Strategic Focus on Education Fulbright Finland is putting to use its various internationalization services and grant programs to facilitate sharing of best practices between American and Finnish educators at all levels and subjects, and to support research that addresses innovations in education.
This Program is about Our Students
the viewpoint of the Basic Education
Finnish teachers Susanna Soininen from
Core Curriculum Reform 2016 and Bilin-
Jyväskylän lyseo upper secondary school
gual Education in general.
and Maija Heikkilä from Tervakosken
“Especially the SIR program, due
yhteiskoulu comprehensive school are
to its highly academic, long-term and
spending a semester at the University of
comprehensive nature, provides a large
Indiana in Bloomington through the Ful-
binational platform for approaching
Benefits for Large Audience
bright Distinguished Awards in Teach-
education from a comparative angle,”
The growing need of addressing the issue
ing program. They explore, for example,
Taina Wever describes the program.
of diverse learners and learning difficulties in science education inspired Kari
multidisciplinary ways of teaching Eng-
“Education is like dropping a pebble
lish and the use of primary resources
into water – the emerging circles are first
Sormunen to apply for the Mid-Career
as part of learning processes in history
small, but gradually grow larger. From
Professional Development program. Sor-
classes. “My Fulbright-experience has
a program like SIR, larger waves of new
munen is a Senior Lecturer at the Univer-
been inspiring and has increased my
views and practices are likely to originate,
sity of Eastern Finland, Joensuu. “In the
desire to develop education as a whole
either through the students exposed to
U.S., the challenge of diverse learners has
even more than before,” says Susanna
study with a comparative touch or teach-
a long history, and Stanford University
Soininen.
ers involved with the program.”
as one of the leading education research
“I feel very motivated and am full of
institutions offered me an invaluable
ideas that I look forward to sharing with
Immense Impact on My Work
my students and I think that is what this
Perttu Järvenpää, an English Teacher
“International exchange programs
program is about – our students,” says
from Omnia vocational school in Espoo,
for professionals in the field of education
Maija Heikkilä.
chance for implementing my project.”
spent five weeks at the University of
are especially powerful because they not
The same program will bring eight
Montana last summer. “The impact of the
only benefit the grantees and their home
exceptional primary and secondary
extremely well-organized and thorough
institution but a much larger audience
teachers of STEM, Music and English lan-
program on my work as a teacher of Eng-
that includes other professors, lecturers,
guage from the U.S. to Joensuu, Jyväskylä
lish has been immense. I now have an
teachers, teacher trainees, students, and
and Helsinki, to pursue inquiry projects
extensive insight into the similarities and
education administrators.
that are closely linked to the new Finnish
differences between the U.S. and Europe.
As a teacher educator, I believe that
Some of my students are refugees who
the new knowledge I have gained from
have just been given immigrant status
my Fulbright MCPD-program will be
and it is vital for my work that I can help
widely distributed in Finland.”
national core curriculum.
Dropping a Pebble into Water Fulbright-Scholar-in-Residence
8
"Religious diversity in California and the opportunity to study and reflect it together with a multicultural group of academics from around the world was an opportunity of a life-time," says Arto Kallioniemi, Deputy Head of Teacher Education from the University of Helsinki, who participated in the Study of the U.S. Institute’s summer program at University of California, Santa Barbara.
pro-
them integrate into Finnish society and
gram (SIR) attracted Taina Wewer from
the rest of the Western world. I wouldn’t
the Teacher Training School of University
be able to give them an objective view on
of Turku, to spend a year at the Denison
the United States had I not been part of
Read full article online
University in Ohio. Wewer lectures about
the Study of the U.S. Institute program
www.fulbright.fi/en/read-online/
Education in Finland particularly from
this summer.”
strategic-focus-on-education
Fulbright Finland www.fulbright.fi
Text: Mirka McIntire