Country Case Study: Finland



University of Maryland university collegeCountry Case Study: FinlandInterview ReportAnna Newton, Jacqueline Oduro, & Whitney TreichlerUMUC EDTC 645Fall 2012Introduction:The purpose of this interview report was to discover if technology or ICT enabled Finland to become a highly successful education system. In this report, our interview questions, strategies we used to find Finnish educational experts, persons we interviewed, and resources we examined will be presented. The findings from our one successful interview and resources will be examined. We will also discuss how our perceptions of ICT and technology impacting Finnish schools. Overall, we found that technology or ICT in Finland is not the reason why Finnish schools are successful. It is due to highly trained teachers, who are given the freedom to address the curriculum to prepare students for the real world. Many Finnish teachers use technology or ICT to enhance their teaching, but it is not the main reason why they are successful teachers and why their students achieve.Interview Questions: The following questions were created for the interviews for this report. They are accompanied with a separate rationale on how these questions would further our understanding Finland’s success with ICT in their K-12 schools. 1. What is your experience with ICT and education?Rationale: This is to see the how much experience and understanding ICT is relevant for teachers and students.2. Do you think teachers are prepared enough to use technology and integrate it into the curriculum? Rationale: This was an inquiry to determine if professional development is present in K-12 schools as it is in the United States. As well to comprehend if teachers are efficiently qualified to use ICT in their curriculum.3. Do you feel like technology use has contributed to Finland’s high education ranking?Rationale: This is to observe and evaluate teachers’ views on technology and what is the best collaboration of integrating learning. This is also to determine what strategies and examples are used in their country. 4. How is ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) integrated into the curriculum of Finland’s schools? Does the National Curriculum Framework for Basic Education or similar documents require the use of ICT or instructional technology?Rationale: This is to grasp the integration policy and process. Also, will the policy encourage collaboration with teachers and other educational leaders? 5. How are teachers trained to use ICT during the teacher-training program and in professional development (or in-services) once they become a teacher? Rationale: This questions the view of professional development and how qualified do teachers feel to use technology.6. Do you feel the integration of ICT/instructional technology is important in Finland’s schools? Why or why not? Do you feel Finland should do more or less to integrate more technology into schools? Why or why not?Rationale: This is to the importance of the country’s indicators to identify the signs that determine the country’s educational perception of the value of technology to enable professional development, improve student achievements, and meet challenges in an educational environment. 7. What are the expectations of future of ICT technology training programs?Rationale:This is to understand how the country projects for continuous integration of emerging technologies in education, and subsequently improve access for both students and teachersFollow up Questions for the interview questions:What would you say the pros, and cons of the technology you have used or noticed in the classrooms?Rationale: This is to understand the technology used in classrooms by teachers were beneficial for schools in the country.What would you do if you had a child who wasn’t motivated/interested in learning?Rationale: This is to query the student’s learning processing, does the integration of technology work cohesively in their country.Strategy Used:Our group primarily used email to contact potential interviewees for this report; however, we contacted various people and organizations. At first we primarily emailed universities in Finland with Teacher Education programs and specific professors at those schools. We either got no response or we were instructed to email someone else. We would email the specific people that were noted in these emails. We then expanded our email requests to expand the CIMO (Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation), the Finnish Embassy in Washington, D.C., the Finnish National Board of Education, Finnish teachers we found through the ePals community, and authors of our individual articles. See appendix B to see all the people we contacted. We received three emails from Sonja Virtanen, Teacher Educator at the University of Jyv?skyl? and author of one of the research articles, Mr. Pasi Sahlberg, Director General of CIMO and author of Lessons from Finland article, and Mr. Kimmo Koskinen - Senior Adviser - Finnish National Board of Education. The latter two agreed to be interviewed through email, but never responded to our questions. Ms. Virtanen was interviewed via Skype by Anna Newton and her responses are attached along with the interview questions in appendix C. Persons Interviewed:Ms. Sonja Virtanen is currently a Teacher Educator at the University of Jyv?skyl?. She teaches how to teach technical crafts and technology (such as woodworking, textiles, and electrical) to second and third year students in the Primary Education program at the University of Jyvaskyla. Prior to teaching at the University of Jyv?skyl?, Ms. Virtanen taught primary grades 1 – 6 for several years. Ms. Virtanen was chosen to be interviewed for several reasons. First, Ms. Virtanen is a Teacher Educator at the University of Jyv?skyl? and would be expert on the Finnish education system. Second, while Ms. Virtanen does not teach how to use ICT in the classroom, she does use ICT to enhance her teaching. Finally, Ms. Virtanen wrote an article on technology education for children in primary schools. In this article, Ms. Virtanen and five other teacher educators from Finland and Germany, analyze why there are gender differences in technology education. We felt that all of these reasons made Ms. Virtanen an excellent person to interview, particularly due to her experience in Finland’s education system. Findings and Effect on Initial Perceptions:Interview with Sonja Virtanen of the University of Jyv?skyl?According to Sonja Virtanen, (personal communication, November 11, 2012) ICT is taught in the elementary teacher education program and two courses are required on ICT. One course is on pedagogy and the other is on application of ICT. The secondary teacher education program has a similar requirement, but it differs slightly due to the fact that secondary teachers major in their subject as opposed to education. Professors do use ICT to enhance their teaching, such as the Optima classroom management system. However, professors may not be teaching new ways to use or new ICT since their students are digital natives. There are issues applying ICT once students become teachers. Some schools have multiple computers and technology but other schools have limited technology. Thus, technology is not a root cause of Finland’s high academic ranking. The selective and rigorous teacher education program and the freedom that teachers have in the classroom have a much larger impact on Finland’s success (personal communication, November 11, 2012). The Finnish Curriculum does not have ICT as a subject, but has a "Human Beings and Technology" theme. There are a total of seven themes in the Finnish Curriculum. It is the teacher’s decision on how the curriculum and the themes are taught in the classroom (personal communication, November 11, 2012). Professional development is another issue because some teachers want additional ICT training, but they are not receiving it. ICT is critical because it ensures students increase digital skills, develop digital citizenship, and connect the classroom to daily life. The inequality that exists across the country in technology-related resources is a stark reminder that some schools are at a severe disadvantage. There are potential issues that may prevent Finland from maintaining its high education ranking. Some schools need more support, supplies and technology to help support ICT and education. ICT professional development is needed to keep teachers up-to-date on innovations and new technologies. Teachers need to know about how to implement technology in new ways to enhance education and extend learning outside of the classroom. ICT can be largely ignored by teachers in the classroom since teachers have a great deal of freedom with the curriculum and there are no evaluations. Obviously, there are some benefits to this model as well. ICT should be addressed individually as a singular subject, especially in younger grades where learning to be responsible digital citizens as important. ICT as a separate subject for upper grades would also be beneficial because students could gain more skills that could be used in the real world. Students in the teacher education program have to take two courses in ICT which will be helpful in their future career, but there should be more follow-throughs in the actual classroom. Finland has highly-prepared and effective teachers who have unique teaching freedoms. Teachers can use their knowledge in ways that are more authentic for the students.?However, to maintain their prestigious world rankings, technology should play a larger role in the education of Finnish students. YouTube Video – ICT in Finland Primary SchoolAfter watching the video, it was evident that technology is not taught as a one-classroom subject. Instead, it is integrated into different curricula. The teacher highlighted in the video, Marianne Bollstrom-Huttunen, used a method that most American teachers are already using – the “flipped” classroom. The flipped classroom is when a lesson is given in class and students are sent home to complete more work using computers or other resources. Finland is ranked highly in their educational reform movement but it is not due to the use of current technology. It is largely caused by the changing job descriptions of teachers. They are no longer the dispensers of knowledge; students take charge and collaborate and encourage progressive learning (Available Light, 2011). Teachers are given immense freedom to teach material using their own strategies and best practices. Ms. Bollstrom-Huttunen shared a bird project that her young students were completing. Computers were at the heart of the project. It is where they shared ideas, demonstrated their understanding, and learned new information. Building knowledge, year after year, is the foundation of her classroom. This is a project that students do every year, so current students could reflect on past research and learning that is located in a centralized place on the computer.A London-based educator, also featured in the video, commented that some parts of London are not as advanced as Finland when it comes to integrating ICT into their teaching. Helsinki Academics Research, which Ms. Bollstrom-Huttunen is part of, emphasizes the importance of computers in education and teachers regularly come together to share ICT information. However, since teachers have freedom to teach how they choose, not all teachers are advanced as Ms. Bollstrom-Huttunen. She is a clear example, however, of how ICT can be a powerful tool in the classroom. It is easy to assume that because of their high academic rankings, Finnish students would be in school for long hours, rigorously studying, while teachers are overwhelmed with trainings and professional development. Just the opposite is true though. Students spend less time in their classrooms and teachers encourage independent work and progressive learning. Real world learning is integrated into the curriculum. Students are engaged and teachers and students work together toward common goals. Teaching beyond the classroom is an essential aspect of this teacher’s philosophy. Article - Innovative Pedagogical Practices in Technology-Enhanced Education – Finnish PerspectiveIt is recognized that Finland has one of the highest achieving education systems in the world. Students routinely score high on tests across all subjects. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement created a program titled, Second Information Technology in Education Study, so countries could learn more about successful teaching practices. Module 2 of this program was implemented from 2000-2002. Goals of Module 2 included:Identify and describe valuable innovations that could be adopted by other schoolsProvide information to policy makers regarding the role of ICT in the advancement of educational goalsProvide new ideas about ICT implementation to teachersAdd to the current research on technology in the classroom (Kankaanranta, 2005)?The results from Module 2 from the Second Information Technology in Education Study indicate that Finnish schools rely heavily on collaboration and teamwork. It was noted that innovative Finnish classrooms “engage students in collaborative, project-based learning in complex and real-world problems” (Kankaanranta, 2005). “Opening the classrooms in various ways, especially through involving different parties (like parents, scientists, or business professionals) into the daily work of the schools” was highlighted as an important practice (Kankaanranta, 2005).?Collaboration between teachers, both at the local and national level was also evident. Teachers relied on each other for advice and support and created “a network of resources and expertise” (Kankaanranta, 2005). Universities also worked with schools to provide assistance and knowledge with new projects.?It is interesting to note how Finnish schools use collaborative projects in the classroom. How technology is used during traditional lessons was not detailed in this article. However, since teachers are given more freedom to teach since curriculum decisions are often school-based, finding time to teach using collaborative projects is possible. Using project-based learning provides challenges that are exciting and engaging for students of all ages. Perhaps Finland ranks so highly because students are motivated and eager to learn. Furthermore, with little or no standardized tests, students can learn about material that is interesting and applicable to the real world. Other countries should pay attention to these innovative Finnish ideas.?Conclusion: Technology is and will always be a constant topic that every school board in the world will have in their board, staff and administration meetings. With countries like Finland, the United States are continually working on finding ways to bring together technology with the curriculum. It is apparent from the resources and information obtained that Finland realized that in order to have a successful curriculum or school one does not credit technology primarily on their success. However, it is with their rigorous training for Finnish teachers and the ability to allow the students with more freedom to explore and use collaborative methods to build learning strategies.It is understood that ICT is important to utilize in every curricula throughout K-12 schools. In the videos and articles reviewed it was evident that technology and the students learning processes have succeeded. However, it was the extra freedoms of having students go out into the world to make their observations for themselves and to collaborate make the lessons effective.The Finnish teachers are aware the pedagogically tech support and training is necessary for teachers to follow suit and have their schools homogeneous. Needless to say Finland has continued to ranked higher than other nations is because the school system seems to understand that teachers in order to be successfully for their students they need excellent training and education, having students excel in integrating collaborative learning strategies and allowing educators to have the freedom to merge the two together for a successful learning environment. References:Available Light. (2011, June 10). ICT in Finland primary school [Video file]. Retrieved from? Kankaanranta, M. (2005). Innovative pedagogical practices in technology-enhanced education – Finnish perspective. eFinland. Retrieved from Rasinen, A., Virtanen, S., Endphols-Ulpe, M., Ikonen, P., Ebach, J., & Stahl-von Zabern, J.(2009). Technology education for children in primary schools in Finland and Germany:Different school systems, similar problems on how to overcome them. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 19, 367-379. doi: 10.1007/s10798-009-9097-5Appendix A: Interview Questions Whitney:What types of technology are most prevalent in elementary classes? Secondary?Do all schools have the same types of technology or does it vary school to school?Do you think teachers are prepared enough to use technology and integrate it into the curriculum? Do you feel like technology use has contributed to Finland’s high education ranking?Jacque:1. What factors influenced Finland to adopted the use of ICT in schools? How would you feel about working in conjunction with a parallel class teacher?2. What would you say the pros, and cons of the technology you have used or noticed in the classrooms?3. What are the expectations of future of ICT technology training programs.4. What would you do if you had a child who wasn’t motivated/interested in learning?Anna: 1. Please give some brief information about yourself, particularly in the field of education. What is your current position?2. How is ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) integrated into the curriculum of Finland’s schools? Does the National Curriculum Framework for Basic Education or similar documents require the use of ICT or instructional technology?3. How are teachers trained to use ICT during the teacher training program and in professional development (or in-services) once they become a teacher? 4. Are schools and/or teachers evaluated on how they integrate ICT/instructional technology? If so, how? If not, why are they not evaluated? 5. Do you feel the integration of ICT/instructional technology is important in Finland’s schools? Why or why not? Do you feel Finland should do more or less to integrate more technology into schools? Why or why not?Appendix B: People contacted as potential intervieweesWhitney contacted the following:University of Tampere - @uta.fiUniversity of Oulu - helena.seppala@oulu.fiUniversity of Jyv?skyl? - elisa.heimovaara@jyu.fi (responded and was told to email the people below)Ritva-Liisa J?rvel? - Lecturer in ICT in the Department of Teacher Education at University of Jyv?skyl? - ritva- liisa.jarvela@jyu.fiMarkus Leppiniemi, Principal of the Teacher Training Primary School - markus.leppiniemi@norssi.jyu.fiP?ivi? Peltokorpi, ICT teacher in secondary school - paivio.peltokorpi@norssi.jyu.fiInka Weijo, ICT teacher in secondary school - inka.weijo@norssi.jyu.fiAnna contacted the following:Pasi Sahlberg - Director General of CIMO (Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation). Success! He has agreed to be interviewed via email. Mr. Sahlberg did not respond to the emailed interview questions. Aki Rasinen – Teacher educator at JYUSonja Virtanen – Teacher educator at JYU. Success! She has agreed to be interviewed through Skype on 11/10Pasi Ikonen – Teacher educator at JYUBrigitta Tallila – Finnish Teacher – sent email via ePalsDavid Allen - Finnish Teacher – sent email via ePalsMatt Hirvonen - Finnish Teacher – sent email via ePalsSalla Valearon - Finnish Teacher – sent email via ePalsMervi Tolonen - Finnish Teacher – sent email via ePalsMarju Musakka - Finnish Teacher – sent email via ePalsMerja Yrjola – Ministry of Education and CultureJari Rajanen - Ministry of Education and CultureEeva Riitta-Pirhonen - Ministry of Education and CultureHeikki Silvennoinen – University of TurkuProfessor Joel – University of TurkuProfessor Risto – University of Turkuinfowww@abo.fi - Abo Academy UniversityMarianne Jarvelainen – University of HelsinkiMikko Vanhanen – University of HelsinkiLiisa Karlsson - University of HelsinkiMarko Holtta - University of Helsinkisanomat.was@formin.fi – Finland’s Embassy in D.C.Jacque contacted the following:Jani Suokanerva- (International Coordinator of the Faculty of Education) -Jani.suokanerva@ulapand.fiEsa Poikela- Professor of Education - Esa.poikela@ulapand.fiAnne Sved- Executive assistant - Anne.sved@uwasa.fiMikko Nupponen- Assistant Director - mikko.nupponen@cimo.fi Nina Rekola - nina rekola@cimo.fiMr. Kimmo Koskinen - Senior Adviser - Finnish National Board of Education - kimmo.koskinen@oph.fi – Mr. Koskinen agreed to an email interview, but failed to email the responses Appendix C: Interview Questions and Responses of Sonja Virtanen, Teacher EducatorSonja Virtanen of the University of Jyv?skyl?Interview via Skype on 11/10/12 at 7 am ESTInterviewed by Anna Newton for the Finland group1. Please give some brief information about yourself, particularly in the field of education. What is your current position?Upon her graduation (obtained a Master’s in Education), Sonja taught primary grades 1-6 for six years. She then became a University teacher that teaches how to teach technical crafts and technology (such as woodworking, textiles, electrical) to second and third year students in the Primary Education program at the University of Jyvaskyla. Sonja uses ICT/technology in her classes. The Education program is five years in all universities in Finland. 2. What is your experience with ICT and education?In the past four years, the University of Jyvaskyla, as been using more ICT-based teaching. They currently use the Optima program/online learning system. It is a network for students. There is a drop box for assignments, chat area, instruction area, folders for students to organize their work, and places for teachers to upload materials for the courses. Ms. Virtanen currently has three groups using the Optima program for “learning diaries” and she gives feedback to the students and comments on the requirements. She also is having her students create a “techniques handbook” that they will use once they graduate and become teachers. This handbook is full of techniques and information on how to drill wood, metal, and so on. The students will not have a handbook on how to do these things once they become teachers, so this project will provide them with a resource to teach technical crafts in the classroom. Finally, Ms. Virtanen also has a “starting points” or discussion area where they meet eleven times a semester and view videos and other inputs and discuss them as a class. 3. Do you think teachers are prepared enough to use technology and integrate it into the curriculum? This question was harder for Ms. Virtanen to answer since her area of expertise is technical crafts, not ICT. However, she feels that most of the students in the Education program already know how to use ICT/technology and in many cases they know how to use it better than their professors. All students in the Education programs (primary and secondary) must take two courses on ICT – pedagogy and application. The technology might not be anything new to the students. The biggest issue that Ms. Virtanen sees is the amount of technology in the schools of Finland. Some schools have a lot of technology that the teachers use to enhance and engage students in learning, while other schools in Finland may only have one computer. This would make it harder for the teachers there to use technology to teach their students. 4. Do you feel like technology use has contributed to Finland’s high education ranking?Again, Ms. Virtanen said this would be hard for her to know. However, she feels that the reason that Finland has ranked so high in education is not due to technology use, but from the teacher preparation/education program. All teachers have a Master’s. Primary school teachers have a Master’s in Education; secondary teachers have a Master’s in their subject. Students in the Education programs at all universities are highly educated and the programs are intensive and rigorous. The University of Jyvaskyla, for example has about 2,000 applicants to the Primary Education program and they only took 80 of the applicants. This means that these students are also highly motivated. Teachers in the schools also have a lot of freedom. While Finland does have a National Curriculum, the curriculum is very open. There are no inspectors or evaluators that come in to observe the teachers, no standardized tests. The principals may ask the teachers what they are doing, but they trust the teachers to do their job well. Teachers use ICT (if available) in creative ways to add interest and learning opportunities for their students. 5. How is ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) integrated into the curriculum of Finland’s schools? Does the National Curriculum Framework for Basic Education or similar documents require the use of ICT or instructional technology?While ICT is not a subject in the National Curriculum, it is integrated into the curriculum through the cross-curriculum themes. There are seven cross-curriculum themes in the National Curriculum of Finland. The ICT related one is the “Human beings and Technology” theme. This theme is about understanding and using ICT/technology. It is up to the teacher how to implement this theme and all of the other ones. Since there are these themes, the National Curriculum does require teachers to use ICT/instructional technology, but again it is up to the teacher. Some schools organize weeks for each theme, while others integrate ICT and other themes everyday to enhance their teaching. There is some pressure from university teachers and school teachers to have ICT as a separate subject. Side note: Finland is getting a new curriculum that will be implemented in 2015. Ms. Virtanen does not know any details as of yet. 6. How are teachers trained to use ICT during the teacher training program and in professional development (or in-services) once they become a teacher? Primary school teachers (since this is Ms. Virtanen’s area of expertise) are required to take the two courses on using and teaching ICT during their Master’s program. Secondary teachers are a little different, but they are also trained to use ICT. In-services at the school level are what Ms. Virtanen describes as “wild.” It is required to have three days a year for in-service trainings for teachers. It is up to the community or principal on what these trainings will be about. This is a hot topic in Finland. Teachers want ICT training programs, but many times it depends on money issues and what the community wants and can provide.7. Do you feel the integration of ICT/instructional technology is important in Finland’s schools? Why or why not? Do you feel Finland should do more or less to integrate more technology into schools? Why or why not?Ms. Virtanen feels is very important to integrate ICT/instructional technology because it is in their students (primary & secondary) lives. Schools can forget this, which is dangerous, because it distances their everyday life with their school life. It is also dangerous because if students are not given the opportunity to learn ICT in the school, they will not have the skills to use it or understand the ethical issues surrounding its use. (Digital citizenship)Ms. Virtanen feels that some schools are already integrating technology very well. However, students in some areas may not be at a school that is. Students go to the nearest school; there are no “special” schools to apply to. There is a growing distance between some schools with more technology and those who do not. Socio-economic issues have led to this. There are many city and rural schools that do not have the same opportunities. Ms. Virtanen feels there needs to be more equal opportunities in schools to use ICT. 8. What are the expectations of future of ICT technology training programs?ICT is constantly changing and so it is not known yet of the future of training programs. Ms. Virtanen is not sure if it will grow or stay the same. She does feel that ICT will continue to be encouraged in Finland. For example, the University of Jyvaskyla will be getting a new network/online learning system next year. It is more open than the Optima system. It allows for more materials and access for all (students and faculty). It will also allow for internet lectures that were filmed. There may be more online aspects coming to teacher education programs. She would like to see more interactive aspects. It is hard for her subject to be completely online, since technical crafts are very hands-on. Responses in blue are paraphrased from Sonja Virtanen (personal communication, November 11 2012). ................
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