| 2015
Education Excellence from Finland
The International
FinnWayLearning TIMES
THE BEST EDUCATION EXPERTISE IN THE WORLD
Visit Turku and benefit from our know-how.
Dear Reader, The educational institutions in the Turku region founded the FinnWayLearning consortium in 2013 to promote and market Finnish educational know-how abroad.
Why Finland?
Finland is a nation where high-quality education has proved essential in building wealth and social stability. The educational outcomes of Finnish schools are among the very best in the world; the nation has been at or near the top in PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) rankings ever since the program was started in 2000. Despite this success, Finnish children do not spend extraordinary amounts of time at school, and neither does Finland as a nation spend extraordinary amounts of money on education. A 2014 study by GEMS Education Solutions found that the key to Finland’s success is efficiency; in fact, according to their metrics, Finland has the most cost-efficient education system in the entire world (see www.edefficiencyindex.com for more information).
Why FinnWayLearning?
The FinnWayLearning educational consortium offers the very best of Finnish educational expertise. The members of the consortium are: • City of Turku Education Division – an institution with strong practical know-how in developmental projects as well as the day-to-day organization of early childhood, primary, and both general and vocational secondary education • University of Turku – an internationally acclaimed research university with special focus on learning and education, life sciences, and mathematics • Turku University of Applied Sciences – a multidisciplinary higher education institution with close connections to the local business environment • Novia University of Applied Sciences – Finland’s largest Swedish-language university of applied sciences with a strong maritime specialization • Turku Adult Education Centre – a provider of work-life oriented vocational and practical training
Why not visit us?
The member organizations of the FinnWayLearning consortium are ready to share their know-how on all educational matters at all educational levels. The articles in this magazine represent just the tip of the iceberg; the best way to get a full picture of what we can offer to you and your organization is through a Study Visit, which is also a great way of getting acquainted with Finland’s acclaimed educational system. Both the program and the duration of the visit can be fully tailored to your individual needs. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us at info@finnwaylearning.fi . You can also learn more about our services online at www.finnwaylearning.fi
Learn from the Best – Secrets Behind the Success of Finnish Education 6 Education Outside the Box 9 A Visit to Finnish Schools Impressed Dutch Teachers 10 Bringing Flexibility into Vocational Education 12 Quality Assurance: From External Control to Self-Evaluation 14 Tools for Quality Enhancement 17 Career Change as an Adult
Supporting the Student Pays Off 19 KiVa Anti-bullying Program 21 How to Raise Healthy School Kids 23 Student Well-being from School Meals 24 Student Support – A Win-Win Proposition 25 Making Sense of Student Support 26 Youth Guarantee – the Right Thing to Do
Excellent Results with Innovative Learning Methods 29 Education for Innovation 30 Commercializing Research Inventions 31 Entrepreneurial mindset from Business Academy 32 Supporting Language Teaching with ICT 33 Cultural Training to a Game Giant
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Education Outside
the Box
During the five years it has been operational, the Kohmo School Unit in Turku has boldly experimented with non-traditional ways of setting up early basic education. The results are encouraging, and the greatest beneficiaries are children who would risk social or learning difficulties in a regular school setting. Administration does not equal control Kohmo is a relatively new suburb in Turku. Previously, children growing up in the area attended the district’s main school, to which the journey is not easy – especially for a young child. All this changed, when Kohmo got its own school unit in 2009. The building was designed to have facilities for local first and second-graders as well as a daycare center and preschool. According to the Finnish educational philosophy, administration does not equal control. To establish the new unit, Saara Mälkönen, a primary school
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teacher who volunteered for the job, was given a budget for furnishing, equipment, and interior decoration. She also naturally had to work within the parameters set by the national curriculum; other than that, she was free to design the school unit and its practices as she saw fit. “I may be the first teacher who got to choose the floor materials for her school,” Saara laughs. “I wanted the children to feel at home in our school, so I chose the colors and furniture accordingly.” “I also had some influence in recruiting, so I could bring in people who have compatible views and work well together,” she says and is quick to add that the Kohmo unit is a collaborative effort at heart.
Groupings based on needs, not just age Work at the Kohmo unit started out in a traditional fashion with separate first and second grades. However, it turned out that starting class sizes in the area varied wildly from one year to the next. This led Saara and her colleagues to try a combined first and second grade, which, in turn, brought
The International FinnWayLearning Times 2015 Editor-in-chief: Sanna Merisalo Coeditors: Timo Haukioja, Matti M채kel채 Layout: Mia G채stgivar Printing: NewPrint 2015 Pictures: Namutehdas, Pixhill, Mia G채stgivar, Jarmo Linkosaari, Lauri Tiikasalo, partners and organisations of FinnWayLearning consortium Publisher: FinnWayLearning FinnWayLearning is a collaboration between the City of Turku and several regional education establishments. The International FinnWayLearning Times 2015 | 7
picture: Lauri Tiikasalo
about the idea of a central concept for the entire unit: school groupings that are based on pedagogical needs instead of age. In Kohmo, the first two years of basic education are now seen as a whole. The goal is to have everyone reach the second-grade learning requirements before they leave for third grade in the district’s main school. In the rare cases that this does not happen in two years, the child remains in Kohmo for an additional year. Saara believes that these children are the greatest beneficiaries of the Kohmo method. “If someone stays here for a third year, they will know half of their classmates from the previous year, and they’ll get to work with teachers they already know. What’s more, because half of their new class will be just starting school, they do not feel like they’re the ones at the bottom.”
Benefits of peer learning In Kohmo, the children do a lot of assignments on which they work in pairs or small groups. Peer learning through groups work is a great way of improving social skills and building group cohesion. When comparing 8 | The International FinnWayLearning Times 2015
Kohmo with a regular school, Saara has noticed a clear difference in the way children play during recess: “Usually, you see children playing in the same groups they study in. Here, in the classroom everyone studies with everyone at some point, so in the yard everyone plays with everyone else. This is heartwarming to see, and it’s especially great for shy kids who might have trouble making friends in a standard school setting.” Saara believes that the methods used at the Kohmo unit could bring similar benefits to larger schools as well. The main school in the district has already decided to adopt some of these practices – a process that may soon gain more traction, as Saara herself follows her current second-graders there as their new third-grade teacher. “I won’t be here next fall, but the Kohmo unit and its new, innovative methods will remain,” she says. “I believe visiting our unit and observing our practices first-hand can help educators take a peek outside the box and see what the courage to try something new can lead to. And we’re still not done with evolving; we’ve stepped outside traditional boundaries before, so who knows what the unit will be like in a year or two?”
A Visit to Finnish Schools Impressed Dutch Teachers Rianne van der Heide, Gea Kelderhuis, Manon van der Werf and Rosanna Dÿkstra from Stenden University at Leeuwarden were part of a group of Dutch teachers who took part in a study visit to Turku as a part of their Master’s studies. “We really enjoyed the school visits,” says Gea with the three others agreeing. “I sensed a high degree of trust between teachers and their pupils. I was also surprised to see students from so many cultural backgrounds, and happy to see the way they were allowed to keep their own cultural identity.” “I liked the ‘talk less, do more’ approach the teachers had,” says Rianne, “It reminded me that we should all do less talking and less paperwork, and work more with the children.” “Yes,” Manon agrees and adds: “It seems like in Holland, most of our work is about the child, whereas here they work with the child.”
Teachers highly independent
Rosanna was most impressed by the degree of independence Finnish teachers are granted. “It seems they are given a lot of freedom to choose teaching methods and use what works,” she says. Rianne nods in agreement and adds: “I thought Finnish teachers also see things from a different angle. One of them said that we shouldn’t focus on making the children ready for school but making the school ready for children, and that idea is something we all want to take back home with us.” When asked if they were happy with their visit and would recommend it to others, the answer is a resounding “Yes!” from all four.
Visits to several places The program of the visit included a presentation of the Finnish education system along with lectures on student evaluation and support models. The visitors also had a chance to observe regular school work in three basic education institutions – the University of Turku teacher training school, a regular primary school with an integrated special education curriculum, and a school dedicated to special education.
SAMPLE CONTENT OF A TWO-DA Y STUDY VISIT Day 1: • Opening and an introduction of the Finnish education system • School visits I – general education classes, small-group special educatio classes n • Presentation on the strengths of Finnish basic education • Mini-workshop on teaching method s and learning Day 2: • School visits II – flexible primary educ ation, combined general and special education classes • Presentation on student welfare services (school lunches, healthcare, etc.) • Mini-workshop on transferring teac hing methods and models • Final discussion Study visit programs are individually tailored to the needs of each visiting group. For further information, plea se contact us at info@finnwaylearnin g.fi
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Bringing Flexibility
instructor responsible for guiding on-thejob learners.” The joint assessment of the skills demonstrations by the teachers, workplace instructors and the student is a way to ensure validity and reliability, especially in relation to the objectives In Finland, vocational education and qualifications are and national qualification developed in co-operation with industry. The aim is to make requirements.
into Vocational Education
the transition to the labour market as flexible and efficient as possible. Finnish vocational education and training covers Qualification through a eight fields of education and more than fifty vocational competence test qualifications. Combination of theory and hands-on practice The most common way to obtain a vocational qualification in Finland is through a three-year degree program at a vocational school. The studies are based on individual study plans, consisting of both compulsory and optional study modules. Vocational studies consist of practical hands-on work combined with theory. The studies include at least half a year of on-the-job learning in workplaces, where the student learns first hand in environments specifically geared to their area of study. The students’ learning and competences acquired are assessed throughout the period of study. The assessment is based on criteria defined in the national qualification requirements.
Skills demonstrations as main assessment method Vocational skills demonstrations are one of the most important methods of assessing students in vocational education. During the last fifteen years, over 8,000 workplace instructors in 1,500 enterprises in Southwest Finland have been trained to play an important role as a contact between the workplace and vocational institute. “The skills demonstrations are work assignments given in authentic settings during on-the-job learning periods”, explains teacher Kati Laitervo from Turku Vocational Institute. “They are designed, implemented and assessed in co-operation with a workplace 10 | The International FinnWayLearning Times 2015
Competence-based qualifications offer a more flexible route to a vocational degree. While available to anyone, they have been designed specifically with adults in mind. The training is less constrained to a particular time and place, making it possible to study and work simultaneously. The competence-based qualifications go even further than the vocational skills demonstrations: they offer a vocational qualification based solely on competence demonstrated in specific competence tests. These are organized in an authentic on-the-job setting and assessed by a team of representatives from employee, employer, and educational sector.
Personalized roadmap An individual study plan is designed for each student planning to achieve the vocational qualification through competence tests. The creation of the study plan begins with defining which competences the student can reliably prove to have, based on his/her personal history. Work experience and accomplishments in hobbies, as well as previous degrees and studies in other fields can all be taken into account. After that, it can be determined what educational and/or training needs still remain. “Most candidates take part in some form of preparatory training before their competence tests, but this is entirely voluntary. In an extreme case, the candidate can proceed with no extra training at all; there is no minimum limit on the amount of preparation required before the test can be taken”, Kati Laitervo explains.
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Adult Education – Further Vocational Qualifications recognition of prior learning
Quality Assurance:
competence-based qualifications competence tests
From External Control to Se
lf-Evaluation
Quality assurance in Finnish education underwent a radical change in the early 1990s. Up until that time, quality assurance meant school inspections, regular check-ups whose purpose was to ensure the proper observation of nationally set norms and regulations. Today, the system has been decentralized. Finland has no national school rankings, but instead quality assurance is based on assessing learning outcomes through sample-based evaluations. Locally, the focus is on self-evaluation by teachers, administrators and other stakeholders. Of special importance is the self-evaluation carried out by students. Getting students involved in the assessment of their own learning has been a successful tool in increasing their involvement in their own education and growth, but its impact goes much further; learning proper self-evaluation skills is absolutely vital for life-long learning.
From process to outcome The QA mindset adopted in the early 1990s has clearly paid off in terms of learning outcomes. OECD surveys in adult literacy tell us that Finland can now claim the uncontested top spot in Europe (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies PIAAC, 2012), even though Finnish adults functioned at ‘merely’ above average European level less than two decades ago (International Adult Literacy Survey IALS, 1994–1998). What is more, this has been achieved with limited budgets – the Efficiency Index commissioned by the specialist consultancy company GEMS Education Solutions indicates that when it comes to education, Finland gets more value for the money spent than any other country (see www.edefficiencyindex.com for more information). 12 | The International FinnWayLearning Times 2015
Trust in Qualified Teachers = the freedom to do what works Finnish teachers have a high degree of autonomy in selecting their methods
Universities of Applied Sciences
Universities
internal evaluation
internal evaluation
support from a national body (The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council)
support from a national body (The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council)
Vocational Education andTraining dialogue between education providers and employers
General Upper SecondaryEducation national matriculation examination
skills demonstrations
Basic Education assessment of learning outcomes national benchmarking
Early Childhood Education and Care high qualification requirements for staff national core curriculum
Self-evaluation skill nurtured throughout education
Quality Assurance as a Developmental Tool
basis for life-long learning & posteducation professional development
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ent
Tools for Quality Enhancem
The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council defines quality assurance as all the procedures, processes and systems used by higher education institutions (HEI) to manage and improve the quality of their education and other activities. At European level, the quality assurance policy is coordinated by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). In many countries and in many institutions the role of external quality assurance is dominant. In Finland, the quality assurance systems of HEIs are evaluated by the Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council. But the HEIs themselves are responsible for their internal quality assurance and the success of their education.
Creating an internal quality system Self-evaluation is one part of the internal quality system and culture. In self-evaluation, an institute systematically reviews and reflects on the quality of the instruction and education services provided, and on the outcomes produced by the HEI. Self-evaluation is a starting point for continuous improvement that supports the traditional Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. The CDIO approach (www.cdio.org) plays an important part in the quality assurance and enhancement process. It provides tools for selfevaluating the programs against CDIO standards and their criteria. Although CDIO is not a quality assurance tool, it certainly provides elements that 14 | The International FinnWayLearning Times 2015
support comprehensive development of education. CDIO provides detailed guidelines and criteria for self-evaluation. However, it is up to the program to determine how well it documents evaluations and what kind of a footprint the evaluation process leaves.
Finding the right way Turku University of Applied Sciences has used the CDIO approach in developing our education programs since 2006. Figure 1 describes how CDIO has been integrated into our operations. We also have extensive experience in organizing workshops as well as in university-level quality enhancement consulting and mentoring with CDIO. We are able to provide tools and ideas for reflecting on one’s own program/course/school/faculty for systematic continuous quality enhancement. We aim to support the development of education by sharing our experiences and helping HEIs to find their own way of continuous improvement.
Self-evaluation workshop in Brest.
Continuous improvement and quality enhancement step. Presented in a workshop in France.
2014 Work continues
Continues improvement with the CDIO framework with stakeholders
Faculty teaching skills workshops
Program evaluations
Designing new integrated curriculum
Program evaluations
2013 Integrated curriculum
Work in industry
2012 Nordplus project: QA in HEI II Captone project
Project work / management training for teachers
Implement Capstone project
Program evaluations
2011 Nordplus project: QA in HEI Skills assessment
Align Competence, Activity and Assessment
Assessment seminars
Planning of Capstone -projects
Program evaluations
2010 Nordplus project: QA in HEI Leaning Learning Outcomes and Assessment outcomes -training for teachers
Improve learning outcomes in curricula
From competences to assessment -training for teachers
Improve assessment descriptions
Program evaluations
2009 Nordplus project: QA in HEI Active learning
Active Learning training for teachers
CDIO Fall Meeting in Turku
Students systematically to our development
Program evaluations
2008 CDIO supports our QA
CDIO framework included in our QA document
Assessment analysis
First Introductory course implementations
Planning of Design-Built packages in curricula
CDIO evaluation
2007 International Quality up with CDIO-project Start change
CDIO introduced to personnel
Survey of our learning enviroment
EE 2006 Conference, Liverpool, July 2006
First discussions about CDIO in our mangement team
Teaching periods in industry
Design introductory course in every curricula
Planning of a development project based on CDIO ideas
CDIO evaluation
2006 Meet CDIO
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Career Change as an Adult Turku Adult Education Centre, one of the largest providers of adult education in Finland, offers flexible ways to study for those wishing to start a new career. The different options include daily contact studies, virtual and e-learning as well as apprenticeship training. The students can select the option that is the most suitable to his/her life situation.
interested in the commercial and practical side of the media industry. I then decided that I should gain a little more expertise.“
Anna Voutilainen, who had a Master’s degree in media studies, studied a Further vocational qualification in marketing communications at Turku Adult Education Centre.
What are your experiences from the vocational adult education?
Anna, what made you decide to change career path? “Well, my university studies had been very theoretical, just research and analyzing media and advertising. And if you wanted to become a journalist for example, you would have needed a lot of practical skills, but there was no such teaching at the university. As my theoretical studies progressed, I became more and more
Why did you choose vocational adult education? “I guess that the main reason was the duration of the program. I had studied five, six years at university, so that really mattered to me. There was an opportunity to obtain degree in a shorter period of time, it was an efficient and compact package. And marketing communications was the exact industry I was interested in.”
“I think it was above all efficient! Well planned study units, practical, free… And also very interactive, the lessons were very co-operative. The practicality maintained the interest, it was not just sitting and listening to my teacher. It was efficient, compact, cooperative and interactive. Moreover, everyone got an internship! I felt that there was a real interest towards the employment of the students. Of course you had to be active yourself too, but the staff really helped a lot. The instructor helped us to find our strengths and advised how to use them. I really felt that they cared about students there.”
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KiVa Anti-bullying Program From a national success story to A large number of children and students around the world are subject to systematic bullying in schools. According to research, every tenth student is a victim of bullying. Being bullied is a risk to the victim’s wellbeing and future development, and it is always a serious violation of a person’s rights and degrades his/her human worth and dignity. Based on long-term research Professor Christina Salmivalli from the division of Psychology and Doctor Elisa Poskiparta from the Centre for Learning Research at the University of Turku have led the development and implementation of KiVa in Finland. Over 20 years of world-class research on bullying has resulted in the evidence-based KiVa Anti-bullying Program,
international implementation which has been launched nationwide in Finland with the support of the Ministry of Education and Culture. Some 90 % of Finnish comprehensive schools are registered KiVa schools implementing the program. The effectiveness of KiVa has been shown in a large randomized controlled trial. The program has been shown to reduce both self- and peer reported bullying and victimization significantly. It influences multiple forms of victimization, including verbal, physical and cyberbullying. In addition, positive effects on school liking, academic motivation and achievements have been reported. Currently, KiVa is being evaluated and/or implemented in several countries outside Finland, including the UK, the US, Estonia, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The initial results are very promising with clear reductions in self and peer reported bullying and victimization.
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Significant decrease in bullying Karamzin School in Espoo, Southern Finland, is one of the schools implementing KiVa since 2008. In 2008, the prevalence of bullying in Karamzin School was somewhat higher than in general in Finland. However, after the first implementation year of KiVa in grades 1-3, the school staff was surprised but very happy to learn that the prevalence of victimization had decreased by 60%. The implementation of the program is highly supported by the principal and well embedded in the structures of the whole school. The feedback from students, parents and teachers has been positive. Students feel that safety in the school has increased. Parents have expressed their satisfaction with the KiVa program and teachers are happy with a systematic and well-structured program. Currently, KiVa is looking for international partners to distribute the program globally. For more information go to www.kivaprogram.net.
ogramme VISIT, Draft pr Y D U ST a V Ki THE CONTENT OF llying Program e KiVa Anti-bu th of n tio ta en Pres 10.00–12.00 bullying? is t ha W • of KiVa al background tic • Theore Va Ki of story ram • A short hi ti-bullying Prog of the KiVa An ts en nt Co • s of effectivenes • Evidence of Finland s er rd ide the bo • KiVa outs ers of KiVa stions and Answ ue Q 0 .3 12 12.00– Lunch region 12.30–13.30 ol in the Turku to a KiVa scho sit Vi 0 .0 16 ol 14.00– e scho esentation of th • Overall pr actice • KiVa in pr
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How to Raise
Healthy School Kids Finnish school children are generally very healthy. This is a result of a long tradition and systematic development of public health care. In Finland, health promotion starts early in life. It plays an important role in the work of maternity and child welfare clinics, as well as in schools and student health care services. Healthy children stay healthy In Finland, each child studying at comprehensive school is eligible to free school health care. Usually health care services are available in the school campus, which makes them accessible and facilitates smooth co-operation with everyone involved in pupils’ wellbeing. Pupil welfare is implemented systematically as multi-professional collaboration between education, school health care, social care services, students and their families. In Finland, school health care services are regulated by law to provide regular health check-ups that include a holistic evaluation of the health and well-being of the child and his/her family. One of the reasons why the school health care is considered important the fact that the health of an individual during school age correlates with his/her health later in life.
Highly educated school nurses Each school has a dedicated professional school health nurse who is an all-round specialist in health promotion within the school community. The role of the nurse is very independent by nature, but she/he works in close collaboration with the school doctor as well as other professionals.
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In Finland, a school health nurse must have a Bachelor Degree in public health nursing. Our professional education for public health nurses is regulated by legislation. The education focuses on health promotion, prevention of health risks, preventive and curative health care services and multi-professional collaboration.
Sharing the knowledge Turku University of Applied Sciences and other member organizations of the FinnWayLearning consortium are qualified to organize different kinds of continuing education, workshops and study visits to share the deep knowledge and good practices related to school health care issues. The member organizations of the FinnWayLearning consortium offer a diverse range of professional health care and medical education. They have several ongoing projects promoting the general well-being and health of young people, development of the school health care system and professional education.
Health Promotion Checks on the health and safety of school environments
Annual health check-ups with personal counselling
Co-operation with teaching personnel and other health care organizations
Support for parents and guardians of pupils
First aid and help in acute health problems in the school community
Early identification and support for special needs and tests required by pupils
Dental health care
Implemented by school health care nurse, school physician and multi-professional school health care team (e.g. physioterapist, dental hygienist, dietician) 22 | The International FinnWayLearning Times 2015
Student Well-being
from School Meals The well-being of pupils and students is closely linked to their learning results. Evidence suggests that the school lunch, in particular, has a considerable impact on learning. At the same time, it also has a social aspect. When eating the same meals together, children have an equal chance of a social break. They also learn healthy eating habits, table manners and local food culture. Free lunch for everybody In Finland, the school lunch has a long history: Free lunches have been served since 1948. Today, all pupils and students studying in comprehensive and secondary education, about 900,000 altogether, eat free high quality, tasty and nutritionally complete school meals every day. School meals are prepared according to national school dietary recommendations. They are organized as a part of student services, and regulated by education laws. University student lunches are also supported financially. This support is paid directly to the university restaurants by the national social insurance institution, which makes lunches inexpensive for students.
Arkea produces school meals on a daily basis for
Turku’s 18,000 students in primary and secondary schools. Meals are also served to nearly 1,700 teachers and other staff members at schools. They are prepared in various kitchens and served in approximately 60 schools. Arkea has a seven-week rotative menu for the schools. The nutritional planning of the menu is based on the national school lunch recommendation. Arkea employs two dieticians to ensure the standard of the nutritional quality. Apart from nutritional aspects, the content of school meals is based on a service contract with the client, the City of Turku.
STUDY VISIT PROGRAMME This study visit demonstrates how well -being services are organized in the city of Turku. The main focus is to intro the planning, preparing and serving duce of school lunches according to national school dietary recommendations and further to provide a practical visit to a school kitchen and dining room. Duri ng the visit, particular attention is paid the special diet systems used by stud to ents with allergic and metabolic dise ases and, secondly to demonstrate minimize the amount of food waste how to in school kitchens. Moreover, the stud y course includes specialist lectures relevant topics such as menu planning from , special diets, organization of food delivery and minimization of food was Further, the themes such as school te. health care and dental care will be cove red.
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Student Support – A Win-Win Proposition The Turku Vocational Institute (TVI) is one of Finland’s largest providers of vocational education. During the 2000s, the Institute invested heavily in student support, and is now reaping economic as well as human benefits. Its models and practices have garnered interest both elsewhere in Finland and internationally. Teamwork for students Turku Vocational Institute has a designated Student Support Team consisting of three psychologists, two social workers, two career counselors and one student activity coordinator. The team works in collaboration with teachers and provides various forms of support for TVI students to make sure they stay at school, graduate, and finally enter the job market. They provide a large array of services, from teacher consultation to one-on-one work with students as well as various activities aimed at building team spirit at the Institute. “We’re probably most commonly associated with the one-on-one work we do,” says Sari Jansson, who has been a part of the team for over a decade and its leader since 2007. “That is basically aimed at students who have various personal problems, whether they’re emotional, psychological, social, economic, or studyand career-related.“
Preventing drop-outs The aim is to help the students with their issues so problems do not hinder school work and eventual graduation – dropping out of school usually makes problems worse. The team also works hard to provide guidance for those who do decide to drop out, to make sure they don’t get stuck in limbo. “Generally, the people who benefit most from our work are the students who are motivated but have some out-of-school issues. Helping with those – or 24 | The International FinnWayLearning Times 2015
at the very least, making sure they don’t become inschool problems – is our main task,” Sari explains. Sometimes the team can provide the help, sometimes they direct the youngsters to other service providers who are better equipped to deal with their issues. This is where the team’s extensive local networks come in handy. “In a way, we are a tool for bringing all societal services closer to students.” TVI also has a number of new students every year who come from out of town and move out to live on their own for the first time when they start their studies. “Some of these kids are as young as 16, so they naturally need some help,” says Sari. “We even have a secret recycling service where teachers, other Institute staff and the student body can leave tableware, kitchen utensils etc. they don’t use themselves to be distributed among new students who need them – but this is all very hush-hush, so don’t ask me to tell you more.”
Improved atmosphere The Institute itself also benefits from the work of the Student Support Team in various ways. One of their services is the work they do to improve the work atmosphere for both students and staff. Whenever and wherever this becomes a problem, the team has a student-centered, solution-oriented workshop model where they meet with the troubled group 3 or 4 times to work with the issue. “It has been very successful,” says Sari and adds: “If you want to look at just plain numbers, I can show you our graduation rates. They have gone up 10–15 percentage points since we started work a bit over a decade ago.”
Making Sense of Student Support Project manager Anu Parantainen from the City of Turku Education Division has played several different roles in the student support system. She started out as a special education teacher as well as a study counselor at Turku Vocational Institute. Recently, she has worked in several projects aimed at improving the student support systems both at the Institute and nationally. Anu, is there something special about special education in Finland? “The first thing that comes to mind is the commitment to equality of opportunity, which is something we take very seriously. In ensuring quality education for everyone, we believe in integration; instead of putting the special needs or at-risk students in a separate institution, we put them in a mainstream school whenever possible and build the necessary support around them there.” How does this work in practice? “Tailoring the support to each individual is the key. In addition to their own resources, schools have access to a multidisciplinary support team that collaborates with the student to determine their individual needs, and we work from there. For the educator, it means that we’re not leaving the teacher alone as the lone source of support; for the special needs student, this means a flexible educational path with learning materials and learning environments tailored to
the needs of the student. It also has implications for assessment: assessing learning is at least as important as assessing performance.” It seems you invest a lot in the student support. Why? “We do, but it still pays off – in both the economic and human sense. The way we see it is this: We use quite a bit of resources to provide high-quality education, and we naturally want them to make a difference. However, to the degree those resources are used to train someone who drops out of school, they don’t. If you count those resources as wasted and compare our recent drop-out and graduation rates to those we had before the support measures were in place, we have calculated that every euro put into support services has generated at least 2–4 euros in savings.” “So the aim is to get people through all educational stages and into working life. It really is that simple. We want to make sure that even at-risk youths get a degree with which they can enter the job market.” “However, you have to remember that student support is for everyone. Some students need it regularly, some only occasionally. The point is to spot the need early and make help accessible, so we can prevent problems from cascading.” Drawing on your international experience, what features of the support systems in Turku could be spread internationally? “There are plenty of them: multidisciplinary support teams, flexible learning plans, cooperation with home, cooperation between school levels… but if I had to name just one, it would be student-centered thinking. We want to have a support system that makes sense for the individual student, even if it means that we have to put in a little extra work. In the end, it’s worth it.” The International FinnWayLearning Times 2015 | 25
hing to Do
e Right T th – e te n ra a u G th u Yo
Education is one of the most effective means to prevent the social exclusion of the young. According to Finnish estimates, every youngster who permanently drops out of school and the job market will cost society at least a million euros before reaching the age of retirement. The Turku region in Finland has been a pioneer in establishing comprehensive Youth Guarantee schemes. What is the Youth Guarantee? The Youth Guarantee means that each young person under 25 and recent graduate under 30 will be offered a job, a traineeship, a study place, or a period in a workshop or rehabilitation within three months of becoming unemployed. It also includes a training guarantee, meaning that every young person who completes the basic education has the opportunity to attend further education. This can take place in upper secondary school, vocational education, apprenticeship training, a youth workshop or rehabilitation.
Short training, remarkable results Head of the Project Management Office, Matti Mäkelä from the Education Division of the City of Turku has several years of experience in youth and training guarantee projects. When asked if other European countries can benefit from the Turku area experience and expertise, he nods enthusiastically. ”They absolutely can,” he says and continues, “For example, Noorderport College in Groningen, Holland put the support and guidance measures of the Finnish Training and Youth Guarantee models into action. During the academic year 2010-2011, after expert training sessions and workshops held by me and my colleague, the College’s drop-out percentage decreased from 9.6 % to 4.2 %.” Training included the best practices of Youth Guarantee, key issues in promoting Youth Guarantee, financial benefits of the schemes and tools to transfer 26 | The International FinnWayLearning Times 2015
innovations from one place to another. “Sometimes people think that transfer of innovations is much more difficult than it actually is. To help that process we have created tools for identifying, transferring and adapting innovations. In a nutshell our message is to concentrate on possibilities, not obstacles.”
It's also a lucrative business It is obvious that the message was heard in Holland and that the new tools work. “We were able to transfer Finnish practices successfully to the Dutch system. Although the laws and regulations are different, it is possible to build efficient structures to support the cooperation between different organisations. We are able to work within the scope of existing laws and regulations and there is no need to develop new institutions,” reflected Project Manager Stieneke Boerma from Groningen. According to a calculation made by the Dutch, the new operating models generated approximately €150,000 worth of savings to society during the first year of implementation. For the educational institution, the savings amounted to €195,500. While he is naturally pleased with these numbers, Matti Mäkelä wants to stress that they only tell a part of the story. “You can`t measure everything in money. Youth guarantee is also about equality and fairness in Europe. For example, in Finland youth guarantee is seen as a part of the Finnish model, where equal opportunities and safety nets for the weaker members of society are in themselves values worth fighting for.”
Feedback from Youth Guarantee Training Sessions in the UK and Slovenia: EU Follows the Finnish Example The Youth Guarantee is a new EU Commission approach to tackle youth unemployment. It ensures that within 4 months of leaving formal education or becoming unemployed, all young people under 25 get a good-quality, concrete offer of a job, apprenticeship, traineeship, or continued education. The offer is adapted to their individual situation and needs. According to estimates by the EU Commission, the total cost of establishing Youth Guarantee schemes in the Eurozone is €21bn a year. However, inaction would be much more costly; the yearly cost of young people not in employment, education or training is estimated to reach €153bn (1.21 % of GDP).
“A very interesting insightful day. Great opportunity to hear about the model in Finland and to share ideas with colleagues from different colleges. Would love to go and see the Finnish model in practice.” “The workshop section of the day was really useful – with space and time to work with colleagues. Great vehicle for sharing good practice.” “Really interesting, encouraged and enabled us to use the ideas of the Youth Guarantee within our own organisations to consider what we could/can do to empower young people and motivate them. Valued the opportunity to consider how we can collaborate to improve and raise aspirations. Thank you very much for a truly inspirational day.” “A very good delivery of the Youth Guarantee Training and how it is implemented in Finland. The session has generated a number of ideas for future collaborative projects.” The International FinnWayLearning Times 2015 | 27
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Education for Innovation Innovation pedagogy, developed by the Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS), is a learning approach which aims to ensure that the graduating students, in addition to their study-field specific competences, have the ability to participate in the innovation processes in their future workplaces. Students who study using the methods of innovation pedagogy are much more likely to finish their studies better prepared for working life. “The methods with which teachers and students interact constitute a basis for learning and thus enable the forming of innovation competences�, says Director of Education, Dean Liisa KairistoMertanen.
Evaluating innovation competences In order to boost innovation competences, TUAS has developed its learning and teaching methods. One set of techniques that sees extensive use are the so called hatchery methods, combining projects based on real life assignments, peer counselling and working in multidisciplinary teams. These teams are usually formed by the students, tutor students, lecturers, and external stakeholders acting both as customers and evaluators. For the evaluation of the development of innovation competences, a tool called ICB, an
innovation competence barometer, has been developed and field-tested. The tool can be used in self-assessment to engage students in directing their own learning, in peer assessment to help participants learn to give and receive feedback, and in external assessment to evaluate both the learning process and the learning outcome.
Global interest In addition to hatchery methods, many other learning methods, such as Sales Competition, have been developed to improve both professional and innovation competences of the students. The annually organized international Sales competition is open to all students who wish to develop and validate their sales skills. An engineering student who received an award in the most recent competition, says that sales training really added value to traditional engineering studies and it improves recruitment opportunities significantly. "Innovation pedagogy seems to attract interest globally, because innovativeness is among highest priorities in education everywhere", says Dr. Taru Penttilä, one of the developers of innovation pedagogy. "Now, for example, we are educating and consulting a group of Polish university teachers in their development process taking two years, and simultaneously providing shorter innovation pedagogy training periods in Indonesia and Brazil. The demand seems to focus not only in higher education, but vocational education and even primary education needing coaching in activities boosting innovativeness."
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Commercializing
Research Inventions The Business Development Laboratory (BDL) at the University of Turku supports new venture creation based on university research. It aims to raise the level of the business competence and the entrepreneurship awareness of university researchers and students. The BDL offers its students opportunities to practice planning the business concept of a new venture. The key characteristics of the Business Development Laboratory are knowledge transfer and collaboration between the universities and business community, Science Parks and other organisations. The BDL promotes knowledge-intensive businesses, and integrates a multidisciplinary approach into its operation.
From science to business Project manager Vesa Hautala explains that the BDL process starts by creating multidisciplinary teams consisting of business students and science researchers. The next step is to start developing a business concept based on a scientific invention. The selected students are the ones who are the most interested and motivated. They must also have sufficient business skills and knowledge about the topic. The students also gain study credits by participating in the BDL. Normally the researchers who take part in the business development already have a researchbased invention or service concept they are hoping to commercialize. However, the BDL concept itself can be applied in any scientific discipline. Mostly the 30 | The International FinnWayLearning Times 2015
researchers participating in the BDL are from the fields of Natural Sciences or ICT. In addition to the students and researchers, there are experts from the business community who act as mentors and evaluators in the process.
Promoting entrepreneurship The Business Development Laboratory has been running at the University of Turku annually since 2007. During this time, over 160 participants have been involved, and they have worked with over 30 business cases. Several of these have entered business incubators after the BDL program. The outcomes of the Business Development Laboratory have been successful. It has been able to network the university researchers and students with business support organizations, business professionals and investors. It has also provided the future entrepreneurs an opportunity to practice, before setting up a start-up of their own. As a result the BDL has managed to promote entrepreneurship and business competences among both students and researchers.
Entrepreneurial mindset from Business Academy The Business Academy model has received numerous awards in the fields of entrepreneurship and start-up company development since 2004. It is an innovative learning environment where it is easy for students to learn business creation, entrepreneurship, innovation and team working skills. The Business Academy model is a result of a long history of developing learning methods and learning environments at the Turku University of Applied Sciences. The Business Academy is an excellent example of innovation pedagogy, where entrepreneurship, applied Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) activities and internationality are linked to teaching in order to support innovations. According to Jaana Kallio-Gerlander, the Head of Education and Research, the focus is on team and project learning through real life assignments, as well as on promoting entrepreneurship.
A new way to learn The Business Academy model has attracted interest in other higher education institutions overseas. In March 2014, TUAS finalised a two-year project with three Vietnamese universities: Hanoi University of Science and Technology, University of Danang and Thanglong University. During the project the partners started to set up new learning environments and implement active learning methods. They have also begun to develop curricula to support the new pedagogical approaches. Business Academy is all about project-based learning, teamwork and active learning – a new way to learn!
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Supporting
Language Teaching with ICT Lingua Media is an ICT based studying model which supports the professional development of language teachers. It is based on flexibility, community building, sharing expertise and the building of personal learning environments by utilizing ICT opportunities. The Lingua Media model supports multilingualism and creates new possibilities for networking and cooperation for language teachers, regardless of the location of their school. The studying model has been piloted and tested widely by nearly 400 Finnish foreign language teachers.
New media into classroom In the Lingua Media model, study is organized as a process of blended learning, aiming to support the development work of teaching. It also strengthens teachers’ didactical and pedagogical skills, and offers theoretical knowledge based on current research. ICT has a central role in the Lingua Media model. One of its goals is to improve the competences of language teachers in utilizing new media in developing teaching materials, resourses and modern learning environments in pedagogically meaningful way. The model also supports networking between language teachers. Some of the teachers might live far away from each other, but they get to meet in “megaconferences”, organized online for the participants.
Positive feedback According to the feedback from the large number of participants in the pilot project, Lingua Media had significantly enhanced teachers' skills in e-learning. In addition, didactical and pedagogical skills were also strengthened, as was the motivation to develop new ideas and practices in teaching. One of the most important results was that the teachers’ confidence to use ICT in everyday work had grown, and they had integrated ICT into their classroom teaching.
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Cultural Training
to a Game Giant In today’s international business world, cultural competence is a prerequisite for success. It is no longer enough to know only the figures, but business leaders also need to be able to communicate effectively with both clients and co-workers from different cultural backgrounds. The significance of communication skills has been understood by Wargaming Public Co Ltd. To date, Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS) has provided already two online communication courses to this global giant in the game development business. The emphasis in both courses has been on communication skills, which are required in real life business situations with clients from around the world.
Webinars make e-learning interactive The training sessions have taken place completely online, with the instructor being based in Finland, and the participants attending from Belarus and Singapore. Despite the geographical distance, the courses have been highly interactive, and the students have communicated actively with both the instructor and each other. The online courses have received much praise from the participants. It seems that there are two particular reasons behind the success. The first is the use of webinars, web-based workshops, which make distance learning interactive. The second is the expertise of the trainer from TUAS. Thanks to that, the participants have felt that they have obtained concrete skills needed in real-life business situations.
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An Outstanding Education Consortium in Finland A collaboration between the City of Turku, Finland, and several regional education establishments, the FinnWayLearning consortium offers services covering three areas: Learning and pedagogy solutions New methodology and content for education institutions and teachers. Linking education with working life Planning education according to the specific demands of working life; promoting innovation in universities. Chains of education Creating and maintaining effective, business branch specific value chains covering all levels of education. Our services include: • • • • • • • • •
Content and models of education Research and development Expert lectures, seminars and workshops Consulting Study visits Student projects Student counselling services E-learning etc.
For further information, please contact: Aija Huhtamäki, Project Manager Turku Centre of Adult Education +358 40 517 8006, aija.huhtamaki@turunakk.fi Matti Mäkelä, Head of the Project Management Office City of Turku / Education Division +358 44 907 3166, matti.makela@turku.fi Jukka Pulkkinen, Key Account Manager University of Turku +358 50 569 2237, jukka.pulkkinen@utu.fi Mirva Salokorpi, Project Coordinator Novia University of Applied Sciences +358 44 762 3532, mirva.salokorpi@novia.fi Kirsti Virtanen, Manager Global Education Services Turku University of Applied Sciences +358 50 598 5681, kirsti.virtanen@turkuamk.fi info@finnwaylearning.fi
CITY CULTURE IN THE HEART OF THE ARCHIPELAGO
The FinnWayLearning Consortium www.finnwaylearning.fi City of Turku
University of Turku
Population of the Turku region: 330,000
International, multi-disciplinary research university
Strong industry clusters: biotechnology, ICT, maritime industry, creative industries Great logistics and travel connections to Scandinavia, Continental Europe and the rest of the world
Strong study fields: learning and education, life sciences, mathematics More than half of the university’s expenses are allocated to research and postgraduate education
Turku University of Applied Sciences
Novia University of Applied Sciences
Multi-disciplinary higher education institution
The largest Swedish-speaking University of Applied Sciences in Finland
Education and applied research for development and innovations that serve companies and the needs of working life
Higher education institution offering 32 degree programmes in Swedish and 6 programmes in English
Over 50 Bachelor's and 17 Master's programmes
Degree programmes and applied research are focusing on tomorrow´s working life
City of Turku Education Division
Turku Adult Education Centre
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Worklife oriented training for almost 70 qualifications in 20 sectors of education
40 comprehensive schools 9 upper secondary schools 7 vocational schools Daycare and pre-school services Adult education services
Vocational and practical curricula including apprenticeship
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