Visiting Kauriala upper secondary school

On last April 14 we went to Kauriala Upper Secondary School to do a visit. It was a very good and profitable experience for me.

The picture above shows the school principal giving us welcome, explaining the basics about the school and also answering our questions.

After that Sakari Salonen, teacher of advanced Mathematics of the school, presented to us his experience of project based learning, which approximates ballet, physics, math and literature. It's been more then ten years, the students of third year develop their studies on this basis. They consider the marvelous ballet movements as a theme demanding explanation and comprehension. So these different disciplines work together as resources of knowledge to the pupils. For example, they use slow motion video to help analyzing certain ballet movements, identifying speed, angles, and so on. Here goes a picture of that.

A good example of enduring success of PBL in basic education.

The next presentation was of another project, equally interesting, involving an interdisciplinary discipline. It has been done fore a couple of years now, with good engagement of the students. They use Phenomenon Based Learning, which consider a theme of the students' experience as the moto of their study. Last year the subject chosen was time. The students developed their studies after an aim of their choice and the groups registered the process on blogs. We got to know two of these projects and to one of them was give more attention. The first chose to study time by the changes on clothing. So they collected the clothes and did a fashion show, of which we saw pictures. The second group could receive much more attention because it was actually there. Three students attended our meeting and explained by themselves their project. It was particularly impressing to see their resourcefulness and maturity, considering their youth. They did a theatre script about the sense of time and also developed the actual play. The play shows differences in the sense of time of members of a family, depending on their moment in life or generation. Following are two pictures. The first was taken on class and the second on April 22, during the theatre show on the parents' day at school, which I was fortunate enough to attend.

At the end, we had a presentation did by the vice-principal about the national exams in Finland and the role of school in it.

This visit was one of the higher moments in my stay here in Finland so far. It was possible to actually see the process of PBL, be it problem or phenomenon based, since planning, gathering the teachers, doing and assessing. And, needless to say, with that admirable Finnish simplicity and effectiveness. A lot to think... And to do...

About the intersections between applied and basic science

The distinction between basic and applied sciences is as operational today as historically controversial. Educational institutions had been created after this differenciation, also courses and forms of reseearch.

Physics is normally considered the basic science and for example Engineering is the applied science. Engineer applies physics, as simple as that. Ok, but what came first in history? The fact that a knowledge is used as base to other means that it exists first? No, usually it´s just the opposite.

Society needs practical solutions to guarantee good life standards and then people start to propose these solutions. Agriculture was invented before botanics (basic). Building was invented before geometry (basic). 

Nevertheless, basic science,  doesn´t necessarily comes to justify what is being done. Under this point of view, basic science could be seen as an abstraction of practices, not necessarily naive, but not yet strictly scientific.

What I want to state is that there is a circularity between basic and applied science. Those are interdependent, as much as are complementary. Basic science came from something practical, "applied", and will influence it again. Applied knowledge gives a beginning to basic investigations, a basic landmark. And so on.

So what I'd like here in Finland, during my stay, is located at this intersection between basic and applied. My aim is applied - to empower teacher education in the Federal Institutes -, but my means are basic - to comprehend the meaning(s) of Finnish education, especially teacher education. This hermeneutic task of course demands the effort towards comprehending Finland, if I can say so, of course an endless task. Nonetheless, whatever I achieve during this internship period, will surely be a sufficient beginning! It already is. I was expecting for some time the opportunity of coming to Finland, I am glad it came and the difficulties are part of the process.

About the international transposition of educational policies and its problems

With the globalization of the world, there is a tendency of transposing policies that worked well for developed countries to others, specially underdeveloped ore developing ones. That initiative can raise from world organizations, e.g. Unesco or World Bank, or even from the very country receiving the policies. What is the intention behind it, it´s another story. I want to consider here the issue of the transposition problems that can emerge by mechanically applying policies, specially educational ones, from one country to the other.

One of the main ideas I want to throw attention to here is that many problems are not within the ideas or the policies on themselves, but with the use that is made of them, when transposed.

A classic definition of action is the articulation between means and ends. So action is a movement or change towards an end, it pressupposes coherence. One elects first the end (what one wants to achieve) and after the means (how one intends to achieve it).

Methods are means. They are designed to fit certain ends, to achieve ends.

Education, as action, can be also defined as integration of means and ends. Means make sense considering the ends. Educational methods are means to educational ends. One could apply a method either without a defined end or towards an unfiting end. In both cases consequences will follow what is done.

Passive educational methods aim to form passive citizens to reproduce a passive society. Active educational methods aim to form active citizens to reproduce an active society.

Societies in the modern world exist in countries, most of them ruled by laws and all of them responsible for their own economies. If education forms the citizens of societies and countries, beeing this formation the basic educational end, then educational methods shell aim to what kind of citizen the country want, and most of all, need to form, based on the very concept of what does the country and the society want to become! Means and ends, again.

To define an educational end is a matter of sovereignty or national autonomy, of course considering the international context, but, above all, the country and the society needs.

The international transposition of educational policies regarding mainly educational methods could easilly raise all sort of incoherences. A mean that doesn´t correspond to an end is incoherent. An educational method not tuned with the country needs is incoherent and it can be considered even naive.

For example, entrepreneurship is a philosophy and it has been increasingly adopted in developed countries, constituting educational ends. And as so, it also opens the way to adequate methods. An entrepreneur has to be criative and effective. To form an entrepreneur demands the development of habilities in a competence based approach. A country needs to develop economically and acquire more wealth, in order to distribute it to its population.

A developed country is in an advanced stage of wealth distribuition, so its population has access to material and also symbolic value. A underdeveloped or developing country is on a previous stage of producing and distributing wealth.

Entrepreneurship is directly connected with producing and enhancing wealth. But what is its relation with distributing it? Can entrepreneurship inspire educational ends in a developing country without the risk of inconsistency and, worse, enhancing the lack of distributing wealth? In a developed country, which is embraced by a developed society, business enterprises are considered means to the development of this same society. Society comes first and business is a demand of society, because the mechanisms to distribute wealth are installed and working. But in a developing or non developed country the subjects of business enterprises, or the entrepreneurs, are the ones that concentrate wealth and are not interested in distributing it. By the other hand, entrepreneur habilities are mostly necessary in a country in such conditions.

So, here is the transposition paradox. How to transpose an educational policy, such as entrepreneurship education, without making it inoquous or harmous and, by the opposite, making it an effective tool for the real development of the country and the society within it? The answer should take in consideration the adaptation of the means or methods to the different needs or ends of the country receiving the policy.

It is only one example of problems on international transposition of educational policies. Comparing educational systems and its acts is tricky. What is good to some can become bad just like that, if the tranposition issues are undervalued. I think it is necessary to compare experiences, isolation brings nothing. But this comparison needs to be balanced according to the different realities involved! Transposing policies is not a matter of simple application, but of adaptation and balance.

A tool is not neutral; its utility depends of the user and the user is not neutral, he aims to certain ends. Let´s be aware of the ends, in order to use modern educational methods wisely and effectivelly!

Lista de Blogs dos participantes do VET 2015 - HAMK

Blogs List of the Participants in VET 2015 - HAMK

Olá, pessoal!

Segue aqui a lista dos blogs de toda a turma VET 2015, na HAMK Universtity of Applied Sciences. Assim é possível acompanhar as reflexões de todos, cada um com sua própria perspectiva.


Hello, everybody!

Here´s the blog´s list of the intire VET 2015 Group, of HAMK University of Applied Sciences. So it is possible to follow the reflections of all, each one with their own perspective.


1. Damione Damito Sanches Sigalas Dameão da Silva (IFSP, Salto) - braziliansuomi.blogspot.

2. Deise Machado Ferreira de Oliveira (IFSudeste - MG, Barbacena) - seethedreamsforthefuture.blogspot.fi

3. Diego Eduardo Lieban (IFRS, Bento Gonçalves) - diegoliebanvet.blogspot.fi

4. Fabiana Augusta Alves do Araújo (IFSertão - PE, Ouricuri) - fabianainfinland.blogspot.fi

5. Giani Mariza Bärwald Bohm (IFRS, Pelotas) - bohm-finland.blogspot.fi

6. Giselda dos Santos Costa (IFPI, Teresina) - professoragiseldacosta.wordpress.com

7. Greisse Resende - greissenafinlandia.blogspot.fi

8. Gyovanni Augusto Aguiar Ribeiro (IFAM, Manaus) - gyovanni777.blogspot.fi

9. Ivanildo José de Mello Filho (IFPE, Belo Jardim) - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ivanildo-Melo-in-VET-Teachers-for-the-Future-Program-Finland/1411166239180310?fref=ts

10. Julio Page de Castro (IFRJ, Duque de Caxias) - ifrjinfinland.blogspot.fi

11. Luis Augusto da Silva Domingues (IFTriângulo, Uberlândia) - luisaugustoinfinland.blogspot.fi

12. Regina de Carvalho Oliveira (IFGO, Luziânia) - reginacarvalhooliveira.blogspot.com

13. Roberto Pereira Santos (IFES, Vila Velha) - reflexinthelake.blogspot.fi

14. Rodrigo Fernandes Calhau (IFES, Vitória) - codincold.blogspot.fi

15. Sheylla Chediak (IFRO, Porto Velho) - sheyllachediak.blogspot.fi

16. Vico Mendes Pereira Lima (IFNMG, Almenara) - vicofinland.blogspot.fi

Video - How to do a snowman without previous experience? / Como fazer um boneco de neve sem experiência prévia?

Na última quinta tivemos aula sobre como fazer vídeos e nossa tarefa foi produzir um por nós mesmos. Então aqui vai o vídeo que fizemos. Foi inspirado na experiência que meus colegas Damione Damito (IFSP) e Diego Lieban (IFRS) tiveram numa noite muito frio, há cerca de uma semana. Nós tentamos colocar um toque de humor, incluindo um pequeno detalhe que a maioria dos brasileiros irá entender...

Bom proveito!

Last thursday we had a class about video making and our homework was to do one ourselves. So, here is the video we made. It is inspired on the experience that my colleagues Damione Damito (IFSP) and Diego Lieban (IFRS) had in a very cold night, about a week ago. We tried to put some humor touch, including a little detail that most brazilians will understand...

Enjoy!

Link to the video on youtube.

Dialogical methods - Some reflections

One of our subjects in VET is on Dialogical methods. We in Brazil are kind of familiar with the theme, because our greatest pedagogist, Paulo Freire, wrote a lot about it. The Pedagogy of the Oppressed has Dialogical structure.

Nevertheless is really good to revisit the subject in another context and should I say with a stronger light than my previous encounters with it. Dialogical pedagogy is attached to emancipatory projects.

We have seen in the first meeting some basic concepts, e.g. comparison between dialogue and monologue and the importance of the values of the participants. A general pedagogical method, not restricted necessarily to vocational education.

The second meeting was mainly practical. We had the opportunity of exercising the role taking of talking and speaking. A special emphasis was given to ethical aspects of dialogue, such as the philanthropical attitude and respect required in it.

Because of my background I am most used to rational or discoursive approaches, linked to content. But it is interesting though focus in more practical features of it, such as body language, non verbal communication. The awareness about one Dialogical attitude develops doing these exercises.

I think that effective education has to be Dialogical. Therefore, effective teacher education too. Dialogical means a construction and composition of thought done by both parts in the dialogue. What's the point of the teacher hearing the students? What do the students have to talk if they don't know yet? The response depends if the concept of knowledge is Dialogical or monological. If traditional education and society are monological, and the teachers were educated in that context, then to cope with Dialogical education implies reeducation.

Entrepreneurial teaching

It is beginning today and will go till Thursday a special cycle on Entrepreneurship Education, taking place in HAMK Visamahki Kampus. Above goes a picture.

We are in a very interesting classroom. It is in fact a fashion workshop, full of models and materials related to fashion design.

Entrepreneurship is a tricky concept, because it can be understood in a stricto or lato sensu. And the problem is exactly what is what. Would market be stricto or lato sensu? How strong is the bond linking the concept of entrepreneurship and market? Entrepreneurship is a mean to something, say the development of society, or is it an end on itself, for which the development of society would be a mean?

University of Applied Sciences and paradigm shift in education

The universities of applied sciences (amattikorkeakolou) were created in Finland in 1991, as a new system of higher education, contrasting with scientific universities (yliopisto). The core proposal of these new institutions is to do professional education as a beginning and as a continuing process in service. So while these are focused in practice, those are mainly in theory.

One important issue within this process of institution development is to critique and question the very meaning of theory and practice, as herited in tradition. Focus in practice doesn´t mean the absence of theory and focus in theory shoudn´t imply the absence or misvalueing practice. Nevertheless, scientific universities historically grew as a place for theory as "superior" knowledge (bíos theoretikós) and the new universities of applied sciences do not want to go just the opposite way - a lot of practice and no theory. This is why they are considered polytechnics institutions, ones that articulate theory and practice, although focused in practice.

Practice orientated curriculum enables and predisposes a paradigm shift in education, because practice is compromised at the first place with reality as an independent principle. The challenges of reality are almost imprevisible, as of practice. Human being develop after reality or practical challenges. In another hand, theory is extremelly necessary to deal with these problems and also is a vector of theoretical change.

Practice needs to be reconceptualized and receive adequate status in general knowledge and specificaly in Education. Approaches such as positivism and technicism did a terrible job stigmatizing practice by making it only instrumental to the labor market. So in opressed contexts the lack of theory, and with it the defense of theory by emancipatory approaches, often is attached in a strong distrust in practice as conceptual category. And as so, a concept as competence, received in Brazil in the late 90s, was strongly criticized, and not without reason, because it was quickly absorbed by industry interests, private interests. But in Finland, with such a diferent culture, society and state organization, competence is seen in another light, why not even in an emancipatory one? This topic of finnish culture I am most interested in, will write here about it, but for now it would be premature, I think.

In summary, the theme is paradigm shift in education. How to effectively optimize learning? A new paradigm in Education, in practice, would have to lead to that.

In a next post I intend to write about the role of formulation the pedagogical proposal in Project Based Learning and Competence-Based Curriculum. Also the idea that the epistemologic conception of the content directs the formulation of the pedagogical proposal.

Video - Changing education paradigms

I am very interested on the practical and theoretical parallels between university of applied science and institutes of education, science and technology (IFs) in Brazil, most of all in teacher education.

Ice skating video

My motivation to be here - Prezi frame

Alexandre Zaslavsky's Motivation - Finland 2015

This is the link to the Prezi frame that was presented today. My first experience with this tool, which I intend to keep using.

Starting point

I am staying for a period of five months in the city of Hämeenlinna, in the south of Finland, to attend a course on HAMK University of Applied Sciences. This is the map of Lahdensivu Campus, the one in which I am living and studying.