Becoming a Finnish Teacher

  It was once thought that human brains develop in a straight line as people grow from children to teens and adults. It was assumed that all brain parts develop gradually at the same pace. With advanced research on brain development, we now know this view is inaccurate. Studies have shown that teen brains are unique and that different parts of the brain develop at very different speeds, meaning that teen brains work quite differently than adult brains. For teachers, it's helpful to understand these unique features of teen brains, as it helps to better understand their decision-making and behavior.   There are three main ways in which teen brains differ from adult brains. First,  teen brains are more adaptable (or "plastic") than adult brains . Human brains constantly adapt based on what we do and think. For example, it has been observed that the brain areas responsible for spatial awareness are larger in London taxi drivers than in others. If people play musical instrumen

Personalization of teaching Personalization of teaching brings about potential benefits. There are a lot of positive effects of personalizing:  it makes studying  more motivating and exciting . Furthermore, it  facilitates lifelong learning  and  provides tools for self-branding  and standing out in the job market. Schools can find  new exciting ways of organizing teaching  when the role of teachers is changed from information providers to learning facilitators. Society benefits by getting  new specialists and abilities  to solve many kinds of problems we might not have even heard of today. Investing the same amount of money in personalized education may bring about much  better learning results . If all the new skills required in the future society were to be taught to all students, it would not be easy and require a lot of resources. Personalizing the studies  saves resources  since some people can be taught one set of skills, while others learn different skills. Diversity gives

The idea of evaluation is to signal the level of student’s knowledge and skills to the student him/herself and possibly to employers etc. The student benefits from the evaluation because it signals how much the student has learned. It can also function as an incentive to work harder to achieve better grades. Typically, the grading system of a course is connected to the course aims and there are criteria provided for each grade. If one achieves all the goals, one gets top grades, if not the grades are lower. There is also a minimal level one has to accomplish to pass the course. For the education provider, the grading systems make sure, that everyone who graduates, has the skill level required in that specific course or education. The challenge of evaluation is to measure the right things and in a way that is consistent. The assessment should be unambiguous and not vary by the teacher’s mood or liking of a particular student. It would be good to have clear and public criteria for asses