Teachers and school developers from Denmark and Great Britain gathered in Helsinki for a September week full of immersion in the Finnish educational system and observation of the three T’s (time, talent and technology). We welcomed new participants and had a warm reunion with those who have been a part of the project for longer. The week started off with a welcome session that, true to Finnish tradition, included sauna and swimming. The following two days were spent in two schools where participants got to know the school, observe lessons and even teach Finnish students. The afternoon time was spent reflecting and finding those transferable ideas that one could take home. One day was dedicated to familiarizing with the educational system and the work of the Innokas Network which supports schools in developing 21st century skills through the innovative use of technology. Participants also immersed in gaming when they were introduced to and competed in the pedagogically relevant Seppo-game and discussed how to use gamefulness in education. The last day of the week provided an opportunity for each delegation to present their thoughts and reflections to each other and discuss together while enjoying a traditional cinnamon roll.

Reflections on technology included discussion on the pedagogical use of technological tools. Technology was seen to motivate students and participants observed that the tools for these activities are in place and available in Finnish schools.  Talent was discussed for one with reference to supporting talented students which is an area that needs development in the Finnish system. Currently most emphasis is placed on the support of students with special needs. Time was approached from both the students and the teachers perspective. Short school days and lesser control were discussed and an observation was made that Finnish students still seem to have clear boundaries and guidelines within which to work autonomously. Differences in teachers’ working hours got the participants thinking about the pro’s and con’s of varying work day models. On one hand the freedom to leave work after teaching was valued and on the other hand set working hours would secure more joint planning time and possibilities for collaboration.

Laura Salo, Kati Sormunen and Asta Ansolahti / The Innokas Network

A team of Finnish teachers, principals and project workers spent a week in Copenhagen continuing working on the Erasmus 3T -project where educational professionals from Finland, Britain and Denmark come together to reflect on each others’ educational systems and make observations on Time, Talent and Technology in schools.

We had the privilege of visiting three local schools and having deep conversations about pedagogy. We found that Copenhagen in Denmark is not only geographically but also educationally situated half way between Britain and Finland. There are some elements that the Finnish and Danish educational systems have in common like the culture of trust and student involvement. Then again with regards to assessment, national testing is something that brings the Danish system closer to the British system.

How these elements are realized within the educational system are however dependent on many things such as legislation, culture and socioeconomic aspects. For instance the Danish culture of trust and the freedom of choice that follows from it can mean that schools and principals can allocate lesson hours freely. In Finland we have a high degree of freedom as well, but more strict legislation concerning lesson hours which guides the decisions made on the school level. Efforts to develop school have similar goals in Denmark as in Finland. 21st century skills and cross-curricular learning are in the focus in both systems. Reforms however seem to come more often in the Danish system.

The challenge of these intercultural exchanges and experiences is the way we observe and interpret our observations. Are we interpreting activities on the level of single schools? Can these observations be interpreted to represent the whole educational system? The way to get the best result is to hold continuous discussions alongside visits and allow each partner to give feedback on interpretations. Only in true dialog can we reach an understanding of each other and find those transferable and adjustable ‘take-home-messages’ that help us develop our own system and professionalism.

Laura Salo/ The Innokas Network

From the point of view of a Finnish teacher the trust that the Danish teachers had towards their young pupils was occasionally even a little disconcerting. We saw young pupils to play without any kind of supervision near a frozen pond in a forest, pupils were acting as traffic directors on heavily trafficked roads etc. But everything worked well. We started to wonder if we, teachers, are a bit too overprotecting in Finland.

While comparing the Finnish and Danish schools we didn´t notice any difference between the way teachers and principals work together in both countries. However, there are differences in the rewarding behaviors. In Denmark it was the principal who was rewarded for his school´s success, not the teachers directly. It was left for the principal to decide whether to reward the teachers for their good results or not.

The biggest single factor that stood out and seemed rather strange to us, who are used to the Finnish culture, were the annual and public quality reports in the Danish schools. These reports were quite explicit telling, for instance, how well their school performs in respect to the neighboring schools. To a Finn this kind of measuring carried out by the state doesn´t seem to inspire and build the trust in the teachers.

By the end of the week we noticed how important it is to get to know the educational culture of other countries, especially on the ground level. The things that we found disconcerting at the beginning of the week started to make sense and seem like functioning solutions. This familiarizing oneself with a different educational culture is a very significant and important aspect in this kind of projects.

After our trip all we can say is that Denmark is a very good place for children to live and grow up!

Aki & Petteri, Veikkola School, Kirkkonummi

Visiting the schools in Copenhagen showed us that the schools have time for meeting pupils and parents. We thought it was great that the headmaster in one school spent time at the front door of the school in the morning just to say “good morning” to the pupils, parents and teachers. We saw that giving time also increased trust. The good relationship between pupils and teachers increase efficiency in the classrooms. Once a month, they serve morning coffee for the parents. So it makes it easier to discuss things when they know each other better.

In Denmark, children’s school days are long. For example, the pupils in the first grade have 30 hours of school per week. The school days are planned so that there is also time for clubs in the afternoon. The pupils also have few breaks during the school day, just a lunch and two short breaks. A part of the time they are not supervised by the adults.

We also observed the time used during the lessons. We saw different kinds of ways to divide time. It was very usual that timetables and the timeline of the lesson were visible to pupils. They also had info screens where the programme of the day and that of the week were visible to the teachers as well. In classrooms, there’s time for both work and play, a bit of physical exercise. In Denmark, they have a law that every pupil should do at least 45 minutes of physical exercise during the school day. We saw teachers stop teaching and ask pupils to dance or lift up their chairs to train the muscles. The exercise didn’t seem to have any connection to the thing they were learning, it was just random exercise.

Time for a break?

In addition, pupils are given time to plan their work. We think that time for using imagination may lead to creativity (Danish design !). In Denmark, they prefer using computers and mobile devices. So, they spend much more time learning to write on computers. The pupils do not write with pen after third grade. Some pupils told us that they are not good at handwriting.

Teachers and time

The other side of the equation, as to time, are the teachers and other staff at schools. The visits to the Danish schools in Copenhagen left us admiring the efficiency of the teachers as well as the delegated leadership in the organisations that we saw. Nevertheless, the question arose whether there is an excessive amount of work for teachers to carry out within their working hours.

During the visit, we saw many examples of practices that made teachers’ working hours more efficient. For instance, some of the schools had a system of collaborative teams that could divide their tasks among the members. One teacher could, for example, be in charge of the Danish lessons of certain classes and, another teacher, of the maths lessons. There was time allocated in the weekly timetables for these teams to plan their work and to discuss any topics related to their pupils.

Another example of efficiency was the online platform used by teachers in Copenhagen to evaluate pupils’ work, to mark pupil attendance and to do their yearly planning. If a pupil is absent, their teacher can mark the absence online and a message is sent automatically to the parent’s phone. Consequently, teachers can spend more time on teaching the pupils that are present in the lessons and on other tasks during the working day.

Efficiency was not, however, the only positive aspect of time that we witnessed in the three schools we visited. Time was also spent doing things that the different schools considered to be important. For example, the staff of all of the schools seemed to value time that was spent talking about pupils. The staff were also rewarded with time if they did any extra tasks or performed well at work. For instance, they had fewer lessons to teach or could take a couple of days off. In addition, in many cases, teachers themselves had the possibility of deciding how to spend their time at work.

Even though many positive aspects were visible in the schools as to teachers and time, one of the biggest questions that remained was related to the amount of work. It seems that, since the Danish school reform was implemented in 2014, Danish teachers struggle with finding enough time to plan their lessons and to perform as well as they would wish for. Their time at work is often spent in meetings and handling paperwork, in addition to teaching of course. This is a problem that many Finnish teachers also face but it may be even more crucial in Denmark where the schooldays of children were made longer by the reform. How this will affect learning in the future, only time will tell.

– Minttu and Heli, Hankasalmi Asema School

In September teachers from United Kingdom and Denmark visited Finland as a part of an Erasmus project. As in Bedford earlier in July, the groups observed time, talent and technology in three Finnish schools: SYK, Jalavapuisto School and Veikkola School. In addition we introduced to them Innokas Network, in-service teacher training, early childhood education in Finland, and Finnish educational context in the University of Helsinki. Here is a brief summary on their notions of the 3T’s.

Time

Teachers from both Denmark and UK felt that there is a lot of time to learn in Finnish schools. Pupils are not rushed and they are encouraged to be themselves. As we Finns know our schooldays are shorter and pupils have plenty of breaks during the school day. Especially British teachers felt that time could have been used more actively and effectively.

Talent

Groups saw three kinds of talents in Finnish schools.

1. The amount of creative subjects in the curriculum arouse interest as well as programming and transversal competences. Especially teachers from UK saw a difference between assessment in Finland and in UK. In Finland the assessment system acknowledges teacher expertise. It is realistic and based on student learning and it is linked to the integrity of the profession.
2. Teachers are highly educated and trusted to be experts in their field. Teachers’ professional development is well-planned and in-service training is well organized.
3. Students seem to be calm, independent, engaged, resourceful and proud. Students can apply to bi-lingual classes or classes with other special focus areas such as music and science. During these short school visits the groups didn’t witness examples of differentiation or teacher-student communication of what the students have learned during the lesson.

Technology

Groups thought that the visited Finnish schools seemed to be well resourced. Compared to UK and Denmark, we have a boarder view of technology in our curriculum and in classroom practices. For example students were programming and using robots in two schools. The groups would have liked to see more of learning platforms, programs that support students with learning difficulties and more interactive use of interactive white boards. Also the examples of tech use in higher grades eg. in social sciences were minor. However the students’ freedom to use smartphones in breaks caused discussion.

Trust

During the Helsinki visit it became clear that each countries society makes the school what it is. In Finland it is seen as TRUST in many levels. There is respect for one another and the equipment. The trust runs through the system:

• From teachers to students
• From parents to teachers
• From heads to teachers
• From municipality to each school
• From government

Danish teachers thought that we have a school where both parent and pupils believe in one’s authority. A good example of that is the fact that teachers are also highly respected in society. However they saw also a risk of being very dependent upon the individual teacher.

Trying to look at your society and school system from other country’s perspective is always fruitful. There are always customs and practices that are very deep in the Finnish culture such as the school lunch. Fortunately we had porridge day when we visited Veikkola School, because otherwise we would have missed a great debate of nutrition in different countries!

– Kati, Innokas Coordinator