Goosechase https://www.goosechase.com/edu/
This educational app that allows teachers to find and assign scavenger hunts or create their own to suit their students! The app has students take pictures of the item in the scavenger hunt once they find it and the points are even recorded in the app.
Goosechase could be used in physical education classes because students could be asked to run from place to place. This app could also be used in any beginning of the year team building or icebreaker activities. It would also be a great tool to use during a field trip. As a teacher, you could also create a scavenger hunt of important library resources or books that will be used throughout a class.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=62&v=6CyfDyHJ9uw&feature=emb_title
Great Big Story https://www.greatbigstory.com/
This is a website has a variety of interesting short videos that give a good look into a variety of topics. Everything from delicious snacks around the world to issues regarding climate change and environmental awareness are available in short video forms.
I can envision this website being a great place to find awesome videos to introduce a topic such as environmental issues or as a way to show the diverse cultures and traditions around the world. Many of these videos are short enough they could be used as hooks at the beginning of class or as extra information for a student interested in doing a project on that topic. A teacher could direct students to this website to find extra information or have students find a video to use as a jumping off point for a passion project. The link below will lead you to a video focussed on Greta Thunberg: The Teenager Leading the Fight Against Climate Change.` Not only is the message of this video is important, but the fact that the face of this video is a young girl could inspire students to stand up for important issues they care about as well.
https://www.greatbigstory.com/stories/greta-thunberg-tackles-climate-change?storylist_type=brave&storylist_id=97
Floop https://www.floopedu.com/
This is an application for education that makes providing feedback to students easier and quicker. It is a way for teachers to open up lines of communication with students about their work WHILE they are working on it. Students take a photo of an essay or math problem and can easily send it to their teacher to ask a question. The app also always students to peer edit without revealing the identities of the students and has an option for students to complete self reflections and edits of their own work.
While this app was designed for high school teachers because they usually have over 100 students in their classes, I believe this would be an effective tool in junior classes as well. Particularly with subjects like English, this tool would be a great way to get students in the habit of creating many drafts and editing their work often. I also really like the idea of having students peer edit anonymously. I think this could help students view the class as working together as a team to do their best and also would be another way that students could receive timely, meaningful feedback.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=22&v=yMsJfj2LGJ8&feature=emb_logo
Friday, 24 January 2020
Thursday, 23 January 2020
Instructional Approaches
Project Based Learning -PBL-Online PBLWorks Online is a great site for ideas or resources when it comes to Project based learning. After signing up for free, you can easily filter what type of project you are looking for depending on subject! In a fine arts class, PBLWorks suggests that every student take on the role of a photojournalist to tell a story about their community in order to embed project based learning into the classroom. The Community Photojournalist project would be a great way for students to engage with their community while learning and experimenting with photography and the ways that images can tell stories. Students would have to set up and plan their images, and use their creativity to create interesting images. They could use interviews and photos together to visually document local cultural and social stories. There is a great opportunity for this art project to become cross-curricular with English as students could write up summaries of interviews or background information on their topic. The finished project could be shared with the community through a digital exhibition or shown live at a community or school meeting or assembly.
Problem Based Learning -This type of learning invites students to think about problems at the start of a topic and develop skills around finding information and solutions. Students are asked to identify what they need to learn and where they should go to find information. The teacher provides the educational materials and guidance to help facilitate the learning. Amber Carney is a grade 2 teacher who has created a graphic organizer so her students can better understand their math problem at hand. Amber does not reveal the topic but types out the problem for her students and they begin to create a strategy that will help them solve the problem. Using Problem Based Learning with Math Lessons is a video that shows Amber going through this process in her class. Students start out trying their strategy independently before discussing with their partner. Partners will then come up and describe their problem solving strategy to the class.
Design Thinking -PBSKids.org has a variety of design challenges for students where they can focus on using simple materials and designing something real to solve a problem. For example, Build | Hovercraft . DESIGN SQUAD GLOBAL shows students designing a hovercraft. Use in the junior classroom - This could be tied into many topics in the classroom, and different subjects. In math class, students could do the calculations necessary to make the hoverboard work, then measure and design it before creating the hoverboard. In science, this design could be tied into a unit on air or environment.
These instructional approaches to education are important to incorporate into a junior classroom because they allow students to learn in a variety of ways and develop a variety of skills. Through problem, project, and design based learning, students think creatively to find solutions while learning. Instead of being lectured to and asked to memorize content, students are encouraged to think independently, and to learn those same concepts for themselves through a hands-on activity. One of my personal favourite instructional approaches is project based learning because there is room for differentiation. For instance, if a student is highly skilled in the subject at hand, the teacher can encourage that student to develop a more complex project, or point them toward resources that are of a higher level. While a student who needs more assistance in that subject would still be able to create something they are proud of and develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills even if it is not as complex of a project. I also have a soft spot for project based learning because students often work well when they are focussed on something they are personally interested in. These types of projects allow teachers to check in and discuss progress with students throughout the project which means teachers can mark the process as well as the project.
Problem Based Learning -This type of learning invites students to think about problems at the start of a topic and develop skills around finding information and solutions. Students are asked to identify what they need to learn and where they should go to find information. The teacher provides the educational materials and guidance to help facilitate the learning. Amber Carney is a grade 2 teacher who has created a graphic organizer so her students can better understand their math problem at hand. Amber does not reveal the topic but types out the problem for her students and they begin to create a strategy that will help them solve the problem. Using Problem Based Learning with Math Lessons is a video that shows Amber going through this process in her class. Students start out trying their strategy independently before discussing with their partner. Partners will then come up and describe their problem solving strategy to the class.
Design Thinking -PBSKids.org has a variety of design challenges for students where they can focus on using simple materials and designing something real to solve a problem. For example, Build | Hovercraft . DESIGN SQUAD GLOBAL shows students designing a hovercraft. Use in the junior classroom - This could be tied into many topics in the classroom, and different subjects. In math class, students could do the calculations necessary to make the hoverboard work, then measure and design it before creating the hoverboard. In science, this design could be tied into a unit on air or environment.
These instructional approaches to education are important to incorporate into a junior classroom because they allow students to learn in a variety of ways and develop a variety of skills. Through problem, project, and design based learning, students think creatively to find solutions while learning. Instead of being lectured to and asked to memorize content, students are encouraged to think independently, and to learn those same concepts for themselves through a hands-on activity. One of my personal favourite instructional approaches is project based learning because there is room for differentiation. For instance, if a student is highly skilled in the subject at hand, the teacher can encourage that student to develop a more complex project, or point them toward resources that are of a higher level. While a student who needs more assistance in that subject would still be able to create something they are proud of and develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills even if it is not as complex of a project. I also have a soft spot for project based learning because students often work well when they are focussed on something they are personally interested in. These types of projects allow teachers to check in and discuss progress with students throughout the project which means teachers can mark the process as well as the project.
6C's
The 6 C’s of character education, citizenship, communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity are important components of a productive and forward-thinking learning environment. A classroom that helps students develop these skills is a classroom that helps students prepare for their future and contributes to a generation of thinkers and creators who are curious and care about their world.
The 6 Deep Learning Competencies are directly related to learners in the 21st Century because the students who are in elementary school now, will be graduating into a world that demands certain qualities and skills from people in order to succeed in many fields. The 21st century presents educators with an opportunity to redefine what learning and education should look like and what it should achieve. As we move into a world where many jobs can be done by robots, we need to help students engage with their world in meaningful ways, develop their curiosity, and help build students’ confidence so that they can create and develop new ideas and projects. It is so important that we help young students begin to question things, and develop their creativity because they are the people that will be in charge of making innovative technology. 21st century learners, as humans, need to be able to do what robots cannot. In A Rich Seam, Deep Learning is described as an important part of education going forward. It “ goes beyond the mastery of existing content knowledge” (Fullan & Langworthy 7) and asks students to engage fully in issues and topics that are relevant in the real world. This means that in order to be successful in new, forward-thinking projects that incorporate the 6 C’s students need to be able to think outside of the box, problem solve, create, and use digital tools.
A Rich Seam calls on educators to create projects for students that allow each student to connect “to personal interests and aspirations” (Fullan & Langworthy 34). The teacher who developed The Enigma Project in the video has succeeded in creating this type of project. In this project, there is room for student choice which allows each student to explore a topic of personal interest which could spark an interest in a particular career. One student said that this project ‘changed what she wants to be when she grows up’ and another explains how her understanding and perspective regarding people with autism has changed after exploring her topic. Here, we clearly see that the student is developing empathy and understanding for others, which is part of the Character Education component of the 6 C’s. This video also outlines the ability for a project to develop citizenship as students explore different cultures and peoples. I would imagine that these projects would be shared with the class when complete, so each student would learn from their peers about a unique and important topic. The video also highlighted the fact that students were writing to community members, researchers, and doctors to find more information about their topics. This not only develops their communication skills, but it also shows students how helpful community members can be. These types of connections are wonderful because they introduce students to people in a field that they have an interest.
The Enigma Project is a type of project that I would hope to incorporate into my own future junior classroom because it gives students the opportunity to be in charge of their own topic and developing their own way of finding and presenting their research. While teaching grade 2 last year, our class worked together to learn and understand the differences between people. One of the topics that really hit home with my students was the fact that some children do not live with their biological parents. The concept of an orphanage was new for most of my students, and something they were very curious about. So, we all came up with different things we could do to help children that live different lives than ourselves. We explored places where there is not enough water, and places where children don’t get to attend school, along with children in orphanages. After exploring these topics as a class, the students began choosing their topic and problem solving. Each student presented their idea to the class and we all voted on which project we wanted to make happen. As a class, our goal was set after the presentations; we were going to put together pencil cases and have them delivered to an orphanage. Since I was going on a trip to Medellin, Colombia that year over March Break, I connected with an orphanage there before I left. I was then able to give the students a clear picture of where their efforts were going and deliver the pencil cases myself. The students’ curiosity about other cultures, and about the different lives that children lead all over the world was sparked and explored through this project.
Works Cited
Fullan, Michael, and Maria Langworthy. “A Rich Seam.” A Rich Seam, Pearson, Jan. 2014, michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/3897.Rich_Seam_web.pdf.
The 6 Deep Learning Competencies are directly related to learners in the 21st Century because the students who are in elementary school now, will be graduating into a world that demands certain qualities and skills from people in order to succeed in many fields. The 21st century presents educators with an opportunity to redefine what learning and education should look like and what it should achieve. As we move into a world where many jobs can be done by robots, we need to help students engage with their world in meaningful ways, develop their curiosity, and help build students’ confidence so that they can create and develop new ideas and projects. It is so important that we help young students begin to question things, and develop their creativity because they are the people that will be in charge of making innovative technology. 21st century learners, as humans, need to be able to do what robots cannot. In A Rich Seam, Deep Learning is described as an important part of education going forward. It “ goes beyond the mastery of existing content knowledge” (Fullan & Langworthy 7) and asks students to engage fully in issues and topics that are relevant in the real world. This means that in order to be successful in new, forward-thinking projects that incorporate the 6 C’s students need to be able to think outside of the box, problem solve, create, and use digital tools.
A Rich Seam calls on educators to create projects for students that allow each student to connect “to personal interests and aspirations” (Fullan & Langworthy 34). The teacher who developed The Enigma Project in the video has succeeded in creating this type of project. In this project, there is room for student choice which allows each student to explore a topic of personal interest which could spark an interest in a particular career. One student said that this project ‘changed what she wants to be when she grows up’ and another explains how her understanding and perspective regarding people with autism has changed after exploring her topic. Here, we clearly see that the student is developing empathy and understanding for others, which is part of the Character Education component of the 6 C’s. This video also outlines the ability for a project to develop citizenship as students explore different cultures and peoples. I would imagine that these projects would be shared with the class when complete, so each student would learn from their peers about a unique and important topic. The video also highlighted the fact that students were writing to community members, researchers, and doctors to find more information about their topics. This not only develops their communication skills, but it also shows students how helpful community members can be. These types of connections are wonderful because they introduce students to people in a field that they have an interest.
The Enigma Project is a type of project that I would hope to incorporate into my own future junior classroom because it gives students the opportunity to be in charge of their own topic and developing their own way of finding and presenting their research. While teaching grade 2 last year, our class worked together to learn and understand the differences between people. One of the topics that really hit home with my students was the fact that some children do not live with their biological parents. The concept of an orphanage was new for most of my students, and something they were very curious about. So, we all came up with different things we could do to help children that live different lives than ourselves. We explored places where there is not enough water, and places where children don’t get to attend school, along with children in orphanages. After exploring these topics as a class, the students began choosing their topic and problem solving. Each student presented their idea to the class and we all voted on which project we wanted to make happen. As a class, our goal was set after the presentations; we were going to put together pencil cases and have them delivered to an orphanage. Since I was going on a trip to Medellin, Colombia that year over March Break, I connected with an orphanage there before I left. I was then able to give the students a clear picture of where their efforts were going and deliver the pencil cases myself. The students’ curiosity about other cultures, and about the different lives that children lead all over the world was sparked and explored through this project.
Works Cited
Fullan, Michael, and Maria Langworthy. “A Rich Seam.” A Rich Seam, Pearson, Jan. 2014, michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/3897.Rich_Seam_web.pdf.
Wednesday, 4 December 2019
6.1.2 Sharing Resources
This resource from the ‘Outta Ray’s Head’ website is a biography lesson created by Mr. Saitz. I like this resource because it uses group work collaboration and would be great at the beginning of the year because it doubles as a get to know the class assignment.
From readwritethink.org, this minilesson from Junius Wright is a great resource for teachers because it focuses on analyzing and exploring dystopian character from 1984. It would be a great introductory lesson to the novel as it opens many discussions and possible journal response prompts. Another great thing about this lesson is it really asks students to use and develop their critical thinking skills.
From readwritethink.org, this minilesson from Junius Wright is a great resource for teachers because it focuses on analyzing and exploring dystopian character from 1984. It would be a great introductory lesson to the novel as it opens many discussions and possible journal response prompts. Another great thing about this lesson is it really asks students to use and develop their critical thinking skills.
6.1.1 Sharing Activities
This is a favourite grade ten lesson plan of mine because it engages the kinesthetic learners in the room with a catch activity. This lesson has students collaborate and present to the class as a group. It is an energetic lesson that has students show their knowledge of the five W's of journalism (who, what, where, when, and why) while doing a novel study of "In the Heat of the Night" where journalism is a key component to the development of the novel.
Tuesday, 3 December 2019
Grade 10 Media Unit
Media Week Overview
MondayAnalyse commercials and news articles and talk about presentations of Beauty in the Media and how the media shapes our ideas and constructs our reality. Brainstorm, as a class, different representations of people or issues we see in the media. Are these accurate representations? Practice writing a response/analysis to informational texts, commercials, and advertisements (point, evidence, explanation, summary). Explore an article about ecotourism in Borneo and identify the purpose, audience and if there is bias. Practice writing this into an organized response. This will help students prepare for the culminating project as well as practice analysing informational texts and news stories.
Looking critically at images that try to sell products. Determining bias, slogans, audience and purpose of advertisements. Students will create their own slogans and posters/act out a commercial to sell a product to a specific audience. There will also be practice reading and responding to a news article about the Ivory Trade.
Wednesday
Understanding that advertisements and commercials can have both positive and negative effects on the public. Students will look at examples of Public Service Announcement and create their own. Create culminating task success criteria. Get into groups/pairs and sign up with their chosen topic for their website. Use the rest of class to find articles relevant to their topic to analyse.
Thursday
Students will read and respond to the Trip Advisor article. Take up ideas as a class. Explain that the articles we looked at in class are the types of articles that students should look for to create their website. Work with group members to find, summarize and respond to their chosen articles for their topic. Start creating your list of extra resources and thinking about action to take. Students will use a google doc at this point to collaborate with group members on their project. A computer lab will be booked for the later half of class.
Friday
Students will be putting their website together and typing out their summaries to their articles/advertisements/commercials that they created in class. They can add links to helpful sites and list resources. Students can also be working with their group members to add their action plan or ideas to help solve the problem onto their website.
Full Day by Day Lesson Plans
Learning Tools for Unit
● Website creation
● Hypertexts
● Google Docs
Resources for the Unit
Monday U1_L1
● Dove Commercials
● Singer Video ● Pizza Photoshop Video
● Cube Handout
● Response Writing Powerpoint
● Borneo Article
Tuesday U1_L2
● Frank Baker video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=142&v=bilpXY0AvIA&feature=em b_logo
● Advertisement Images
● Advertisement Handout
● Paper for Student made Slogan and Advertisement
● Ivory Trade Article
Wednesday U1_L3
● Public Service Announcement Handout
● Public Service Announcement Posters about Wildlife https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36055160
● Animal Protection Agency and Campaign Website On the Wild Side https://www.apa.org.uk/campaigns/handsOff.html
● Animal Trafficking WWF https://www.wwfindia.org/news_facts/?16621/TRAFFIC-warns-against-buying-illega l-wildlife-products
● Group Signup Sheet ● Computers
Thursday U1_L4
● Trip Advisor Article
● Computers
Friday U1_L5
● Computers
Culminating Activity
Media Unit ENG 2D
This morning, your parents had the news on in the background while you ate breakfast. Usually it is just noise, but this morning something caught your attention and you turned from your cereal towards the television. A newsperson was talking about an issue that you really care about. The story was only on for a moment to give the headline and some photos. They were missing so many details! At school, you told your friends about the issue and the news story. You and your friends decide to get those details out there by creating a website with information, links to stories, and ways to take action.
Your Task:
● Create a free website that highlights the travel issue you and your partners have chosen at www.web.com. Create at least 3 pages titled ‘In the News,’ ‘Learn More,’ and ‘Take Action.’
● Create a homepage together that describes your topic and gives some background on an issue you found presented in the media. ○ Some ideas for your topic could be: Diversity in Media, Police in the Media, Vaping, Video Gaming, Body Image, Elections, Gender Representation, Gambling, Sports, Deceptive Toy Ads, Environmental Awareness, Cellphone Use or the topic could be your own choice (once approved by teacher).
● “In the News” page is where each group member will summarize and create a response to a recent article/news story/ interview that is relevant to your topic. ○ Your summary of the article/new story must be in proper form, introducing the author, title, date, and have proper citations. If it is an online resource, provide a link/hypertext to the article. Be sure to state the author’s main points. ○ Your response to the article must outline the purpose of the article, and the audience. Also note if there is any bias in the article and state your opinion or thoughts about the article.
● “Take Action” page is where your group can create a plan for people to make good choices and not contribute to the problem. Give examples of people or organizations that actively try to fix the problem. ● “Learn More” page is where anyone who visits your website can access extra information through links that you add. If there are books or magazines you can also add these as resources on your “Learn More” page.
______________________________________________________________________ Modifications:
1. Teacher will provide appropriate articles to a student who struggles with research.
2. Teacher will provide fill in the blank handouts to help certain students stay organized in their research/responses.
3. The teacher would have more challenging articles or more complex advertisements available for a student who is considered a gifted learner.
4. The teacher would have more simplistic advertisements available for a student at a lower level of learning.
Accommodations:
1. If students have trouble working with others they will have the option of working individually and creating their own website.
2. If students are being disruptive, teacher will rearrange groups.
This Culminating Task is suitable for a variety of learning styles because the task incorporates technology and allows flexibility with respect to the way the students chooses to present information. For instance, if a student is an auditory learner, the student could choose to do their media analysis on a commercial or a commercial where there is rich auditory content instead of writing their response about a written newspaper article. In addition, students would be able to record themselves speaking about the article and upload their voice to their website. Because this task looks into broadcasting, journalism, and website creation there could be an opportunity for cross-curricular connections with career studies or art (website design and advertisement) as courses with marketing.
Saturday, 23 November 2019
Finland's Education System
Education is such an important part of the development of a country’s youth. Canada is recognized around the world as having a strong public education system. Another country that consistently performs well is Finland. In the article “5 Days in Finland,” Colleen Ireland actively searches for reasons that make Finland so successful on the educational playing field. The author visits Espoo, Finland in order to observe the school system, learn about the curriculum practices and question administrators and teachers to get an idea of how things work, and why Finland’s PISA scores are so high. Ireland highlights some of the key differences between education in Finland and Canada and hopes to learn strategies that the Ontario education system could adopt so that schools in Canada could better serve their students.
A few noteworthy differences include the structure of schooling, the number of students in schools, and the unions. Ireland highlights the fact that all education, even university in Finland is free, and that all schools in Finland have the same bell schedule so that students can take courses at different schools if they are not offered in their own school. Schools also implement cross-curricular planning and have longer units of study, although it is not specified in the article how long each unit is exactly.
Ireland notes that Students in Finland attend Comprehensive School from grade 1-9, followed by Upper Secondary for grade 10-12. She lets us know that the schools are generally under 500 students but leaves out the class sizes which is an important factor when considering the general makeup of a school. The article describes the unions in detail, stating that principals have their own union, and are also apart of the voluntary teachers’ union where 96% of teachers join. Another noteworthy difference in Finland’s public schools is that every student in Comprehensive School receives a free lunch.
Another important difference where Canada seems to have the more progressive set-up is special education. In Finland, students with special needs are segregated but Ireland states that “consistent support exists.” It would be helpful to have a more detailed description of the accommodations and ‘support’ that is provided to students with special needs. The Ministry of Education and Culture Website does note that ‘the maximum number of pupils permitted in special needs teaching groups is laid down in legislation.’ This website also informed me of the Finnish National Matriculation Examination, which students complete at the end of upper secondary school. This exam comprises at least four test, one is ‘the mother tongue exam’ and the other three exams are selected by students.
Because the article was posted in the OSSTF Education Forum, the audience of the article would be teachers, administrators, bargaining unit members, and other adults interested in educational reform. As a District and Teachers Bargaining Unit president, Ireland is heavily invested in these topics and outlines many good facts about Finland’s education system while mostly avoiding bias. However, the fact that “Finland’s success seems to be a strong belief in teachers and their competence” (Ireland 35) is an idea that gains extra attention by the author. She highlights the fact that teachers in Finland do not have Teacher Performance Appraisals and says this is because ‘there is an inherent and absolute trust’ that teachers are competent when in reality, the lack of teacher appraisals could be for a number of reasons. Perhaps the fact that principals choose and hire the teachers that work in their school has something to do with this. There is a strong possibility that principals do more frequent, informal check-ins of how teachers are doing. This would be more feasible in Finland than Canada because, as Ireland states from her visit “none of the schools I visited had a student population over 500” (Ireland 32). This means that there would be less teachers within one school, making it easier for the principal to check into the teachers’ classes. So while there is no official Teacher Performance Appraisals, that does not necessarily mean that the effectiveness of teachers within Finnish schools is not monitored.
So while this article does a good job at highlighting some of the differences between Canada’s and Finland’s education system, more detail and clarification would be beneficial to the audience. Ireland does make her point known that placing trust in teachers seems to lead to more successful schools. This article also succeed in piquing interest in the coming result for the 2018 PISA which are due to be released on December 3rd, 2019.
Works Cited
Finland, Ministry of Education and Culture. “Universities Act.” Universities Act, 2009,
www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kaannokset/2009/en20090558.pdf.
Ireland, Colleen. “5 Days in Finland.” 5 Days in Finland, 2012,
lms.brocku.ca/access/content/group/4343392c-2826-4496-8b78-56c88a68ac2f/Five_days_in_Finland.pdf.
OECD, PISA. “Data - PISA.” OECD, 2018, www.oecd.org/pisa/data/.
University, Eastern Finland. “Why Is Education Free in Finland.” UEF, 2019,
www.uef.fi/web/mns/tuition-and-scholarships/why-is-education-free-in-finland.
A few noteworthy differences include the structure of schooling, the number of students in schools, and the unions. Ireland highlights the fact that all education, even university in Finland is free, and that all schools in Finland have the same bell schedule so that students can take courses at different schools if they are not offered in their own school. Schools also implement cross-curricular planning and have longer units of study, although it is not specified in the article how long each unit is exactly.
Ireland notes that Students in Finland attend Comprehensive School from grade 1-9, followed by Upper Secondary for grade 10-12. She lets us know that the schools are generally under 500 students but leaves out the class sizes which is an important factor when considering the general makeup of a school. The article describes the unions in detail, stating that principals have their own union, and are also apart of the voluntary teachers’ union where 96% of teachers join. Another noteworthy difference in Finland’s public schools is that every student in Comprehensive School receives a free lunch.
Another important difference where Canada seems to have the more progressive set-up is special education. In Finland, students with special needs are segregated but Ireland states that “consistent support exists.” It would be helpful to have a more detailed description of the accommodations and ‘support’ that is provided to students with special needs. The Ministry of Education and Culture Website does note that ‘the maximum number of pupils permitted in special needs teaching groups is laid down in legislation.’ This website also informed me of the Finnish National Matriculation Examination, which students complete at the end of upper secondary school. This exam comprises at least four test, one is ‘the mother tongue exam’ and the other three exams are selected by students.
Because the article was posted in the OSSTF Education Forum, the audience of the article would be teachers, administrators, bargaining unit members, and other adults interested in educational reform. As a District and Teachers Bargaining Unit president, Ireland is heavily invested in these topics and outlines many good facts about Finland’s education system while mostly avoiding bias. However, the fact that “Finland’s success seems to be a strong belief in teachers and their competence” (Ireland 35) is an idea that gains extra attention by the author. She highlights the fact that teachers in Finland do not have Teacher Performance Appraisals and says this is because ‘there is an inherent and absolute trust’ that teachers are competent when in reality, the lack of teacher appraisals could be for a number of reasons. Perhaps the fact that principals choose and hire the teachers that work in their school has something to do with this. There is a strong possibility that principals do more frequent, informal check-ins of how teachers are doing. This would be more feasible in Finland than Canada because, as Ireland states from her visit “none of the schools I visited had a student population over 500” (Ireland 32). This means that there would be less teachers within one school, making it easier for the principal to check into the teachers’ classes. So while there is no official Teacher Performance Appraisals, that does not necessarily mean that the effectiveness of teachers within Finnish schools is not monitored.
So while this article does a good job at highlighting some of the differences between Canada’s and Finland’s education system, more detail and clarification would be beneficial to the audience. Ireland does make her point known that placing trust in teachers seems to lead to more successful schools. This article also succeed in piquing interest in the coming result for the 2018 PISA which are due to be released on December 3rd, 2019.
Works Cited
Finland, Ministry of Education and Culture. “Universities Act.” Universities Act, 2009,
www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kaannokset/2009/en20090558.pdf.
Ireland, Colleen. “5 Days in Finland.” 5 Days in Finland, 2012,
lms.brocku.ca/access/content/group/4343392c-2826-4496-8b78-56c88a68ac2f/Five_days_in_Finland.pdf.
OECD, PISA. “Data - PISA.” OECD, 2018, www.oecd.org/pisa/data/.
University, Eastern Finland. “Why Is Education Free in Finland.” UEF, 2019,
www.uef.fi/web/mns/tuition-and-scholarships/why-is-education-free-in-finland.
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