Learning in a forest
Finland is a land full of forest and thus Finnish people, including children and families, school and kindergarten groups spent a lot of time in forest.
In this ‘virtual visit’, you’ll see pictures and small video clips of Finnish students and children spending time and learning in the forest. You will also get an introduction and chance to reflect on different angles of forest as a learning environment and how that is fitted into the official pedagogical curriculum.
Training experts
Ms. Suvi Krista Westling is an expert on educational psychology with a broad view of education and a deep understanding of the human mind. She has graduated from and later taught students in an innovative program of educational psychology at the University of Helsinki. Her teaching has included lecturing, supervising pre-service teachers’ practice, and facilitating group processes and phenomenon-based group studies. In her research, she has studied the quality of regulation of students’ learning and activity both at school and at teacher education. She has worked as an expert in educational program design at an academic level as well as in few international organizations.
Suvi has also gained grassroots experience with children and teenagers while working as a classroom teacher, youth worker, and camp supervisor in various places at earlier phases of her life. She has developed an international mindset and understanding of different cultures by participating and working in different international communities and networks, living and studying in Latin America (Chile).
Minna Berg is a classroom teacher with a strong practical touch for the students’ world. For several years she has been training students and teachers Thomas Gordon’s teachers’ effectiveness training, using a ‘Finnish application’ of these skills of interaction. Currently, she is working as a part of a research group at the University of Helsinki, in the faculty of Education.