International Student seminar in December 2021
The seminar explored tools for observing and reflecting on teaching in open learning environments in the different national contexts of the teacher programs in Uppsala, Tallinn, and Helsinki.
Additional days were for preparation and consultation for students and teacher educators were organized at each university.
Swedish, Estonian, and Finnish student teachers prepared different tasks that were adapted to their own courses. The common denominator of the three different tasks was that some kind of tool for observing teaching was used.
In the transnational groups, the students compared perspectives and observations.
The discussion took two main questions as point of departure:
- What particular “sightings” did the tool help you discover concerning learning?
- What did you think that the tool did not allow you to see?
Concerning the first question, the students agreed on the importance of preparations, for example how teaching in the classroom could help students to focus on teaching outside of the classroom. The second question touched upon methods in teacher education, progression, and the risks of tunnel vision due to observation tools. Students and teacher educators should maintain the awareness of the double bind of observation tools, namely the benefits of focus through tje tool but also the importance of keeping an eye open for unexpected learning outside of the box.
Student task at Tallinn University: Engagement in different learning environments for students
Student task at Uppsala University: Practicum II_observation task at UU
