Designing Teacher Education for the Future (DETEF): - What can we learn from the Finnish experience?

Designing Teacher Education for the Future (DETEF) is the first Helsinki Summer School organized by the Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki. In Finland, teacher education has been based on a Master’s degree for 30 years. The excellent PISA-results of Finnish 15-year-old pupils may partially be explained by the high quality of Finnish teacher education.

The DETEF summer school course is designed to introduce the Finnish teacher education experience from various viewpoints: class, subject, kindergarten and special teacher education. Also, all majors are represented, general and special education as well as educational psychology. The Centre for Educational Assessment and its learning-to-learn instruments will be introduced as well.

This is an interdisciplinary course provided in collaboration with several teacher education providers. The course includes both theoretical and practical aspects of teacher education. From the research perspective, the special focus is on the comparative video research method.  

• Teacher education today and in the future

• Traditional and new ways of teaching

• Video research method

The course consists of lectures, activating large group sessions, workshops, and discussions with leading Finnish and international scholars in the field of teacher education. The course includes excursions to Helsinki World Design Capital 2012 attractions. The course also includes small groups which are designed to help students in becoming acquainted with the core literature and formulating their own interests engaging with more demanding texts and studies in the future. The course has a preliminary task, which includes reading three articles from a list given on the HSS website.

The basic requirements for passing this course are:

1. Course attendance
2. Active participation in the discussions
3. Contribution to the weekly reading group work (material given by presenters)
4. Completion of the final assignment individually or in groups (2-4 members)
5. The final assignment includes the development of the students’ own teaching theory in combination with a specific method. It also includes aspects of all teacher education areas represented in the course as well as a plan for the students’ own research in their own country regarding teaching at a chosen level. The proposal will be presented orally to the instructors and other participants at the end of the course, and will receive feedback and suggestions for improvements.

The course is evaluated on a pass/fail basis.

DETEF’s coordinator is Ms Marja-Liisa Kieksi Dept of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki, Finland. The assistant coordinator is Ms. Hanna Heiskanen (WDC2012)

Course leaders: Professor Kirsti Lonka (especially   the first week), Professor Fred Dervin (second week) and Adjunct Professor Marjatta Takala (third week) , Dept of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki, Finland.

Please direct any questions concerning the content of this course to the Coordinator, Marja-Liisa Kieksi tel. (09) 191 44150, 050 4155486, marja-liisa.kieksi@helsinki.fi Any questions concerning the general arrangements (accommodation, scholarship, etc.) should be addressed to the Summer School's office at summer-school@helsinki.fi. Hanna Heiskanen is available for WDC2012 matters (hanna.heiskanen@helsinki.fi).