The Lukio, the Laugh and the Life on Land 

The Lukio, the Laugh and the Life on Land 

By Paula Silva, association Bora Ambientar

The Lukio, the Laugh and the Life on Land

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The Finnish school ambience at a Vantaa region high school, Vaskivuoren Lukio

The project Coordinators Meeting at Vantaa/Helsinki was an pportunity of meeting again many project participants from the partner organizations, to better know each other, to clarify important aspects of our common project and focus on delivering outputs on time.

But this mobility had some other very important dimensions: it allowed us to discover first-hand the Finnish school ambience at a Vantaa region high school, Vaskivuoren Lukio. The opportunity we were given to visit the school facilities, the teachers room in activity, and to have lunch at the school canteen, made us witness the relaxed and student-friendly environment, some creative inititives by the students and local food habits.

This meeting was also an opportunity to get to know the nature protection and environmental education in Helsinki region and, at least for me, a rediscovery of the nice capital city of Finland, Helsinki. The visit to the modern art museum Kiasma and mostly the Oodi Library as a social and cultural hub made available and accessible for anyone, confirmed my first impression in 2019, about the Finnish as a rather calm but very creative people!

Helsinki
Helsinki
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Sharing thoughts and personal experiences

The dinners we have had together, at places carefully chosen by our Finnish partner, made us know both local gastronomy and how gastronomy can go along with sustainability. But these common meals in Erasmus+ projects are not only moments of welfare and relaxation; they are an opportunity of building bridges across different countries cultures. For me they were moments of sharing thoughts and personal experiences and laughing a lot together!

The visit to Villa Elfvik, its green forest and the surrounding wetlands, and the Töölö open air area in Helsinky city were also great moments for me, as an environmentalist. I am currently committed with the Action Plan for Pollinators in Portugal and I strongly believe in the cities role in protecting pollinator insects; so, I especially enjoyed the walking tour from Oodi till the lake of Töölönlahti Park: this area has been massively planted with wild flowers of all colours, mostly all pollinator-friendly! I could see so many bumblebees, in action or just resting on the flowers…

Töölönlahti Park
Bumblebee on a flower at Töölö

After last project meeting in Portugal, were outside activities were most focused on marine life, therefore SDG 14 – protecting “Life below Water”, it was great to acknowled.

Prioritizing creativity and critical thinking

Prioritizing creativity and critical thinking

By Andreea Gatman, Act On Learning

Oddience2030 teachers prioritizing “creativity and critical thinking”

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Key ideas based on the assessment of the program

Based on the 67 registered teachers for the training program, when invited to reflect on what is the future they imagine for students learning with Sustainable Development Goals, most of the teachers prioritized critical thinking and creativity.

This data is reported before there was the strategic partnership decision based on project audit to choose 2 transversal competencies for a more directed outcome.

Here is a word map created by teachers answers before the program started (from January 2024)

ampathie et compassion

The assessment confirms the intention

After each of the 4 modules, the assessment confirms the intention of prioritizing creativity and critical thinking. 

Based on the toolkit to support each of the 4 modules, when asked “What is one thing that surprised your attention during the modulethe majority chose creative tools for the classroom. Here are some of the teachers’ answers.

“I had the the ability to imagine just with the use of words, texture, learning with 5 senses as inward-outward attention”.

“ An individual’s perspectives towards a thing around them, following small steps that lead to a very thoughtful product, mental imagery and the power of imagination”

Critique... critical moving through a state of confusion

Some participants, reported in blog articles or through assessments, the state of confusion, more or less tolerated at some critical points.

Self reflecting, later on, they identified external factors-distractions, as being causes that made their learning harder or stopped it. 

First emotions behind the creative process is the confusion, and tolerating, by which we mean having practices to stay and investigate gather new data (Hayashi, 2021, Kumar, 2021). Engaging pedagogies defined as this state of caring about what we learn and teach in the classroom, hence we teach students to tolerate confusion to unlearn in order to be ready to learn again, one cannot know how to hold confusion, without experiencing on themselves (Lonka, 2018). 

In the process of “getting back” to clarity and coherence “that feel safe zone”.

We learn to offer grace to ourselves, and “trust the process” as preconditions of this work with emerging strategies. Grace is defined by vulnerability in the words of researcher Brene Brown “staying with all that comes at the limits of our comfort zone”, and where the learning zone starts (Vygotsky). 

Facilitation, as the etymologically means “a certain ability to feel at ease  with what otherwise is hard or difficult work” and this speaks about the inner process, of the teacher as part of “teaching with Sustainable Development Goals.”

Work in progress To be continued…

“In the end what we want from this creative pedagogical prototype of a lesson, is for the students and teachers to have an image of us valuing connection, beyond all tasks, beyond the result, to have this agreement.”

(Marie Alice Moreira, teacher from Bel Orme)

Oddience, un partenariat pour développer des compétences nouvelles

Oddience, un partenariat pour développer des compétences nouvelles

Par Lucile Boncompain, Les Couleurs de l’Education

Oddience, un partenariat pour développer des compétences nouvelles

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Apprentissage de la créativité et de l’esprit critique croisé avec le développement des connaissances en matière environnementale

La première originalité du projet Oddience tient de l’apprentissage de la créativité et de l’esprit critique croisé avec le développement des connaissances en matière environnementale. Il s’agit d’une formation à plusieurs entrées de contenus (environnement et « soft skills ») et nécessitant plusieurs approches de formation.

Prises indépendamment,

  • Les connaissances en matière environnementale pourraient se développer de manière transmissive – à l’appui de rapports scientifiques, de la fréquentation et de l’imprégnation en milieu naturel, d’apports sur supports variés et progressifs.
    • La preuve du développement des compétences environnementales pourrait rester interne et individuelle (augmentation des connaissances, du niveau des sujets traités et des questions abordées)
  • La créativité et l’esprit critique – que certains pourraient encore penser relevant de l’inné et par conséquent peu chercher à les former – peuvent se développer de manière expérimentale.
    • La preuve du développement de ces « soft skills », ou compétences psycho-sociales, émotionnelles et comportementales, selon les traductions, tient de l’évolution du comportement ou de la capacité à se comporter.

Concevoir leur enseignement à l’aide des grilles d’évaluation

En reliant les deux types de compétences dans le même projet, en termes de formation, Oddience s’est donné pour but indirect l’exploration d’une modalité de formation mixte et impliquante :

  • Mixte, par le va-et-vient entre les apports scientifiques en connaissances sur l’environnement et l’exploration sensorielle et émotionnelle de la créativité et de l’esprit critique.

 

  • Impliquante, par le fait qu’à la suite d’une première phase de découverte, les équipes passent à la mise en pratique d’enseignement et qu’elle ne peut se faire sans mesure parallèle de l’impact sur le comportement des apprenants.

C’est là, la deuxième originalité du projet Oddience. Il s’agit d’amener les partenaires et les enseignants des établissements scolaires à concevoir leur enseignement à l’aide des grilles d’évaluation et d’avancer en crabe en quelque sorte, en faisant évoluer les grilles d’évaluation au fur et à mesure de leur enseignement et vice versa.

Les étapes sont habilement coordonnées

En synthèse, l’ingénierie du projet Oddience allie les divers ingrédients nécessaires à la formation des enseignants : des apports scientifiques (sur l’environnement), la mise en pratique, l’expérimentation (séances avec les élèves), la collaboration, l’évaluation – la mesure d’impacts (en termes de créativité et d’esprit critique).

Traditionnellement, ces étapes se déroulent de façon linéaire et l’évaluation vient sanctionner la réussite des objectifs fixés au départ.

Dans le projet Oddience, les étapes sont habilement coordonnées. Elles s’interpellent pour se nourrir et s’enrichir. Il ne s’agit pas non plus d’une démarche circulaire à la manière d’une recherche action. Il s’agit plutôt d’un éco-système apprenant qui devrait arriver à faire aboutir en dernière année à la fois les compétences environnementales, les comportements créatifs et les esprits critiques et des grilles de compétences.

Finland welcomes the coordinators

Finland welcomes the coordinators

By Naseema Saiyad, Agrupamento de Escolas de Albufeira

Vantaa in Finland welcomes the coordinators of the Erasmus+ ODDience2030 Project

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Prepare the next year's activities on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals

On September 2nd and 3rd, me Naseema Saiyad and Ascensão Marrachinho participated in the coordinators’ meeting at the Vaskivuoren Lukio School in Vantaa, Finland.

The meeting served to make a balance of last school year, and to prepare the next year’s activities on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), based on the development of critical thinking and creativity.

During these days, the participants had the opportunity to learn more about the organization and the activities carried out by the Finnish school. There was a fruitful debate of ideas about the activities developed and the ones to be carried out.

pilat observation
pilat
Oddience2030

Learn more about the organization and the activities carried out by the Finnish school

On the first day, after the morning meeting, the group went to visit the school and found some particularities: usually, students agree on thematic days in which they dress according to the theme.

On that particular Monday, they agreed to come dressed as superheroes or villains. The next day, the theme was funeral and wedding.

Informal meetings take place every Monday, with the school principal, where they talk about activities and projects that are being developed at school.

It should be highlighted that all students have free lunch at school and they have at their disposal several leisure spaces (ping-pong, snooker and several sofas) and quiet areas to relax.

The music room was the most impressive one for the number and diversity of musical instruments.

General secondary schools usually give a lot of importance to the visual and performing arts, and there is a well-equipped stage for the purpose of arts.

The bonds of the its members

After finishing the meeting, the group went to visit Elfvik, in Espoo, and its rich and green park. The visit was guided by a colleague from the host school.

At the end of the day and already in Helsinki there was an opportunity to taste Finnish cuisine.

The next day was mainly dedicated to planning the current year and the next mobilities. After the completion of the work, it was time to visit the Helsinki Museum of Contemporary Art – Kiasma and the Library/Multipurpose Space – Oodi

This third meeting of the group strengthened the bonds of the its members. There is a lot of work waiting for the group for next year, but, above all, many challenges and learning outcomes for students and teachers.

Making changes in some else’s mind

Making changes in some else’s mind

Par Nina Tervala, Vaskivuoren lukio

Making changes in some else's mind

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The sun was shining

It’s been a little over a month since we started this school year in Finland. In the beginning of September us coordinators we met here in Vantaa in order to plan year 2 in ODDience2030.

The sun was shining, it was beautiful and warm. We enjoyed the city and the weather. We adored the flowers in Töölö park and had zero waste dinner in a zero waste restaurant.

The sun was shining until yesterday, and we are at the end of the month called the month of autumn in Finnish. It has been like summer. Summer for us in Finland means anything over 15 degrees Celsius, more or less sunny. We joke about having a good summer means not much snow. When hell freezes Finns button up their coats and put a hat on.  But now we have warm summers and warm Septembers. Soon we will have to find new jokes.

What our core values are

In ODDience2030 we are five cultures working together. We have the same goal and without a doubt we understand it a little bit differently. The outcomes are different but the same. I guess. How I see it, our goal is to find ways to bring up new generations with skills that are useful in a changing world. Our goal is to enhance the ability to work together, to think innovatively, creatively. We are, or we should be, seeking and clarifying what our core values are.

Values don’t change easily but they do change. Deep experiences tend to have an effect on a person’s thinking and therefore also values. Good and bad experiences.

It takes a lot of work to have a group of people agree on actions and steps and dates. It takes a lot of work to make sure everybody is on the same page. And we are educated people having the same goal. What is it when you disagree to start with, you dislike and mistrust each other? Negotiators of peace are wonder makers, it is so much harder to have people agree on something than to disagree.

Patience, the ability to hear and listen, these are qualities that negotiators need. We all do. In today’s world we don’t see much of those qualities and one might fall into despair. But let’s not.

And then came the heavy rain

And then came the heavy rain. It washes the earth and takes it down hill. Dirt roads become bumpy and newly made lawns flush away. I look out the window, in minutes everything changes from heavy rainfall into clear sunshine that disappears in the grey of the clouds.

It is predicted that our northern areas will somehow benefit from climate change. Crops will grow longer, some species will be able to come and live and prosper. Others will disappear. The summers will be longer. The winters will be warmer. The winters with snow might disappear and become endless dark rainy seasons.
Until the Gulf Stream stops and we freeze for good.

It will be different but it will a world good enough to live in

But let’s not lose faith.

I plant flowers for bees in my backyard. I give the flowers the compost I made from the leftovers of our food. I ride my bike, not a car. I foster an elephant, an orangutang, a Saimaa ringed seal and a child in Bangladesh. And I look out the window and think what will all this be for my grandkids. It will be different but it will a world good enough to live in.

ODDience2030 is in my mind more or less all the time. Which makes me talk about it and hopefully starts making changes in some else’s mind too.