OUNASRINNE SCHOOL
Teaching the 1st grade at Ounasrinne school was my first time teaching children, and everything went extremely well!
Some things I picked up from the practical training were how to handle small children and how to adapt my teaching to the level of the pupils. Our lessons always started from the very basics, like how to hold a paintbrush or how to treat other people and be friendly towards everyone. Even though seemingly simple, the primary school pedagogy to me is the most crucial part of education from the psychological and developmental standpoints.
Furthermore, the age of your students shouldn't limit your creativity. The theme of our art classes was Kalevala, so my pupils and I created a huge, colorful boat for Väinämöinen, made from recycled cardboard provided by the pupils themselves. The boat later served as a reading nook for the children. The finished boat can be seen in one of the pictures in the CV tab.
Another practical skill I learned was how to hold a morning assembly for the whole school. Along with the theme of the Finnish Epic, my fellow students and I devised a play about Kalevala. Not to brag, but I was Väinämöinen.
ARCTIC CIRCLE SECONDARY SCHOOL
At the Arctic Circle Secondary School I was responsible of the 8th grade and the volitional art class on 9th grade. I had two different assignments for the students: a 3D opaque painting utilizing scrap materials found from the classroom and binding and decorating their very own sketch books. In the picture on the left you can see three of my students working on their 3D paintings: one is making an origami lotus out of a napkin, the other just added recycled pieces of glass to their explosive work and the third already tied real shoelaces to the sneakers depicted in their painting.
From the practical training I learned more about the volitional art classes. The students were a bit more motivated and active, and I got to integrate music to my teaching. Also lending some liberties to the students like letting them listen to their own music during class created a beautiful trust between us, and everyone seemed more laid back in the classroom. Still the feedback I gathered from the students was the highlight of my practical training: every single one of the students enjoyed my teaching!
LYSEONPUISTON LUKIO
From Lyseonpuiston Lukio I got the most teaching experience so far. As Lyseonpuiston Lukio is an upper secondary school, this was my first time working with students so grown up. We had loads of interesting conversations with the young adults. During the period of teaching at Lyseonpuiston Lukio the aspects of evaluation and self assessment were highlighted in the lesson plan. By combining all my pedagogical knowledge I came up with my own way of evaluating students.
Active evaluation is a term I would use to describe my way of assessing students. It comprises of taking part in students' conversations, actively walking around the classroom and observing the students, their work and the learning environment, and actively encouraging the students' work. Its amazing how much you hear if you actively concentrate on listening.
At the end of the course I held a short relaxation practice, where the aim was to set a positive mood and environment to the classroom before doing the self assessment. The results of the relaxation practice were substantial. Not only was the working environment immediately calmer and more open, but the answers submitted to the online survey after the relaxation were surprisingly open, positive and collected.
More about the survey on the "Student feedback" tab.
LYSEONPUISTON LUKIO
With my easygoing and cheerful attitude the students were more open to moving around inside the classroom, discussing their process and assessing art made by them and their classmates. The picture on the left is a candid from a gleeful moment from one of my classes, where a group of students have assembled to discuss the piece the student holding it has just drawn.
I encourage my students to do this with a mindful reminder to be kind and understanding towards other students' visions.
LYSEONPUISTON LUKIO
With this practical training I set myself a task to try to integrate theories of loving kindness and positive education to my teaching. This was accomplished with the themes around the assignments, my own attitude towards teaching and the students, my interactions with the students, and holding short relaxation exercises during the course. Through observations during class and the student feedback I deemed these practices extremely valuable, and I will continue to shape my teaching to accommodate these more mindful ways of teaching.
TUTORING
I have been a tutor for the freshmen for three years now. I find myself applying for the job again and again purely from the joy of helping and teaching people. The image on the left depicts some of the freshmen (and their awesome togetherness!) I've worked with this year, and as always, it has been a blast!