learning, Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs, Behaviourism & Cognitivism and Humanism & Constructivism. To cover so much in such a short session was ambitious, but there was still space to discuss and digest these ideas. A lot of things at this stage fall into the category of being at the same time new and familiar, because they are grounded in common sense, so we can immediately understand what is being discussed and why it is relevant.

Multiple Intelligences is one subject we covered during the contact session and that’s also something that I have some to appreciate in my own teaching. I think I am keeping it more firmly at the front of my mind that students just do have different ways of learning and that there’s real empirical value in tailoring the studies to best fit different styles. For me, the significance of this cannot be overstated.

References:

http://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/index.htm (an interesting site where you can take a test to see what your own style of intelligence is)

Team Freire: The role of learning styles in teaching/tutoring

After covering some basics of education/learning theory, Team Freire concentrated on developing an understanding of McCarthy’s 4mat Theory of learning styles.

To summarize, this involves four basic styles of learning as follows:

Type One
Imaginative Learning–Feeling and watching, seeking personal associations, meaning, involvement.
Making connections. Key question: Why?

Type Two
Analytic Learning–Listening to and thinking about information; seeking facts, thinking through ideas; learning what the experts think. Formulating ideas. Key question: What?

Type Three
Common Sense Learning–Thinking and doing. Experimenting, building, creating usability. Tinkering.
Applying ideas. Key question: How?

Type Four
Dynamic Learning–Doing and feeling. Seeking hidden possibilities, exploring, learning by trial and error, self-discovery. Creating original adaptations. Key question: If?

Again, for me this is something I can accept without friction. If I had to bracket myself into one of these styles, I think I would go along with either Two or Three. I always want to know what the smart folks have thought about the issues before, so I want to be quite academic in my reseach and read lots of books. Then, I find real value in playing with subject, experimenting, tinkering with ideas and testing things in (sometimes very tight) frames, to see how they work under pressure and if I can really get my head around them.

One real challenge in here is finding out what makes the students tick and that can often be a case of trial and error. I think it’s important, especially when you don’t know the learners well enough, to present a wide variety of different styles and then pay close attention to what they seem to respond best to.

References:

http://www.4mationweb.com/4mationweb/4mat.php

http://www.aboutlearning.com/what-is-4mat

Team Vygotsky: What is progressive learning?

The last session, from Team Vygotsky was just as interesting and informative as the other two. To tackle this issue, we looked at Kai Hakkarainen’s model of Progressive Inquiry and compared it to Kolb’s Experiential Learning.

Below you can see roughly what it looks like and how it seeks to mirror the same methods employed in the scientific community. This is especially useful in learning when it takes place within a  group and the target is problem solving and knowledge building. In my own experience, I have employed something similar when working with groups of students in game design project and it’s much better (and I feel much more confident with it) if I have a concrete theory to fall back on and a good working plan.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_inquiry

Summer 2014 update

In the interest of continuing on from what has been achieved so far and developing my understanding of my own position as a pedagogical student, I here address a series of questions posed by Juha, our tutor.

My most memorable learning experiences

If I think back to what were formative learning experiences for me growing up, I would say that they involved those school subjects where I both had an intuitive interest in the subject and the right kind of person teaching it. 

The subjects I enjoyed most as school were English and Modern Studies (which is kind of like media, politics, global events etc.). In both cases I had teachers who were incredibly knowledgeable as well as passionate about the subjects. For whatever reason, I got on well with those teachers and that meant I was able to feed off their enthusiasm and also approach them with side issues relating to the subjects. They always had time for that.

Upon going to university I also found that the best rapport I had with my lecturers was when I found them approachable.

I find that those things are important for me in making a good teacher: knowledge, passion and approachability. 

My formal studies & learning history (classroom and virtual)

My formal education started in Scotland. Having completed my Standard Grades (at age 15/16) I did what was expected and stayed on for the Highers (like the English equivalent A Levels). I completed Highers in Maths, English, French, Computing Science, Marketing and Modern Studies, earning me the right to attend university, studying a joint degree in Philosophy and Film & Media.

In Finland I have completed a Masters degree in Visual Culture at Taik (now Aalto University), making my final work about writing and directing comedy for short fiction films.

Until the OAMK pedagogical studies, I had had no experience of virtual learning environments, aside from using Moodle to set up a course for my own students in my own working life.

My personal teaching history

I started working as a teacher of English as a second language in 2003. It was never my intention to work as a teacher; my education was in film and TV. I did it for the money. After a while I found that I enjoyed it and I was good at it. That continued for a number of years and eventually I switched my teaching profession away from a Folk High-School and started teaching in a Vocational school, teaching the subjects I was genuinely passionate about, in the audiovisual communication department in SATAEDU.

In all, I have been working full-time as a teacher in Finland for approximately 11 years and whilst the subjects have changed, I feel confident in my ability as a teacher, though I hope I will always be improving.

How do people learn the best in vocational settings?

In my opinion, people learn best by doing things, working on projects and having the people and facilities around them to support and encourage them in their learning. There should be space for making mistakes and learning on one’s own should be actively encouraged. It is a well-known phenomenon that the best students learn outside of the classroom as well as inside it.

My preferred learning styles

In terms of learning styles, I prefer to work with other people. I like having clear goals and clear frames in place. There has to be a challenge, too. It always helps to motivate me if I can see the bigger picture of why I am learning something.

 What makes an effective (vocational) teacher?

There are many things which make effective vocational teachers and they don’t have to be the same things for everyone. In a proper vocational school environment, the teaching staff should basically work together to form a whole collective which is able to deal with delivering effective education as a team. This means that someone should be like a student councellor, someone should have good organizational skills, someone should be very technical, someone should have lots of contacts in the professional field, someone should have the ideas, someone should lead the others… Not everyone has to have all of the attributes.

In this respect, I think the qualities of teamwork and important, so that whatever the skills of the teacher, they can be employed appropriately and appreciated by the whole group. 

How the curriculum directs the development of studies (and teaching)?

Curriculum has, of course, a significant effect on studies and teaching. When setting up any kind of course, understanding the content in terms of context is vital. If I am asked to teach something I am unfamiliar with, the first thing I do is ask the person I consider to be most knowledgeable a series of question:

What are the students supposed to get from the course (according to the curriculum)? 
 How has this been taught before? 
What worked best and what could have worked better in the previous approach? 
What are the special challenges that could come up in teaching this? 
How will this be evaluated?
 

Then once I have the answers to those questions, I come up with a rough plan for the course and go back to the same teacher to look at it and see if they think it will work, what changes will be made.

But the first question is always just simply a question of asking what, according to the curriculum, they are supposed to be learning and that influences everything else that follows.

What methods of assessment can I use and in which contexts?

There are, of course, many methods of assessment. The method used is always decided upon in relation to the subject and the students. If I am teaching scriptwriting, there is always a series of theoretical sections followed by short exercises to demonstrate understanding. Then the students have to produce their own script, employing the theory which has been imparted. This is normally an individual process and through rewrites and dialogue with myself, it can be seen how much they are grasping the subject. What’s important for me is that they demonstrate learning by doing the thing, not passing a test which asks abstract questions about scriptwriting.

How do I use technology in my field of pedagogy?

I use technology in my field of pedagogy in various ways. I communicate with colleagues and students alike using the technology of electronic mail as well as the telephone (which is older technology, but technology all the same).

When I am teaching I often use Prezi for making presentations (and make them available to the students to use for future reference) and I have also started using Padlet sometimes. I have been using a SmartBoard for a couple of years and find that a very useful piece of technology. Then there are the tools of the trade, which for me are mostly editing software for video (Adobe Premiere), photo editing (Photoshop and Lightroom) as well as the free scriptwriting software Celtx.

Analysis of my competences in teaching

I would say my competences are in the areas of cooperation, organization and motivation. There are some fields that I am more expert in and some that I could certainly improve in. I have found myself teaching Dreamweaver for web design and that’s something I only know the basics of, so very quickly the students know as much as me. I also feel I am lacking in sound techniques.

Familiarizing myself with the studies and planning ahead

As far as the studies are concerned, I am confident now about what I have done and fairly confident about what still has to be done. The key thing that remains in the teaching practice and that’s really the next goal for me in completing the whole course. I hope that I can do that this coming autumn here in Tampere.

My future as a vocational teacher

My future as a vocational teacher is somewhat up in the air right now. I no longer work in SATAEDU, so I am currently looking for similar employment in the same field but closer to home. I am also open to other kinds of challenges, so it really remains to be seen what will happen in my professional life.

Special Needs Education task

The first part of the Special Needs Education task, writing a reply to the following email:

“Dear Eki,

I’m writing this letter because I’m starting to worry about my son’s future. At the moment he is a happy, 16 year old student on a special class, where he has studied since he started school. My son is autistic (communicating with him is difficult and his behaviour and speaking are often repetitive) and has always had problems in math. I think that part of the learning disability can be just because he is not interested I math and the teachers during the years have not always been qualified. His intelligence is anyway a bit above average and he is very talented in geography. Also his memory is extremely good. He has still a year to go before making decisions about the future, but I have some questions I would like to have answered, to calm my nerves:

1. Is it possible that he could continue in normal vocational education or upper secondary high school with an assistant? He has had one since he was three. What requirements there are in his case? Are there some other options if the normal vocational school is not a possibility?

2. What laws and standards there are concerning special needs in vocational education? What rights (f.ex. inclusion, special support) my son has as a student of a vocational school?

Daddy -71”

And my response:

 

Dear Daddy -71,

Thank you for your letter. It’s always good to receive questions from parents about their children and we do our best to provide the answers you are looking for.

In answer to your first question, yes it is possible that your son should be able to continue in vocational education and there are a number of avenues open to him in that area. There are courses which are entirely set up for special needs students and then there is the possibility to enroll in other courses with a personal study plan so as to overcome any specifically challenging subjects.

There are, as with all vocational education dreams, some limitations about exactly what subjects one can study and where, so it’s sensible to keep in mind the locations of those possibilities and see what your son is most interested in and where those places can be applied from.

For the second question, it is very much worth noting that everyone living in Finland legally has the right to education, regardless of mental or physical state. That your son has been able to lean on support thus far in his education should only go to underscore this fact and put you at ease. Nothing changes beyond any point and I hope and trust that you will always find people willing to help find solutions to the challenges you face.

The next step, I suggest, would be coming in for a meeting, with myself, your son and the careers councellor all present, so we can together weigh up the best options.

For further information, you can check out the following links:

http://www.ammatillinenerityisopetus.fi/

http://www.luovi.fi/

http://www.esteetonamis.fi/

I hope this response has proven useful and I look forward to hearing from you again in the near future.

All the best for now,

Christopher (Eki) Smith

For the second task, I interviewed one of my colleagues, Tuija Niinisalo, about what it's like to work with secial needs children, the day to day challenges and how she overcomes them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAFOr9PtQkU

Sustainable Development

Here follows my task answers for the Sustainable Development course.

Firstly, I was asked to come up with my own definition of sustainable development, without regarding any references or anything, so just off the top of my head.

I would say that sustainable development involves exploring means of consumption that give the best chance of maintaining current practices.

Then, after watching one video and reading some text, I could refine my definition:

Sustainable development encapsulates other factors than ecological, which is what my definition rather narrowly centred on. It also includes a social and economic side and involves the ways in which those areas overlap.

Finally, I answered the questions put to me in the blog:

a.    Please explain briefly your own interest in Sustainable Development.

I would say that my own interest in sustainable development is rather tenuous. If anything, my level of apathy towards these issues might be something I’m uncomfortable about.

At best, there might be something going on at a fairly subconscious level.

I suppose, when I think about it, I try to not use the car if I don’t have to (sometimes), I try to buy products that I believe are not directly responsible for messing up the planet and I recycle paper and cardboard. When I lived in Scotland, I voted for the Green party. I don’t vote in Finland. And I’m a vegetarian, though whatever sustainable benefits that has are accidental.

b.    If you are from another culture than Finnish give a brief overview of the socio- political landscape of the country, resources and their constraints. What are the values and the attitudes of the local people towards sustainable development? Are there any concerns related to sustainable development long term?

I am from another country, but it’s been many years since I lived there. In Scotland, I remember there being a real lag in implementing things like recycling options with different types of bins and options for bottle and can returns. I don’t know if those things have caught up now. I think there’s still lots to be done in this area in Scotland, but I am just not sure what advancements have been made in recent years.

c.    How should one direct, govern and teach sustainable development in schools?

The situation in school is critical, I would say. How should it happen? With gusto! With imagination, enthusiasm, support, with a long view to making a real difference to the way people think about these things, so that children are raised with a holistic view of sustainability, so that it influences the way they think about everything.

d.    How does sustainable development link to your area of work or study? (Think of the three spheres of sustainability: economic, social and environmental) Please give some ideas of how you could combine or apply a sustainability perspective to your subject.

The subject that I primarily teach is in film studies; chiefly documentary, scriptwriting and directing performance.

In terms of economic sustainability, I guess I could speak to students about awareness of the economics of the film industry, so that they are aware of the costs of things and so on. I don’t really know.

The social side is easier. I can influence the types of material the students work with in documentary, both those documentaries that are watched in the class and those subjects which they choose to tackle. Looking at issues of poverty, gender equality, racism, etc. would help the students themselves to understand these issues better.

Likewise the social aspect can be influenced by the types of material they students look at and the types of subjects they tackle.

e.    What was especially interesting or even surprising for you in this material?

The thing that most piqued my interest in this subject was the concept of economic sustainability. I’m pretty naïve on the subject of economics generally, so I found that this is a big hole in my knowledge.

The best definition I found for this term was:

“Economic sustainability is the word used to pinpoint numerous strategies that make it conceivable to use accessible resources to their best advantage. The idea is to uphold the use of those resources in a way that is both skillful and responsible, and likely to deliver long-term benefits.” which I found here.

I plan to investigate further this idea and see what effect it can have on myself as a teacher.