Gradia has launched two diploma programs with new Chinese partners during autumn 2019. Programs are joint efforts with EduCluster Finland.
Entrepreneurship as an exciting learning method
At Shanghai Modern Circulation School, 35 third-year business students aged 18-19, began studies in marketing communication and content production in October 2019 in accordance to the Finnish Vocational Qualification in Business. The program highlights entrepreneurship as a method in learning new skills and competences and gives a chance to complete one accredited Finnish module in business.
As a part of the program, students establish so-called mini-companies and learn the required competences by running those companies. Entrepreneurship is an efficient learning method. In addition to acquiring competence specific to business, students learn so-called 21st century skills like problem-solving, collaboration, communication.
The program is run by two Gradia experts, Ms Johanna Ärling and Ms Elina Maukonen, both working as business teachers at Gradia. They shared their observations and experiences just after their first two-week session in China.
Johanna tells that the training program is based on teamwork and hands-on exercises. “Students really like the idea of learning by doing and having less traditional theory lectures. In our program, they have a permission to make mistakes and to learn from them. They appreciate the possibility of working in teams and sharing and testing their own ideas with working life representatives.”
Johanna and Elina have paid attention to the differences in Finnish and Chinese VET systems. In China the system is teacher-centered whereas in Finland we emphasis student-centeredness.” Teachers are running the classes in a traditional way and students are less active during the classes than in Finland.”
The Finnish pedagogy challenges the Chinese students to learn differently “They need to be active all the time, figuring out the answers and ideas by themselves,” says Elina. “Naturally a different learning and teaching culture challenges us Finnish teachers but once students get used to collaborative, hands-on learning methods, the results are very good,” adds Johanna who is experienced in running training programs in China.
Although there are some differences, there are lot of similarities as well. “Both in Finland and China we all want our students to have a good chance to find a job after the graduation,” says Johanna.
According to Johanna and Elina, Finnish VET qualifications are well applicable for the Chinese market. Finnish qualifications are competence-based and the competences are not dependent on national boundaries. “But since Chinese are not familiar with competence-based structured qualifications we need to explain the system and contents carefully and make them easy to understand.”
Johanna and Elina say that they have learnt a lot by working as an expert overseas. “We have learnt e.g. about the Chinese business life, education and culture. But certainly, to match training with local needs, more information is still needed. More information and experiences we have the better programs we are able to provide.”
Enhancing school-company collaboration
Development of school-company collaboration is one of the national priorities in Chinese vocational education and training. Cooperation is essential in increasing the quality and attractiveness of vocational education. Finland as a forerunner in developing different kind of work-based learning models has lot to share. Therefore, Gradia has developed the teacher training program called Skills Broker to improve the match between training provision and the needs of the industry. The first Skills Broker Teacher training program was successfully piloted in China in 2018-2019.
In September 2019, Gradia launched Skills Broker program for 30 teachers from Changzhou Technical Institute of Tourism and Commerce. Teachers are developing cooperation with local enterprises using the methodology of service design. The program has been aligned with a service design module from the Finnish Specialist Qualification in Product Development. Teachers who pass the program successfully will get an accredited Finnish diploma of completing part of the qualification. The program consists of intensive weeks in Changzhou, distance learning (team and development work) and competence assessment.
Ms Maritta Kinnunen, working as a lead expert in Skills Broker program shares the experiences of Johanna and Elina. “In China it seems that the education is more teacher-centered than in Finland – whereas we have an emphasis on student-centered learning and teaching. This means that the teachers in Skills Broker program are not only getting tools to develop school-company collaboration but also tools for promoting student-centered methods in their own teaching.”
Teksti ja kuvat: Päivi Peltonen, Merja Hakanen ja Jaana Virtanen
InnoVet -verkostossa on mukana ammatillisen koulutuksen toimijoita viidestä maasta: GBS St. Gallen, Sveitsi, Aarhus TECH, Tanska, IBJ -verkosto, Saksa, Horizon College, Hollanti ja Gradia, Suomi. Verkosto on tavannut aiemmin muutamia kertoja Saksassa, Hollannissa, Tanskassa ja Suomessa. Verkoston tavoitteena on tutustua eri maiden digioppimisen käytänteisiin ajatuksella: ”VET glocal – a perspective for new ways of teaching, learning and training with digitalization“.
Sveitsin vierailun tavoitteena oli syventää
Digital Ambassador / eTutor -profiilia, laatia Digital Skills Framework eli digitaalisen
osaamisen viitekehystä oppilaitoksissa opiskelijan ja opettajan näkökulmasta
sekä kuulla kokemuksia ensimmäisestä Teacher Academy -tapaamisesta
Jyväskylässä.
Ensimmäisenä päivänä meidät johdatteli Theo Zentveld
päivien aiheeseen otsikolla “Expect the unexpected”.
Testasimme omaa keskittymistämme jongleeraamalla pallojen kanssa. Täytyy tunnustaa,
että vaikeuksia oli itse kullakin hallita kolmea palloa – minulla mukaan
lukien.
Päivän aikana keskityimme Digital Ambassadorin
profiilin ”kirkastamiseen” ja pohdimme, mitä tehtäviä digital ambassador
-opettajan tulisi vähintäänkin tehdä jokaisessa verkoston oppilaitoksessa.
Totesimme, että hänen tulisi olla henkilö, joka mm. motivoi toisia, on
roolimallina muille opettajille, tukee opetusmenetelmien käytössä ja
käyttöönotossa, neuvoo ja jakaa tietoa. Totesimme yhdessä, että tänä päivänä
digital ambassador on tärkeä henkilö oppilaitoksissa ja sitä osaamista
tarvitaan. Ensimmäisen päivän aikana kuulimme myös puheenvuoroja Byodista
UseYODiin ja IT turvallisuudesta.
Simon Heftin puheenvuoron From Byod to UseYOD a
pedagogical challenge tuli väkisinkin miettineeksi sitä, miten eri tilanteessa
olemme verkostossa. Suomessa keskustellaan oppivelvollisuuden pidentämisestä ja
maksuttomasta koulutuksesta. Me ehkä otamme silloin pari askelta taaksepäin
BYODin tai UseYODin kanssa ja palaammeko siihen, että oppilaitokset tarjoavat
niin tietokoneet, padit kuin muutkin työvälineet? Ehkä? Mutta kaikkinensa ekirjallisuus ja
e-oppiminen tulee vauhdilla ja siinä me olemme ehkä muita verkoston jäseniä
edellä eGradian myötä. Tosin täytyy myötää, että innoVET verkoston myötä meidän
pitäisi myös miettiä keinoja siihen, miten voisimme hyödyntää toistemme
osaamista ja kysyä esim. neuvoa toinen toisiltamme arjen digiongelmissa.
Päivän toinen keynote IT Security oli
mielenkiintoinen. Urs Bühler
on CEO ja omista Belsoft Infortix AB:ssa. Hän nosti esille
teknologian kehityksen, laitteiden, pilvipalveluiden yms. heikkoudet ja
haasteet. Miten me tavallisena kuluttajina, työntekijöinä, opettajina
huomioimme päivittäisissä työtehtävissä tietosuojan ja tietoturvan
puhumattakaan siitä, ymmärrämmekö kyberturvallisuuden riskit.
Tiistaina pureuduimme digitaitojen
viitekehykseen ryhmätöissä. Meillä kaikilla verkoston oppilaitoksilla on hyvin
pitkälti samanlaiset odotukset siitä, millaiset taidot pitäisi olla opettajilla
ja opiskelijoillamme. Kuulimme, miten esimerkiksi tanskalaiset käyttävät
pankkipalvelujaan ja miten he kirjautuvat verojärjestelmiinsä jne. Tanskassa
toimitaan hyvinkin samantyyppisesti kuin Suomessa. Tarvitaan avainlukulistaa,
jotta päästään palveluihin. Tosin Suomessa tämäkin tulee muuttumaan.
Kuulimme tiistaina myös Merjan kertomana, miten
Teacher Academy toteutui Jyväskylässä ja mitä on odotettavissa seuraavassa
tapaamisessa Hollannissa. Tämä on yksi keino jakaa ja syventää digital
ambassador opettajien osaamista sekä verkostoitumista. Teacher Academyn
kehittyessä voisin kuvitella, että meille voisi syntyä verkostossa jopa
yhteisiä verkkokursseja.
Mitä sitten jäi taskuun matkasta? Meillä alkaa
olla selkeä näkemys siitä, mikä on digital ambassador innoVET -verkostossa. Se
on meillä Gradiassa eTutor, joka toimii opettajien apuna, mutta hän on myös
verkostoitunut kansainvälisesti. Meillä on näkemys Teacher Academyn ja innoVET
verkoston tarpeellisuudesta. Aloittaessamme verkostotapaamisen, totesimme, että
olemme lähes kaikki oppilaitokset samoilla alkumetreillä esim. O365,
oppimisympäristöjen kanssa. On hienoa käydä keskusteluja siitä, miten olemme
edenneet ja nähdä miten esimerkiksi Moodle on kehittynyt Saksassa, ItsLearning
Tanskassa. Me opimme toinen toisiltamme joka kerta jotain uutta, vahvistamme
osaamistamme ja verkostoidumme uusien ihmisten kanssa. Yhteistyössä on voimaa –
siksi me olemme innoVET!
InnoVET -verkosto kokoontuu seuraavan kerran Wilhelmshavenissa maaliskuussa 2020.
Lisätietoja: Jaana Virtanen, koulutuspäällikkö, sähkö ja ict
The entrepreneurship learning ecosystem of Jyväskylä Educational Consortium Gradia has been selected as the best in Europe. The selection was announced at the main event of the European Vocational Skills Week at Finlandia Hall in Helsinki on Thursday evening 17 October 2019. This is an award for excellence in vocational education and training.
The awards are given in 12 categories and their aim is to recognise excellence, provide visibility and recognition for good work done, motivate those taking part, whether individuals or organisations, enable the building of networks and new career opportunities, enable the winners to become ambassadors in their field of expertise, and reach out to citizens through online voting.
A jury of independent members was established in each category. The various juries each identified 2(or 3) nominees and indicated their respective winner. A public online voting was organised. The 2019 award winners were selected through a mix of votes from the jury, and the general public, both results weighting 50%. The final results in all categories were revealed on 17 October during the Awards Nominees Celebration.
By rewarding an entrepreneurship learning model, EU wants to encourage vocational education and training institutions to invest in entrepreneurship training. An entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurship competences reinforce the ability of young people to cope with the future of work.
The European Vocational Skills Week was now celebrated for the fourth time. The aim of the week is to disseminate European-wide information on vocational training, organise events and share recognition of excellence in vocational education and training.
The Entrepreneurial School Awards 2019
In addition, on the previous evening, Gradia received the Entrepreneurial School Award from Junior Achievement Europe. Junior Achievement (JA) is the world’s largest organisation providing entrepreneurship and consumer education for young people. In Finland it is represented by Junior Achievement Finland.
The Entrepreneurial School Awards is an annual recognition by JA Europe, which aims to provide a supportive and motivational framework to guide education providers, headmasters and teachers from across Europe in their entrepreneurial learning initiatives.
The Entrepreneurial School Awards 2019 took place in Helsinki as part of the European Vocational Skills Week on 16 October 2019.
Gradia is one of the most active Finnish education providers in the annual entrepreneurship program. In the JA program, the students set up a real company for the year, where they can learn about entrepreneurship and develop their skills.
At the end of May 2019 Gradia and JAMK School of Professional Teacher Training had the honour of gathering together over 20 teachers and other staff from the innoVET network at the very first Teacher Academy training event. The aim of innoVET is to support the process of successful innovation in VET especially with the help of digitalisation.
With this network…
…we share experiences
for developing innovate strategies in VET including the fusion of digital
services and education regarding all stakeholders – Strategy
…we provide our
experiences of using digital services, tools and software to each partner
– Tools
…we build competences
to make innovative learning and teaching possible (teacher academy, digital
skills framework) – Competences
…we create new ways of
learning with the tools of the future – Learning / Didactics
… we want to support
the process of sharing success, failures, strategies, struggles, questions and
solutions (digital ambassadors, e-tutors, supervisors, …) – Sharing
…we want to implement
benchmarking visits, one-week teacher academies and sharing
platforms (e.g. products of Office 365) – Task
The goal of Teacher Academy training events is to share
experiences and success stories as well as challenges in use of digital learning methods, tools and software. Staff
from VET colleges have the possibility to meet, exchange experiences, learn
from each other and create a network of their colleagues abroad.
The theme of the first Teacher Academy event in
Jyväskylä was to collaboratively learn about facilitating learning in the
digital environment. The participants shared ideas and success stories as well
as solved shared challenges. One important aspect was to meet new colleagues to
collaborate with in the future. Some informal program was organized for the
participants on the first evening. In a warm and cozy atmosphere people got to
know each other even better and created a better foundation for future co-operation.
Ideas and experiences were shared.
The academy started online before the actual sessions
in Jyväskylä as the participants shared challenges and success stories that
they would like to discuss with their colleagues in Jyväskylä. The challenges
and success stories were categorised under three themes that were dealt with in
three workshops during the days: reinventing learning, collaborative support
and the role of the teacher.
The group also worked on the following themes: Transforming pedagogies? – experiences and insights from
online degrees at JAMK School of Business, Insights to Finnish e-learning landscape, A case
from JAMK’s international teacher education programme for the digital era and
Digital guidance in VET. The programme included a visit to JAMK’s digi center
where the group got inspired and created a studio quality video together.
The Jyväskylä Teacher Academy served as a kick-off for future Teacher Academy events to be held in the Netherlands and Switzerland in 2019 and 2020. The participants created a fantastic team and many of them said they want to continue collaboration even after the event. And collaboration was also one of the main things the team would like to have in the future Teacher Academy sessions. A digital environment was created for the participants where they can continue sharing ideas and challenges and meeting each other. As one of the participants – who during the first day wondered, somewhat skeptically, what is the point of these events – said, the Teacher Academy was all about getting inspired and learning from each other!
International
Baccalaureate eli IB on kansainvälinen koulutusjärjestelmä, jonka mukaisia
kouluja on satoja ympäri maailmaa. Koska toimin Jyväskylän Lyseon lukion IB
Diploma Programme (IBDP) linjan opettajana, hakeuduin Erasmus+ KA1 Job
Shadowing hankkeeseen. Hanke tarjosi minulle mahdollisuuden tutustua viikon
ajan siihen, miten IB Diploma Programme on järjestetty muualla kuin Suomessa ja
samalla kehittää itseäni IB TOKin eli Theory of Knowledgen sekä IB psykologian
opettajana. Valitsin kohteekseni Skotlannin, koska en ollut koskaan käynyt
siellä ennen Job Shadowing reissuani. Löysin IBO:n eli IB organisaation sivujen
kautta Skotlannista neljä IB-lukiota, joista kaksi suostui ottamaan minut
vieraaksi. Maaliskuun puolessavälissä 2019 vietin kaksi päivää Edinburghin
Fettes (lausutaan ”fetiis”) Collegessa ja kolme päivää St. Andrewsin St.
Leonardsin koulussa. Molemmat koulut ovat arvovaltaisia, arvostettuja ja
kalliita yksityiskouluja, ehdotonta kermaa Skotlannin koulujen joukossa. Viikon
aikana koin Skotlannin kaikki vuodenajat, tapasin ihanan kohteliaita ja
huomaavaisia brittiläisiä sekä opin paljon siitä, miten IBDP voidaan järjestää.
Aloitetaan Fettes
Collegesta. Edinburghilainen kirjailija J. K. Rowling sai idean Tylypahkaan
todennäköisesti juuri Fettes Collegesta. 1800-luvun lopulla rakennettu
päärakennus on kieltämättä mahtavan omaperäinen. Muutoinkin koko koulualue on
erittäin vaikuttava. Muutamia yksityiskohtia mainitakseni Fettes Collegessa on
mm. useita urheilukenttiä, uimahalli, teatteri, konserttisali ja kappeli Fettes
Collegen omine virsikirjoineen. Edinburghissa vieraileva turisti ei pääse
vierailemaan koulualueella. Turvatoimet ovat erittäin tiukat. Fettes Collegen
alue muodostaa oman pienen koulukuplan Edinburghin keskellä. Koulussa opiskelee
noin 750 yläkoulu- ja lukioikäistä opiskelijaa, joista peräti 90% ovat tiukan
kurin alla eläviä sisäoppilaitosopiskelijoita.
Puitteiden
erilaisuudesta huolimatta Fettes Collegen IBDP on hyvin samankaltainen
Jyväskylän lukioon verrattuna. Koulu noudattaa suurimmaksi osaksi brittiläistä lukiojärjestelmää
(A levels) ja IB-lukio on vain pieni osa kokonaisuutta. Ongelmat IB-linjan
järjestelyissä ovat hyvin pitkälti samoja, joskin ratkaisumme näihin ongelmiin
olivat hieman erilaisia. Vaikutuksen minuun teki erityisesti opettajien
kurinalainen ja järjestelmällinen yhteistyö. Sain erittäin hyödyllisiä vinkkejä
varsinkin TOKin järjestämiseen sekä IB psykologian opettamiseen Jyväskylän
Lyseon lukiossa. Kiitän koko Fettes Collegen huomaavaista henkilökuntaa
mahdollisuudesta tutustua kouluun. Erityiskiitos tulee antaa Fettes Collegen IB
koordinaattorille herra Mark Henrylle, psykologian opettajalle tohtori Julia
Tealelle, TOK koordinaattori herra Ian Laudonille, CAS koordinaattori rouva
Claire Gommille sekä jatko-opintoihin ohjaamisesta vastaavalle rouva Caroline
Daviesille.
St. Andrews
sijaitsee noin 60 kilometriä pohjoiseen Edinburghista. Tämä pohjanmeren
rannalla sijaitseva pikkukaupunki on tunnettu mm. maailman vanhimmasta
golfklubista, hiekkarannoista ja Skotlannin vanhimmasta yliopistosta. Myös St.
Leonardsin koulu muodostaa oman koulukuplansa kaupungin keskelle. Harva
kaupungissa asuva edes tietää koulusta, sillä koko koulualue on korkean
kivimuurin takana piilossa. Kun koulualeen sisälle pääsee turvatoimien läpi,
avautuu erittäin viehättävä labyrinttimainen rakennusten joukko. Osa
rakennuksista juontaa juurensa 1400-luvulta. Tuoreimmat rakennukset ovat
1960-luvulta, mutta suurin osa rakennettu 1700–1800-luvuilla. Melkoinen
Tylypahka tämäkin. Myös St. Leonardsin koulussa oli mm. useita urheilukenttiä,
uimahalli ja konserttisali, mutta hieman pienemmässä mittakaavassa kuin Fettes
Collegessa. St. Leonardsin koulussa on brittiläisen yksityisten alakoulujen
luokat, IB Middle Years Programme sekä IBDP. Opiskelijoita on yhteensä noin
500, joista noin 20% asuu kampusalueella. Lukion osalta St. Leonardsin koulu on
ainoa koulu Skotlannissa, joka noudattaa yksinomaan IBDP koulutusohjelmaa. Tämä
tarjosikin mielenkiintoisen vertailukohdan Fettes Collegeen sekä Jyväskylän
Lyseon lukioon.
Yleistunnelmaltaan
St. Leonardsin koulu oli hieman rennompi kuin Fettes College, mutta tietty
brittiläinen kurinalaisuus huokui täälläkin kaikesta. Koska St. Leonardsin
koulu sai keskittyä yksinomaan IBDP toteuttamiseen, oli koulu järjestetty
mielestäni hieman kokonaisvaltaisemmin kuin Fettes College. Myös St. Leonards
paini osittain samojen ongelmin kanssa kuin Jyväskylän Lyseon lukio, mutta
ratkaisut olivat osoitus pitkäjänteisestä sitoutumisesta IBDP toteuttamiseen.
Sain arvokkaita ideoita erityisesti IBDP:n coreaineiden (TOK, CAS ja EE)
kehittämiseen. Korkeakouluyhteistyö St. Andrewsin yliopiston kanssa oli
yllättävän toimivaa TOKin opetuksessa. Kahden kolmen viikon välein yliopistosta
saapui vierailija TOK tunneille. Lisäksi opin paljon siitä, miten IB
psykologian opetus voidaan toteuttaa. Kiitän erittäin avuliasta St. Leonardsin
koulun henkilökuntaa mahdollisuudesta vierailla koulussa. Erityiskiitos täytyy
tässäkin koulussa antaa IB-koordinaattori herra Ben Seymorelle, psykologian
opettajalle tohtori Lin MacLeanille, apulaiskoordinaattori rouva Aileen
Reeselle sekä maantiedon ja TOKin opettajalle rouva Amy Hendersonille.
Kokonaisuudessa kurinalainen brittiläinen koulukulttuuri sekä kaikkialta läpitunkeva keskustelun ja argumentaation ilmapiiri oli jotain, mistä suomalaisen koulukulttuurin tulisi ottaa opikseen. Tämä palvelisi myös IBDP:n tavoitteita Jyväskylän Lyseon lukiossa. Toivon, että vierailuni Fettes Collegessa ja St. Leonardsin koulussa poikii yhteistyötä myös tulevaisuudessa. Yhdessä toimimalla voimme kehittää IBDP koulutusta kaikissa kouluissa. Myös mahdollinen vastavierailu Jyväskylän Lyseon lukioon olisi hieno asia.
IBDP in Scotland’s Prestigious Independent Boarding Schools
The International
Baccalaureate (aka the IB) is an international educational system that has
hundreds of schools around the globe. Since I work as an IB Diploma Programme
(IBDP) teacher in Jyväskylän Lyseo Upper Secondary School in Finland, I applied
for an Erasmus+ KA1 Job Shadowing project. This project offered me a one-week chance
to familiarize myself with how the IBDP is managed outside Finland and develop
myself as a TOK and IB Psychology teacher at same time. I chose Scotland in the
UK as my target, because I had never been to Scotland before my Job Shadowing
trip. I found four IBDP schools in Scotland through the IB Organization’s web
pages and two of those school were willing to accept me as a visitor. In the
middle of March 2019, I spent two days in Fettes College in Edinburgh and three
days in St. Leonards School in St. Andrews. Both schools are prestigious,
respected and expensive independent boarding schools, absolute top-notch
schools in Scotland. During my one-week Job Shadowing period I experienced all
the seasons of Scotland, met wonderfully polite and considerate Britons and
learned a lot about how the IBDP can be managed.
Let’s start with
Fettes College. Although a matter of great debate, J. K. Rowling, the famous
author and creator of Harry Potter from Edinburgh, probably got the idea for
Hogwarts from Fettes College. The main building of Fettes College, built in the
late 19th century, is undeniably overwhelmingly original in design. The rest of
the school premises are equally impressive. To mention a couple of examples,
there are several sports fields, a swimming hall, a theatre, a concert hall and
a chapel with Fettes College’s own hymn books. A tourist visiting Edinburgh
cannot visit the school area. Security measures are very strict. Fettes College
forms a school bubble of its own in the middle of Edinburgh. There are
approximately 750 lower and upper secondary students in Fettes College. Up to
90 per cent of the students live within the school area as boarding students
under strict discipline.
Despite the
differences in framework, the IBDP in Fettes College is surprisingly similar in
comparison to Jyväskylän Lyseo Upper Secondary School. Fettes College follows
the British A-levels for the most part and IBDP is just a part of the whole.
The challenges the IBDP faces in Fettes College are similar to Jyväskylän
Lyseo, but the solutions are a bit different. The well organised collaboration
of teachers in Fettes College impressed me. I got very useful advice on how to
manage TOK and how to teach IB Psychology in Jyväskylän Lyseo Upper Secondary
School. I warmly thank the whole staff of Fettes College for the possibility to
familiarize myself with the school for two days. Special thanks go to IB
Coordinator Mr. Mark Henry, IB Psychology teacher Dr. Julia Teale, TOK
Coordinator teacher Mr. Iain Loudon, CAS Coordinator teacher Mrs. Clare Gomm
and the Head of Higher Education and language teacher Mrs. Caroline Davies.
St. Andrews is situated about 60 kilometers north from
Edinburgh. This charming small town by the North Sea is famous for the oldest
golf club in the world, its sand beaches and the oldest university in Scotland
among other things. Like Fettes College, St. Leonards School forms its own
bubble within the town. Very few inhabitants in St. Andrews even know about the
school, because it’s hidden behind a huge stone wall. When one gets inside the
school area through security, an extremely charming maze-like collection of
buildings opens up. The oldest buildings date back to the 15th century and the
newest are from the 1960’s. The majority of the buildings, however, were built
in the 18th and 19th centuries. Quite an impressive “Hogwarts” as well. St.
Leonards has several sports fields, a swimming hall and a concert hall inter
alia, but maybe not on as flamboyant a scale as in Fettes College. St. Leonards
school has a Primary school following the British system, IB Primary Years
Programme (aka IBPYP), the IB Middle Years Programme (aka IBMYP) and the IBDP.
There are about 500 students and 20% of them live within the campus area as
boarding students. St. Leonards School is the only school in Scotland to follow
the IBDP exclusively. This offered an interesting parallel to both Fettes
College and Jyväskylän Lyseo Upper Secondary School.
The general
atmosphere in St. Leonards School was a bit more relaxed than in Fettes
College, but a certain tone of British discipline still oozed from everything.
Because St. Leonards School can concentrate solely on the IBDP, the school had
a more holistic approach to the IBDP in comparison to Fettes College. However,
St. Leonards School has partially the same kind of problems with the IBDP as Jyväskylän
Lyseo, but the solutions were an indication of a long-term commitment to the
IBDP. I got lots of ideas on how to develop the core subjects in the IBDP (TOK,
CAS and EE). Furthermore, the collaboration with St. Andrews University seemed
to work surprisingly well in TOK. Every two or three weeks a visitor from the
University comes to give TOK lessons for the IBDP students in St. Leonards
School. In addition, I learned a great deal about how the tuition of IB
Psychology can be managed. I thank the most considerate and helpful staff of
St. Leonards School for the opportunity to visit the school for three days.
Special thanks go to IBDP Coordinator Ben Seymour, IBDP Psychology teacher Dr.
Lin McLean, Head of Sixth Forms Mrs. Aileen Reese and teacher of Geography and
TOK Mrs. Amy Henderson.
In all, the
well-disciplined British school culture and all permeating atmosphere of
conversation and argumentation was something that the Finnish school system
should learn from. This could serve the purpose of the IBDP in Jyväskylän Lyseo
Upper Secondary School as well. I hope that my visits to Fettes College and St.
Leonards School will result in future cooperation. Together we can develop the
IBDP further. Likewise, a visit from Scotland to Finland would be a wonderful
thing.
