Ensuring Learning

University of Helsinki – Kuwait University

The University of Helsinki Centre for Continuing Education HY+ and the Educational Development Center (EDC) in College of Education at Kuwait University are inviting you to a two-day webinar in preparation for re-opening the schools in Kuwait. During the webinar we will share Finland’s experiences on leading schools and teaching from a distance and in a hybrid-model.

The training programme aims to provide a holistic overview on securing learning during the exceptional times. How does the school leadership ensure learning results by motivating the teachers and supporting students? How do teachers apply hybrid teaching model while keeping the student in focus?

Day 1 (May 24 at 7–10 pm):

Execution of the hybrid model, Finnish approach
Activities and instructional methods suitable for hybrid teaching
Technological solutions for hybrid teaching
Leadership during exceptional times
Curriculum implementation and evaluation during the remote learning period: online platform evaluations, the diversity of evaluation methods during remote periods
Student-teacher and student-student interaction during remote and hybrid teaching

Day 2 (May 25 at 7–10 pm):

The benefits of face-to-face schooling for well-being and learning based on research
Administrative structure to support activities at school during hybrid teaching
Safety supporting actions in the context of transversal competencies: new procedures in pursuing curricular aims
Scaffolding students online
The Finnish support system, supporting student services at school level and students’ perspective

The focus in this training is to provide peer-to-peer trainers with practical and personal approach to the subjects at hand, which is why we are bringing forward as our academic specialists two researchers, one is a principal and the other one a teacher, from our high performing University of Helsinki Teacher Training schools (K-12).

Principal Ilkka Laasonen (M. Sc. principal of the University of Helsinki Viikki Teacher Training school, secondary school), Lecturer at Helsinki University Educational Leadership Program, Board member of Helsinki Region Principals, Board member of Youth Cultural Organization Konserttikeskus, Member of Finnish National Agency for Education’s Guidance Group for Developing Learning Communities for Leaders, Book Author.

Principal Laasonen has broad experience of developing and leading schools in Finland. He has worked both in municipality and University schools with esteemed acknowledgements from both employees and employers. He has graduated as a physical education teacher at the University of Jyväskylä in 2006 and graduated from Advanced Educational Leadership-program at the University of Jyväskylä in 2011.

Principal Laasonen has worked in different parts of Finland gaining insights in strategic school developing. He has worked in different guidance groups at Municipality level and given speeches and educated leaders in many events such as Educational Fair for Finnish Teachers (EDUCA). Mr. Laasonen has worked as a principal for nearly a decade. His first position as a principal was in municipality of Juuka year 2009. Ever since he has worked in the city of Vantaa as well as getting international experience as a PhD-fellow in the University of Oslo.

Dr. Anni Loukomies is a lecturer, teacher educator in the Viikki Teacher Training School of the University of Helsinki, and a researcher in the Faculty of Education of the University of Helsinki.

Dr. Loukomies is a class teacher and mathematics and physics subject teacher. Her doctoral thesis is related to educational psychology. She is also a professional musician. She has a 21-year experience in teaching at primary school level, and 11-year experience of teacher education. Her research interests include primary and secondary school students’ engagement in science learning, inclusive practices in comprehensive school and coherence of teacher education. She has also been developing methods for gathering pupils emotional and other experiences during the lessons. She is a research coordinator in the Viikki teacher training school and a member of the school management team. She is an experienced and sought after lecturer both in Finland and internationally.

Moderator

Mrs. Katia al-Kaisi is a highly experienced moderator who has been running successful online events to local and international clients including Finnish state authorities, schools, universities and educational companies.

Katia is the founder and CEO of Education House Finland, company based both in the UAE and Finland. She focuses s on introducing world class Finnish education solutions to schools, universities and corporates in the Gulf region. One particularly close to heart subject is how to make learning Arabic more fun and engaging using gamification. Her in depth understanding of the Middle East and Finnish markets in specific is due to her multicultural Iraqi/Finnish background and native knowledge of both cultures and languages.

HY+ Ltd. was established to coordinate and arrange, on behalf of the University of Helsinki, both national and global continuing education and development programmes for governments, educational institutions, other organisations and individuals. We have an evidence-based and decades-long track record in creating individually tailored training programmes and managing various development programmes to enhance the capabilities and competences of our partnering organisations and nations. The University of Helsinki Centre for Continuing Education HY+ Ltd is 100% owned by the University of Helsinki.

THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI (est. 1640) is one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary universities. Finland’s leading university has a solid international reputation in high quality teaching, research, and innovation.

THE FACULTY OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES is one of the largest departments in the University of Helsinki. The internationally esteemed and highly successful Faculty of Educational Sciences is Finland’s leading unit in education research and teacher education, and ranks 22^nd in the World. The University of Helsinki has a wealth of experience in developing and conducting research-based pre-service teacher education, and professional development and capacity building programmes for teachers and principals, in both Finland and abroad. The University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Educational Sciences has been an instrumental contributor to Finland’s achievements as a nation in the fields of education, learning, and equality.

The University of Helsinki Centre for Continuing Education HY+ has collaborated with several global organisations and nations in the fields of capacity-building and professional competence development. HY+ has a wide and diverse set of experiences in the organisation and management of educational programmes, ranging from localised and national reforms, to intensive in-service teacher training and pedagogically immersive ones. HY+ has also operated in a vast range of geographical locations, offering programmes from Europe and South America, to the Arab world and Asia, thereby demonstrating the capacity to implement various elements of the Finnish education system in a variety of different socio-cultural environments.

Learn more about HY+