Finnish Education Perspectives

Finnish Education Perspectives

By Melissa GeorgiouEducation
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Finnish Education Perspectives episodes

  • #9 Learning Analytics in Teaching | Dr. Eikka Kurvinen |

    Today we talk learning analytics with Eduten’s very own, Dr. Eikka Kurvinen.


    Eikka is the Head of Pedagogy at Eduten and has trained thousands of teachers to use the Eduten platform both in Finland and abroad. He holds two master degrees in education and science as well as a PhD. His thesis was entitled “Effects of Regular Use of Scalable, Technology Enhanced Solutions for Primary Mathematics Education”. This guy holds learning analytics in the palm of his hand.

    As one of the original brains trust behind the Eduten product, I took the opportunity to ask:

    • What is learning analytics in education?
    • Why is using learning analytics the future of teaching and learning?
    • What is artificial intelligence and how is it used?
    • How do learning analytics help develop schools and classrooms of the future?
    • Why we need Eduten in our schools and classrooms and why it makes our students active :)

      • A great listen for anyone who wants to learn more about learning analytics in general, but also why research and analytics-based Eduten is the best tool for all math classrooms.

      This podcast is brought to you by EDUTEN. Finland's #1 Digital Math Learning Platform. Sign up HERE for a free 4-week trial and your students will never look back!

      Please follow us on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn

      33 min
    • #8 Finnish Education in India | Raghav Podar|

      Episode eight takes us to India! Our guest, Raghav Podar, is the Chairman of Podar Education. Podar Education has hundreds of schools across India and 'strives to create modern citizens who are ready to make global changes'.

      With a blend of global thinking & Indian values, Raghav is a senior educator and thought leader in constructing optimal learning environments. He has studied the education systems of Finland, Singapore, the U.K. and Australia, and has been most interested in upgrading the quality of schooling in India.


      He is particularly fond of the Finnish education model and has spent a lot of time there meeting with key education stakeholders.

      In this podcast we hear Raghav talk about:

      • His learned observations about Finnish Education versus Indian Education.
      • The key aspects that Podar Education has implemented directly from the Finnish education system.
      • How Finnish and Indian systems can learn from one another.

        • Raghav is a bright and passionate educator and business person who has made it his mission to think globally when it comes to education in India.

        To find out more about Podar Education, click here

        This podcast is brought to you by EDUTEN. Finland's #1 Digital Math Learning Platform. Sign up HERE for a free 4-week trial and your students will never look back!

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        30 min
      • #7 STEAM and Play in Education | Jenni Vartiainen

        In this episode, we're joined by the Head of Research and co-founder of Kide Science - Dr. Jenni Vartiainen.

        Jenni is a researcher, university lecturer, writer and entrepreneur. Her research interests are young children’s playful STEAM education and scientific literacy. Within her research, Jenni has developed a play-based science education model for young children called Kide Science. The model combines play, stories, imagination, and early STEAM education.

        In this podcast we hear Jenni's expert opinions about:

        • Why STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) is so important for kids?
        • The use of Vygotsky's perspective of play, connected with STEAM education as a learning method.
        • What play-based pedagogy means in practical terms and how to implement it.
        • How Finnish teachers implement playfulness in early education and schools.

          • Jenni is a bright and passionate doctor of education who, along with her colleagues, has translated her years of research and design into a valuable Finnish education export product.

          To access Kide Science's excellent one-month free trial, click the link here: http://www.kidescience.com/noblegas

          This podcast is brought to you by EDUTEN. Finland's #1 Digital Math Learning Platform. Sign up HERE for a free 4-week trial and your students will never look back!

          Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn

          28 min
        • #6 International Educational Leadership | Jaana Wilkko |

          This latest episode takes us to the United Arab Emirates. Jaana Wilkko is a Finnish pedagogical expert and education leader with a knowledge and understanding of a variety of cultures.


          I asked Jaana on the show because I’m also interested in how Finnish education is being used outside of Finland.

          Currently, Jaana is the principal of the Garden City British School in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi. Her school continues to receive the highest feedback from school inspections in the area and continues to be rated highly throughout the COVID 19 school closures.

          Janna’s focus as a school principal is to promote and encourage her teachers to place students as active and innovative learners responsible for their own learning. This is implemented by what Jaana calls the 12 Cs of learning, which we will find out about during this conversation along with key conversation points such as:

          • The importance of holistic, active and sustainable learning.
          • Phenomenon-based learning that to redesign schools as learning hubs rather than siloed subject teaching.
          • How to implement creative leadership during restricted times.

            • Jaana is an energetic and passionate educator who cares deeply about her staff and students.


            Enjoy listening to a true professional.

            This podcast is brought to you by EDUTEN. Finland's #1 Digital Math Learning Platform. Sign up HERE for a free 4-week trial and your students will never look back!

            Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn

            41 min
          • #5 Future Skills | Perttu Pölönen |

            Today’s guest is Perttu Pölönen. He is a futurist, inventor and author. He is a classically trained composer by education but became an entrepreneur at a young age. He has studied future technologies at Singularity University, in Silicon Valley, co-founded an ed-tech company in Myanmar, written two books and won the EU's biggest science competition for youth. In 2018, MIT Tech Review honored him among the 35 Innovators Under 35 in Europe.

            I invited Perttu on the show to talk about his wonderful book Future Skills (to be released in English later in 2021). The book is a suggestion of a ‘new curriculum’ of future skills that is essential in order to continue the process of educational and human development.


            So many gems popped up in this conversation including:

            • Why future literacy is needed for the next generation.
            • The danger of passing on obsolete knowledge to future generations.
            • Which tools best help us tolerate uncertainty.
            • The importance of getting to know yourself on the path to wellness.
            • The art of slowing down to experience depth of learning. (Are we making the world a better place or a more efficient place?)
            • Asking important questions such as: What can I give my students that google cant?

              • Please enjoy!

              This podcast is brought to you by EDUTEN. Finland's #1 Digital Math Learning Platform. Sign up HERE for a free 4-week trial and your students will never look back!

              Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn

              29 min
            • #4 Growth Mindset in Finnish Education | Dr. Kirsi Tirri |

              Dr. Kirsi Tirri is a Full Professor of Education in the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University of Helsinki. She is also a Visiting Professor at St. John’s University, New York, USA, and serves on multiple boards and associations in the field of education and research. Dr. Kirsi was elected as a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters in 2006 and was the President of the Academy for the years 2016–2017. She serves on 13 Editorial Boards of educational journals and has supervised over 20 doctoral dissertations.

              Her research interests include school pedagogy, moral and religious education, talent development and gifted education, teacher education and cross-cultural studies.

              I have read somewhere that Kirsi is an administrator's dream faculty member. Well, she is certainly a dream podcast guest and insightful educator whose enthusiasm shines through as she guides us through the fundamentals of growth mindset and why it’s so important in today’s classroom.

              During this joyful chat Dr. Kirsi talks about:

              • The background of fixed and growth mindset.
              • How growth mindset helps us approach challenges and failures.
              • Why teachers are such important players in the growth mindset field.
              • The fascinating growth mindset research she leads at the University of Helsinki and some of its outcomes.
              • Some practical tips for teachers to start a growth mindset culture in their classroom that goes beyond positive affirmations.

                • Growth mindset is an interesting theory to investigate and try on for size as a teacher, leader or parent. It allows us to ‘keep on keeping on’, especially in the face of failure. If you’re curious about my book (which Dr. Kirsi mentioned in this podcast and recommends to her university students) you can find the e-version here.

                This podcast is brought to you by EDUTEN. Finland's #1 Digital Math Learning Platform.

                Sign up HERE for a free 4-week trial and your students will never look back!

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                30 min
              • #3 Learning as Fun | Lauri Järvilehto

                Lauri Järvilehto is a Finnish philosopher, author, speaker, entrepreneur and musician. He is most interested in questions concerning how the mind works. He has a PhD in philosophy and has lectured in dozens of universities worldwide. He has written several non-fiction books in Finnish, including the one we will focus on during today’s chat - Learning As Fun. Currently, Lauri is a professor of practice at Aalto University.


                I asked Lauri for this chat because his fantastic book, Learning as Fun, is a practical and relevant read about the need for fun and play at the centre of learning. As he mentions, with all that we now know about the mind, we simply can’t expect our kids to learn in the same way that we’ve taught them over the past 100 years.

                Lauri talks about:

                • The key factors of ‘learning as fun’ (engagement, motivation and flow).
                • The need for engagement AND substance in learning with tips for two good ways to generate engagement and meaning.
                • Why we need teachers who care about what they’re teaching.
                • Why Lauri feels that the Montessori pedagogy works.
                • The opposite of bored is not entertained - it’s engaged!
                • How to use digital tools in a clever way.
                • How the ‘flipped classroom’ can help with individualisation.
                • Knowing your students and cultivating the relationship with the student.

                  • Lauri is a person who walks his talk. He shows up as a disruptor in education and is constantly trying new angles to increase understanding and enthusiasm in his students. I highly recommend his classic book!

                  Thanks so much for listening to this podcast. Subscribe so that you never miss an episode. Also, a five-star review goes a long way in getting the exposure that we want. So, don’t be shy!

                  This podcast is brought to you by EDUTEN. Finland's #1 Digital Math Learning Platform.

                  Sign up HERE for a free 4-week trial and your students will never look back!

                  Follow us on Instagram

                  Follow us on Facebook

                  Follow us on LinkedIn

                  36 min
                • #2 Innovation In Education | Saku Tuominen |

                  Today's special guest is Saku Tuominen. Saku is a versatile, interesting human, who is gifted in a number of areas. He’s an entrepreneur, innovator, creative director, executive producer, restaurateur, author, keynote speaker, olive oil producer and right wing (in ice hockey). I invited him on the show because he is a straight shooter who has lots of great ideas about education and the future of education. 

                  During this podcast we riff about:

                  • Innovation and what it actually means in the context of education.
                  • His very excellent organisation hundred.org, which is a non-profit organisation that showcases innovations that impact and have scalability.
                  • The best, easiest Finnish Education Innovation that works and can be transplanted anywhere around the world immediately and for free!
                  • The importance of creative, humble and growth mindset culture and community in schools to encourage innovative thinking.


                    • Saku always brings the good ideas, followed by even better questions that need to be asked - especially in the realm of transforming schools into more purposeful and meaningful learning environments.

                    Thanks so much for listening to this podcast. Subscribe so that you never miss an episode. Also, a five-star review goes a long way in getting the exposure that we want. So, don’t be shy!


                    This podcast is brought to you by EDUTEN. Finland's #1 Digital Math Learning Platform.

                    Sign up HERE for a free 4-week trial and your students will never look back!  

                    Follow us on Instagram

                    Follow us on Facebook

                    Follow us on LinkedIn

                    31 min
                  • #1 What Makes A Great Teacher? | J-P Järvinen |

                    In this podcast, I chat with the humble and very clever Jussi-Pekka Järvinen. Jussi-Pekka reports that only his grandmother refers to him as Jussi- Pekka (especially if he’s in trouble), so his name in everyday life and in the context of the podcast, is J-P.


                    J-P is a class teacher with special education proficiency. Currently, he is a teacher at the University of Turku. His focus is digital pedagogy. He works with both pre-service and in-service teachers, and his favorite topics are learning analytics, the effects of AI on education and computational thinking.

                    In 2019, J-P was chosen as the University Teacher Of The Year together with his colleague.

                    The theme of this podcast focuses on what makes a great teacher. I took advantage of this special opportunity to dig into what it means to be a great teacher and get to the bottom of what it is that J-P tries to embody every time he interacts with his students. Who better to give some pro tips than an awarded Teacher of the Year?

                    The interesting points that popped up during the conversation are:

                    • The best facets of the Finnish Education System (he also spent 5 years as a student of the US system).
                    • How to approach students respectfully and create good experiences and relationships for teacher and student.
                    • The importance of co-teaching, content knowledge and collegiality in education.
                    • The hidden magic of ‘seeing’ your students and taking interest in them.

                      • By the end of this conversation, I felt emotional as I listened to J-P’s ideas and reflected on my own child's journey through the Finnish Education System. I realized that many parents can only hope that their child comes across a teacher like J-P.

                      Thanks so much for listening to this podcast. Subscribe so that you never miss an episode. Also, a five-star review goes a long way in getting the exposure that we want. So, don’t be shy!


                      This podcast is brought to you by EDUTEN. Finland's #1 Digital Math Learning Platform.

                      Sign up HERE for a free 4-week trial and your students will never look back!

                      Follow us on Instagram

                      Follow us on Facebook

                      Follow us on LinkedIn

                      28 min

                    About Finnish Education Perspectives

                    From the publisher's feed

                    Finland attracts a lot of attention about its education system. Listen to interviews with some of Finland's top education experts. You'll hear about ways to innovate, and reflect upon, your teaching and leadership practice.