Finland in PISA Studies

1. Finland in PISA Studies • Finland came out top in the OECD´s 2003 PISA study of learning results among 15-year olds, with high performances in • mathematics • science • mother tongue • problem solving

2. 11 official explanations of the PISA success by the Finnish National Board of Education • Equal opportunities for education irrespective of domicile, sex, economic situation or mother tongue • Regional accessibility of education • No separation of sexes • Education totally free of charge • Comprehensive, non-selective basic education • Supportive and flexible administration – centralised steering of the whole, local implementation • Interactive, co-operative way of working at all levels; idea of partnership • Individual support for learning and welfare of pupils • Development-oriented evaluation and pupil assessment – no testing, no ranking lists • Highly qualified, autonomous teachers • Socio-constructivist learning conception

3. 2 private explanations by Seija • A statistical mistake? The outstanding achievement is based, in particular, on the good performance even by the weakest and average students. The average score achieved by the weakest quarter of Finnish students was by far better than that of the corresponding quarter in any other country. The disabled and retarded go to special schools in Finland 2. The historical background from 18 hundred: Who can’t read and write can’t marry 

4. China is switching to course-based high school education in line with the Finnish model. • Schools function without fixed forms, no year classes • School year divided into 5 or 6 periods • Instruction divided into 38 lessons, “courses” • A separate timetable is drawn up for each period, concentrating on certain subjects • Students' progress and the composition of teaching groups depends on the students' choice of courses.

5. The strengths of Finnish schools • good teachers • efficient teaching • uniform quality We may have something to give to other countries, so they seem to think “Foreign educators in droves want to visit Finnish schools for the simple reason that they are so good -- very likely the best on Earth.” Washington Post

6. Physics teacher education in Europe Finnish perspective Physics teacher is an expert in physics and in teaching. Physicists are experts in physics, but not in teaching, professionals of education in teaching, but not in physics. That’s why we need collaboration

7. Teacher training in Europe vs Finland(European data from EPS survey, Vollmer et al 2002) In Finland, physics teachers receive MSc degree in physics. Teachers are trained by physicists and physics education professionals (PE) together. There is close collaboration between physicst and PE’s in ?

8. Who should teach physics teachers? In most European universities physics teachers are trained by physics education professionals (PEs) and by physicists together (N=22). It appears, however, that there is very little contacts between physicists and PE’s.

9. Where are PEs located?

10. Contacts between physicists and PEs The problem is that there is very little contacts between physicists and professionals in physics education. Being in same building does not help. Being in same mode of thinking is needed instead.

11. European voices on collaboration?(Vollmer et al 2002) • There is a lack of communication between the two communities, physicists on one side and physics education professionals on the other. • The one group does not really appreciate and/or master the issues and methods used in the other group. • There are also some countries where the relationship is not really bad, but where—as in the UK—the teacher training is so separate from physics research that there is no hostility, but simply a lack of interaction.

12. Finnish perspective on physics education • Physics teachers are in cross-roads of two fields of knowledge and processes of knowing: physicists’ science and school’s science. • The challenge of teacher’s profession is to bridge the contents, processes and methods of scientists’ science to school’s science and make the scientific knowledge and discoveries accessible to students and foster understanding of scientific inquiry.

13. DON’T DO AS I DO, DO WHAT I SAY TO DO TEACHERS TEACH AS THEY WERE TAUGHT

14. A proposed Sokrates 2.1. projectEU TRAIN Objects To make a framework to unify the practical training of future teachers of physics and chemistry To make a highway for trainees for doing part of their practical training in an other country To make the faculty of physics, the faculty of education and the teacher training schools to work together

15. EU TRAIN participants • Finland – Universities of Helsinki and Jyvaskyla • Bulgaria – University of Plovdiv (Jane Raikova) • Estonia – University of Tartu (Jaan Susi) • Poland – University of Torun (Jozefina Turlo) • Romania – University of Pitesti (Georgeta Chirlesan)

16. Some important questions (according to Aart Kleyn, EPS’s chairman of division of education) • How do we turn quantitative observation into a mathematical theory? • How do we introduce the concept and laws as based upon observation and theory? • What is the role of experiment and careful, critical observation? • How do we build equipment for such observations?

17. Some equally important questions about teaching physics • How to introduce and interpret scientific concepts? • How to use quantitative and qualitative descriptions of scientific knowledge? • How to organise scientific knowledge? • How to make experiments and experimentation meaningful in physics and purposeful for students?

22. Department of Physical Sciences Physics teachers' education The utilisation of “metacognitive tools” has helped students to gain the expertise they’ll need as physics teachers. They have learned: • To integrate knowledge by linking it as a part of network • To interpret scientific concepts as a part of network • To notice features and meaningful pattern in information • To see conceptual system as a whole.

23. Wrapping it up finally There must be communication and collaboration between the two communities, physicists on one side and physics education professionals on the other. We need each others. The one should learn to appreciate and also master to some degree the issues and methods used in the other group. This can happen only by working together on common research and development tasks. Being in same building is not essential, being in same mode of thinking is crucial for success.

24. Would you please Answer today, after the presentations, the questionnaire by dr. Jane Raikova concerning the teaching of particle physics. Thank you very much for your time and kind collaboration Seija Questions? Be a happy teacher of physics, smile