An ordinary day at Finnish school

I have been teaching almost 20 years, most of the time at the same school, the Atala school. It is a primary school in a suburb with a lot of forests around. I have been teaching all grades (1-6) and all subjects. I love the fact I have a possibility to teach the same kids…

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Activating methods in classroom

A teacher stands in the front of the classroom and talks. Students are listening, maybe taking notes. After the lecture students write their notebooks and fill out exercises. Sounds familiar? This model of teaching where a teacher pours information and pupil´s role is just to listen and sit still,  is an old school method. Sometimes…

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Can we play some more?

This is a question our users often get asked by their students after a Seppo lesson. When teachers choose to use games in teaching, in the best case, it’s a game changer also for their students learning. Students’ instant engagement and eagerness to play are just some of the benefits games can bring to teaching…

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How can we help teachers to act as innovators, part 2/3: Autonomy

Finnish education is world-famous for its high quality and Finnish teachers are known to constantly develop the education. This continuous development has brought Finland excellent results: Why are Finnish teachers so development-oriented? We tackle this question in three consecutive blog posts. Understanding Finnish education requires the comprehension of few basic principles. These principles also guarantee…

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Simultaneous teaching

Working as a teacher can be a lonely job. Even though you have colleagues: you have common coffee breaks with them, plan your lessons together, have dialogues and even assess together outside the classroom — nevertheless, a teacher is alone in classroom. One class, and only one teacher. If we are lucky, we have a…

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Non scholae sed vitae

All learning starts from the students. As teachers, it’s necessary for us to know how to maximize learning in school. For that we need the knowledge of different learning styles, teaching methods and learning environments. Studies show that students learn better when they enjoy their time at school. Friendly, trustful and open-minded atmosphere leads to…

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Study Tours – connecting people

Study Tour offers a clear picture of Finnish school system, curriculum and teaching methods in real action. I’ve found three terms to describe this experience; professional, organized and honest. Professionality appears in the way these tours are held. All the trainers and hosts are clearly highly educated and well prepared. I liked the way how…

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