Meeting with Marja Martikainen,
Leader of Upper Secondary School level at University of Helsinki Viikki Normal School
Leader of Upper Secondary School level at University of Helsinki Viikki Normal School
Viikki Normal
School is quite big school in Finnish scale. It is a school community, which
involves pupils in 1. – 9. grades and, also preschool grade, and gymnasium.
Altogether, they have 960 pupils, 100 staff members and about 250 teacher
student trainees.
Wiikki
Normal School is part of the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Education, being
one of the Finnish schools, which provides basic education but it is also the
practice school used by university in their primary teacher, subject teacher,
and special teacher education (*).
Thus, all
the practice schools used by Finnish universities are carrying the name ‘normal
school’ (normaalikoulu) and serving as a training school for teacher students
where the basic and advanced practice is carried out. In Helsinki, they are
having also one gymnasium, Helsingin normaalilyseo, as a practice school for
teacher students, and a lot of kindergartens, schools, and other academies as a
partner schools where the field practices are carried out.
In Viikki Normal
School all teachers are at the same time trainers, as supervisor teachers for
teacher students. During the practical training period teacher students
(=students) work mainly in pairs, going into classroom with one supervisor teacher
in the field (=supervisor). Students will have guidance and mentoring by that supervisor,
and they will teach independently about 10 lessons per week at some practical
period. The aim of a certain lesson is discussed, and lessons are planned
together with supervisor. A Supervisor tells about the class, and a student
makes first overall plan for lesson series, and then specific plan for each
lesson, which supervisor reads. Then they will sit down, and go through the
plan together: discuss about it, re-organize and re-plan it, and after that the
student is ready to give the lesson.
During the teaching
the supervisor and, also some other teacher student trainees will sit behind
the classroom, and afterwards the student and teacher will go through and
discuss the lessons together. Right after the lesson student, supervisor and
other trainees will have some minutes to discuss and evaluate in a very
constructive way, how it went, and other very first feelings.
Viikki Normal
School teachers also provide subject specific seminars for students, e.g. how
do you teach grammar, literature, oral skills, and other, very practical issues
but based on theory. The school is trying to be very specific into that, and
give some tools to teach, and make the lessons. They try to teach them to see school
as a community, as a working place being more about something else than just
professions, including networking, entrepreneurship, student care, anti-bullying
etc. Marja is providing the seminars about work of principal. Thus, in Viikki Normal
School all subject teachers are having free spaces in their schedule.
One example
about practice periods of subject teachers, student aiming to be a math teacher
will have subject studies and then 60 ECTS program of Pedagogical Studies for
Teachers (which includes 10 ECTS + 10 ECTS practice periods). Pedagogical
studies involve theoretical studies in education at the university, and after
them normal school takes care of practical training period. In Viikki it means
that after getting theoretical background during the autumn, teacher students
arrive after autumn holiday, in the week 43 and will work at the school until
Christmas. They will return to university having more theory during
January–February and after that they will have the second practical training
period after spring holiday, in the week 11 until May. Altogether, they will
have two great periods of basic and advanced practice during the year.
https://www.helsinki.fi/fi/harjoittelukoulut/helsingin-yliopiston-viikin-normaalikoulu (unfortunately only in Finnish)
*) In the
Degree Programme in Educational Sciences there are six study tracks in
Finnish and three in Swedish. The study tracks in Finnish
are Special Education, Home Economics Teacher Education, Textiles Teacher
Education, Kindergarten Teacher Education, Class Teacher Education and General
and Adult Education. The study tracks in Swedish are Kindergarten Teacher
Education, Class Teacher Education and General and Adult Education.
The first cycle university degree only is available in kindergarten
teacher education. Those who have obtained a Bachelor's degree in kindergarten
teacher education may apply for studies leading to a Master's degree.
Students in all other study tracks take first a Bachelor's degree (3
years) and continue their studies to a Master's degree (2 years). In Finland,
in primary and subject teacher education (excluding kindergarten teacher
education), formal qualifications can be obtained only by completing a second
cycle university degree.
( https://www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-of-educational-sciences/studying/degree-programme-in-educational-sciences )
( https://www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-of-educational-sciences/studying/degree-programme-in-educational-sciences )
By Kati Pitkänen