All changes are more or less tinged with melancholy, for what we are leaving behind is part of ourselves

As we near the end of our trip, this is the last post for you, unless some major incident occurs tonight worth reporting that is! We have both had an amazing time at the Helsinki City College and we could not have asked for better hosts. We visited a lot of places, spoke with people from all walks of life, have eaten well, heard the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, been rather cultural and even did a spot of participatory teaching! We had a reflective session this arvo and along with our new colleagues from the Netherlands discussed what each of us had enjoyed in our trip to Finland. For me, I must confess I enjoyed the Helsinki World Cafe session and the plenary that followed. Isobel, as I did, thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the Helsinki Clubhouse, a rehabilitation community for the citizens of Helsinki, who have a history of mental illness. We spoke with some quite incredible people there and Isobel has even taken a copy of their newsletter to try and improve the one she edits for her church! Active learning is what this trip has been all about for sure! http://www.helsinginklubitalo.org/index.php?page=english

We have been blessed with the amazing weather and cannot believe how many jumpers, scarves, hats, winter coats that we brought. That said, we were advised to and even the locals cannot believe the weather. The downside has been that we have been inside, but what an incredibly clean city this is. Edina, take note!

We have learnt a few words, but not many. The Finns have catered for us beautifully by speaking English all the time.

So, the last andragogic comment for the day afore we hit the city centre in case you ever come to visit this wonderful country.

• kiitos is thank you.


• moi or hei is an informal hello, I think.


• tervetuloa is wlecome.


• puhutteko englantia? is do you speak English?


• sairaanhoitaja is nurse


• jossa on karaoke bar is where is the nearest karaoke bar!

We hope you have enjoyed our daily blether and I will see you on Monday and Isobel is back in on Tuesday. Kippis, M and I

If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun!

Although we have been pretty busy, we have still managed to have some fun. Isobel insisted that I take a photo of her with our host Matti. It was merely coincidental that he was wearing his shorts!

Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition

Hi all, yesterday's session on the World Cafe went very well indeed and we explained the concept, applied it to our teaching (Jerry and Joyce got notable mentions in their participatory work) and detailed a range of ways in which this methodology could be applied. The audience was varied and included the Vice Principal for Education, Senior Lecturers, 'Finland's Best Teacher 2009' no less, some Student Guild representatives as well as many other guests. Some discussion after our introductory session ensued and we held a WC session covering three areas that were of concern to our colleagues. The areas examined were -

• What does your College do to encourage student input into learning and teaching?
  
• What does your College do to promote social inclusion?
  
• What are you doing to keep students on their course / how is retention dealt with?

Although the list that follows is not definitive at present (due to most respondents writing in Finnish) it gives a flavour of the areas of discussion.

What does your College do to encourage student input into learning and teaching?
Feedback mechanisms – there are procedures in place for students to evaluate a given course and this is done electronically. Presently there is an optional online system which is a mix of a numerical scale and discursive comment.
For the last five years lecturers have been asked to encourage students to fill questionnaires in, but this process is dependent on the persuasive powers of the lecturer.
It is unclear whether there is a distinction between the learning and feedback process.
There are large numbers of learners who face individual challenges.
The class representative system (mentioned by Mark and Isobel) was seen to be a positive step in the learning process.
The function of the class rep was defined (objective discussions with tutors, how could they be picked, the selection process etc).


What does your College do to promote social inclusion?

Delegates spent some time defining what social inclusion was.
Last year there were not enough students who applied to College, so every applicant was given a place.
This year there were more applicants so therefore they were able to be more selective.
Nonetheless, they concede they should have courses ready for students of all academic levels.
The response at the present time is to provide Access courses, study support, teaching of social skills and language teaching for immigrants.
Delegates reflected on what they actually provide in terms of course provision and in terms of philosophy, they asked themselves what they expect of students to learn at home. In fact, this was not (at the moment) the case.
Philosophically, they accepted they were trying to inculcate a social spiral upwards.
Finally, they asked themselves what they could do better. It was concluded that they needed (arguably) clearer direction by management and the curriculum.
They questioned how they select tutors and whether they might do better in this regard.
They questioned whether, or to what extent, teachers are good role models.

What are you doing to keep students on their course / how is retention dealt with? (from this area for discussion, a number of questions were inspired)

How do we (as lecturers) motivate students?
What support services / mechanisms do we have in place, and are they being followed?
Drama was seen by many to be an effective mode of communication to enhance the learning process.
The effectiveness of how students on work placements are timetabled was a point of discussion. The work / college balance (dependent on the learner’s capability) was also communicated. It was reported that whilst this was an effective delivery mode in some institutes, competition for work places in other Colleges is such, that this may not be practical.
Innovative ICT use was discussed. Mark demonstrated the Communication at SCE Wiki. He discussed how this IT platform could be used to help retention.

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though they know that you are slightly cracked

Greetings, another scorcher today, pity we were inside for most of the day! Anyway, we had a productive session today and met our host Matti and three colleagues from Kellebeek College in Holland called Gerda, Jacqueline and Anneke. We were given a general presentation of Helsinki City College's organisational chart, the Programmes they offer and qualifications in the FE system. Over an extended lunch we discussed a number of educational issues, such as servicing requirements, student retention, innovative teaching practices, employability skills and differences in academic cultures within European frameworks. We were then given an extended tour of the College (including a welcome, complete with saltire) on their plasma screens (picture to follow!) Tomorrow we will be visiting a Centre of Excellence for the Autistic. We will be keen to try and develop some educational links with either or both institutes tomorrow and Wednesday. We hope everybody is well and that you are missing us. You are all adored and we hope to see you on Monday 24th. Best, M and I

Ash flight restrictions extended...

Noooooo! Oh well, nothing we can do until Saturday.

Attracted to Helsinki

Sunday, and what a roaster today! It looked cloudy at brekky, how wrong we were! I believe the temperatures were in the mid 70s with a hint of a breeze, wonderful. We went on a bus trip this morning and took in lots of sights, including the Cathedral, the Senate Square, the Presidential Palace (he wasn't taking visitations today), Finlandia Hall, the Parliament Building and Market Square. What did we learn today then about Helsinki and Finland? 60% of HE students are female, students start school at the age of 7, all students learn Finnish, Swedish and English as a compulsory measure, with a drop of French, German and Russian should they so wish, Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809, the language of the elves in the famous movie based on Lord Of The Rings, is based on Finnish, the UN voted Finland as the second most stable country in the world and lots of other facts that I have since forgotten! Best part of the day? For me, seeing the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral, a reminder of Helsinki's eastern heritage. It has 13 gold cupolas which represent Jesus and the twelve disciples. Amazing outside and in, no question. Anyway, time to log off as it is nearly tea time and we have an early start at the College tomorrow. We hope all is well back home and look out for more blogs directly.

Music with dinner is an insult both to the cook and the violinist.

Greetings again loyal followers. We had intended to visit the local off licence, aptly named 'The Alko' to purchase a couple of cheeky Cabernets to imbibe on our terrace, but for some reason it shuts at 6pm on a Saturday, quel domage! We had a wonderful meal and have attached a couple of pics from the restaurant. Issie had some spinach nests and I had garlic soup in bread. I had to drink the soup and eat the bowl, an interesting bamboozler, for when in the Sinki and all that! It is noticeable that in the restaurant, a Czech / Finnish fusion, there was a scuffle in the bar. Yes, that's right, it was a young lady who had clearly had too many Blue Nuns in the afternoon sun and was causing a disturbance. The point you say? She was Scottish, oh the shame of it all! I can confirm that neither of us were involved by the way! Anyway, it is hyvää yötä from me and it is hyvää yötä from her, hyvää yötä!

There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it."

Hei kaikki peräisin Suomi! (That's hi to everybody in Finnish...at least that is what ´the charming hostess last night said it meant!´) Taxi arrived in Polwarth at 3.45 am Saturday and the flights from Edina to the Dam and then on to Helsinki were on time. Quick taxi to the hotel (a wonderful Art Deco influenced building) and out we went scouting for some Scandic charm. We enjoyed an educational cruise taking in the extensive archipeligo. A scorching May day on the water - what better way to start our trip to Helsinki! We did a recce of the Market, visited some churches and spilled out across the cobbled quayside, not literally you understand! Tomorrow we look forward to some more sightseeing and engaging in some meaningful academic discourse over a few cups of water...

Teaching should be full of ideas instead of stuffed with facts.

Greetings loyal reader, Mr H here. Isobel and I have now completed all the necessary paperwork for our trip to the Helsinki City College of Social and Health Care and are raring to go. We leave (early) on the 15th May for a week and we hope to use this blog to keep you up to date with our exploits in Scandanavia. We will post photographs, advise on educational issues and all things social as well! Please feel free to comment on our words at any time. And as they say in Finland, Nähdään myöhemmin! (That's see you later if you weren't sure).